Monday we made our move to Bonito Campground

in the Coconino National Forest, just outside the

entrance to Sunset Crater Volcano National

Monument, which is about 15 miles northeast of

Flagstaff on Highway 89 toward Page, AZ. The

campground is virtually across the road from the Visitor’s Center for Sunset Crater, but outside the actual grounds of the Monument. That way one can stay in the campground without having to pay the fee to the Monument … although it would be a mystery why anyone would not want to visit Sunset Crater. It’s an awe-inspiring place and well worth the entrance fee.

Sunset Crater a strangely interesting and other worldly area. You feel like you are on another planet that has exploded and just begun to cool off so that solid rock can be worn down into soil. Sunset Crater itself is a huge volcanic cone of loose cinders with trees struggling for a foothold in the steep ash slopes of the cone. That particular volcano came into being between 1040 and 1100 AD they say. It’s only one of several cones in the immediate area … most of which are a little older and therefore more eroded and less dramatic. Terry remembers that when he was in college in Flagstaff you could still hike to the upper reaches of the cone (climbing two steps up and sliding back one) and walk along the rim of the crater at the top. You can’t do that anymore … hikers are not allowed on the cone … it’s too fragile and vulnerable to damage from people climbing on it recklessly. Among the cones and hills of cinder ash are rivers of frozen lava

                                flows. It’s as though it flowed hot just yesterday and

                                      solidified over night. The lava in the flows is still razor

                                         sharp and would do a number on any footwear made

                                         by mere man. There is vegetation in the flows and

                                        around the ancient volcanoes but you can tell it’s a

                                        rough place to survive. Trees are twisted and gnarled

                                         and there is very little grass or low vegetation … just

                                           fine cinder ash. Yet, Mother Nature is persistent and over time the vegetation will make in-roads. You can see that the older cones are already becoming hills and less defined mounds covered by trees.

We arrived at the campground in good time. As we had projected, there were plenty of sites to choose from. We took a campsite on the far side from the visitor’s center, right above an amphitheater where talks and presentations are given. The sites are paved and fairy level. Some of the sites, like the one we selected are more pull-outs than pull-throughs ... with a line painted on the pavement delineating the road side edge of the site. In order to have sufficient space to put down our outdoor rug curbside, we were pretty close to that white line, so we did not use the street side awning while we were there ... didn’t want to run the risk of it being taken off by a passing rig! The site sat at the top of a hill that sloped down to a lava flow that you can walk into for a close-up look at the unique formations in lava. The sloping hill from our campsite to the amphitheater looked like a black sand dune with trees sprouting up here and there … but it was really volcanic cinder. We didn’t let the Girls walk in it because it would tear up their pads in no time. It would be like walking on crushed glass. We set up camp, then Terry took one of the propane tanks off the trailer and drove back toward town to a gas station/propane place we’d spotted on the way in to gas up the truck and fill the propane tank.  

On Tuesday we toured the Sunset Crater National Monument and Wupatki National Monuments. The two Monuments are linked by a road and each has an entrance from Highway 89. One fee gains access to both monuments and is good for several days. Of course we started with the Sunset Crater drive after stopping at the visitor’s center. The road through the Monument winds though the craters and laval flows and has several pull-offs and vantage points to take it all in. There are some hiking paths desingated but you are not allowed on the craters themselves ... and the “frozen” lava flows are naturally forbidding. The road takes you north and east from the volcanic area to lower elevations out of the pines and scrub oaks into a high desert terrain with panoramic views to the wide open spaces of the Colorado Plateau of Northern Arizona.

Before long you arrive at Wupatki, which is a very

interesting and amazing Indian ruins out in the red

sandstone stretches northeast of Flagstaff. Less than

800 years ago, Wupatki was the largest pueblo in the

area but it’s unclear why its people chose to live there,

as it’s one of the warmest and driest areas of the

Colorado Plateau ... and it is still a mystery why

those people left.  One has to wonder if the Indians who lived at Wupatki saw volcanic activity in action since Wupatki was occupied relatively soon after the volcanos erupted.

As mentioned, there is an entrance from Highway 89 to Wupatki, so you can visit both Monuments from the two different directions depending on your travel plans. Of course, we were camped at Sunset Crater, so we drove to Wupatki, and then back on the same road … it was interesting to see everything from both directions … and it was equally beautiful from either. On the trip back to Sunset Crater one can see the San Francisco Peaks to the west, the

7500+ foot mountain that rises just noth of Flagstaff, and is the highest point in Arizona. (Terry hiked to the top of that, too, in his youth ... above the tree line and clouds to an alpine-like terrain. Ah, youth...)

The round trip through Sunset Crater and Wupatki was a great day-trip and can eaily be accomplished in that time without rushing. If one were coming from the Page area to the north, entering in the early part of the day via the Wupatki entrance and ending up at the Bonito Campground at the Sunset Crater end of the road in the afternoon to set up camp would be a perfect day. The road is an easy one for RVs and trailers of any length.

Again, with no hookups at Bonito we used our generator off and on during our

                     stay there. We kept smiling as we powered up each time. One

                        thing we noticed is that not everyone had a quiet generator!

                            Some of those industrial strength generators sound like a

                            rabid lawn mower having a fit in the distance … not so quiet.

                          We decided that there ought to be a decibel limitation for

                            generators in campgrounds. Back at Pine Grove one neighbor had one of those and ran it sitting on the tail gate of his truck (which only made it louder). They were a good 50 yards from our campsite but there were times we felt that we should go over and ask them to shut it down so we could hear ours! We’re glad we have the quiet kind.

Our last night at Bonito, another 19’ Bambi —  from California —  pulled in and set up camp three sites away from us. We didn’t have a chance to chat, however. Once they were set up they piled into the truck and headed into town before we cold “happen by” to say “hey.”  They did wave an Airstream “howdy” as they left the park, though. They got home late and were gone early the next day so we didn’t get a chance to say hello.

Two nights was plenty of time at Bonito. You can see and do

everything there is to do in a single day unless you were to

devote a day to each of the monuments. On the other hand,

it’s pretty country to just enjoy. There is also a great looking

group campground at Bonito ... up higher on the side of the

hill just as you come to the main entrace of the campground. 

We might have to suggest that for a Four Corners Unit

gathering sometime…

One thing we were surprised about at Bonito is that there is no dump station. It’s not unusual for a national forest campground to not have electrical or water hookups (there is drinking water available, though they do ask that you not fill your RV tanks), and there are not always dump stations. But it did feel odd that there was no dump station in a campground that is as well used, modern and well-maintained as this one was. It had otherwise well-appointed facilities. Since we arrived with empty holding tanks and a full fresh water tank ... and we were there only two nights, this was not a problem for us ... this time around.

Click on the Slide Show icon below to see pictures of Bonito, and Sunset Crater and Wupatki Naitonal Monuments, then click on the “Kaibab” button to go to the final leg of our trip, Kaibab Campground on Kaibab Lake near Williams, Arizona.