Sunset Crater
A National Monument in Arizona--just a few miles northeast of Flagstaff. Of all the "major" places I visited on my trip, this was the only one that was a revisit--revisited mostly because it wasn't really out-of-the-way, but also because it's beautiful, naturally.
I believe I was 14 when my family stopped here on our way to California (or on our way back--I don't recall for certain). I recall wanting to climb to the top--which you could do then (it's now verboten)--but my parents forbade it for some reason. Perhaps they feared I would fall to my death, though as you can see, "falling" here means tumbling on a bed of cinders with death being highly unlikely. So, instead, I led a band of my siblings (two sisters) on a hike around the base and through a lava field. Though I left the main path, there was still a clear path that we followed. I'm not sure how long we were gone, but my best guess would be 1.5 hours. We returned to find my parents in a tizzy. My mother was particularly upset and began chastising and berating me for getting myself and my two sisters "lost." That we had been "lost" came as a complete surprise to both myself and my sisters, and I insisted that was not the case and was genuinely perplexed. Since we'd never gotten more than a few feet from the path and had returned on it to arrive directly at our camp site--how could that be considered lost? Nonetheless, my Mom, no doubt until the day she died, held steadfast to the belief that we had been lost. I was punished in some small way for my transgression at the time and I quickly learned it was worse than useless to argue against her accusations as my reasoned rebuttals only served to infuriate her more. Over the next 50 years, either she or I would, on rare occasions, mention the "incident" and she remained a bit exasperated by my supposed irresponsibility--though she at least could laugh about it, as could I. :-)
I know there's nothing special about the photograph, but it's a beautiful place, is it not? It would have been better to take this photo in the late afternoon as the "golden hour" would have enhanced the color around the crater's rim.
Sunset Crater
A National Monument in Arizona--just a few miles northeast of Flagstaff. Of all the "major" places I visited on my trip, this was the only one that was a revisit--revisited mostly because it wasn't really out-of-the-way, but also because it's beautiful, naturally.
I believe I was 14 when my family stopped here on our way to California (or on our way back--I don't recall for certain). I recall wanting to climb to the top--which you could do then (it's now verboten)--but my parents forbade it for some reason. Perhaps they feared I would fall to my death, though as you can see, "falling" here means tumbling on a bed of cinders with death being highly unlikely. So, instead, I led a band of my siblings (two sisters) on a hike around the base and through a lava field. Though I left the main path, there was still a clear path that we followed. I'm not sure how long we were gone, but my best guess would be 1.5 hours. We returned to find my parents in a tizzy. My mother was particularly upset and began chastising and berating me for getting myself and my two sisters "lost." That we had been "lost" came as a complete surprise to both myself and my sisters, and I insisted that was not the case and was genuinely perplexed. Since we'd never gotten more than a few feet from the path and had returned on it to arrive directly at our camp site--how could that be considered lost? Nonetheless, my Mom, no doubt until the day she died, held steadfast to the belief that we had been lost. I was punished in some small way for my transgression at the time and I quickly learned it was worse than useless to argue against her accusations as my reasoned rebuttals only served to infuriate her more. Over the next 50 years, either she or I would, on rare occasions, mention the "incident" and she remained a bit exasperated by my supposed irresponsibility--though she at least could laugh about it, as could I. :-)
I know there's nothing special about the photograph, but it's a beautiful place, is it not? It would have been better to take this photo in the late afternoon as the "golden hour" would have enhanced the color around the crater's rim.