It’s high time I invited you to my favorite place in the world (outside of Sint Maarten, of course). If you’ve ever spent a significant amount of time in Arizona, you know that Great State Forty-Eight has a lot to offer in the way of hidden roadside treasures. My absolute favorite is Wupatki National Monument.
A couple of years ago, Ben and I took a road trip from Phoenix to Page, which is north of the Grand Canyon on the border of Utah. Along the way, we stopped at several ancient Native American dwellings. I wrote about Palatki, but we also stopped at Wupatki during that trip. This year, I decided to introduce my sister, Kaylee, to Wupatki.
Wupatki is one of those amazing places that doesn’t get the attention it deserves, which makes it even better, because you don’t have to share it with seven million tourists and busload of field-trippers. In fact, it’s so out-of-the-way that you might drive by it on the highway every weekend and never pay attention to the turnoff signs.
However, once you do make that trip deep into the high desert wilderness, you’ll be amazing to walk through the remains of some of Arizona’s oldest civilizations. The history value is incredible– and the Instagram factor isn’t bad, either!
There are many pueblos in Wupatki, and you can see several of them at five stopping points along the loop that takes you through the monument. My favorite is Wupatki Pueblo, a huge, multi-family complex that includes natural air conditioning (you have to see it to believe it) that comes from a hole in the ground.
In addition to the big pueblo, you can visit other stops within the monument to walk through houses built over a box canyon, climb inside a medium pueblo with a stunning view, and hike to a hilltop neighborhood.
The best part, to me, is getting out to a place where all you can hear is the sound of the wind over the wilderness, where animals rule the landscape, and where whispers of the past rise like smoke from the crumbling remains of mysterious ancient dwellings.
As an aside, I would encourage you to visit my sister’s blog. She talks about faith and hope in the midst of navigating life as a 23-year-old widow.
