tree rings, old stuff & things that spew lava

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(Amy's trip sans Jeffrey)
I recently went on a fieldtrip with my Dendrochronology class that I'm taking at the U of A. We ventured north to Flagstaff to escape the heat and collect tree ring samples. But first, we endured a hellacious drive in a university van, with no AC (in triple digit weather), that rattled & shook so bad as it cruised down the highway that I thought it may fall apart. We also hit Phoenix right around rush hour time. The lunch that I packed turned into an unedible hot pile of goo from being in the sweltering heat for so long. Needless to say, I hoped this wasn't a premonition for the rest of the trip because if it was, I was going to be one bitchy pregnant person. I was delightfully surprised that the rest of the weekend was a thousand times better than the horrible drive to Flagstaff😊

We stayed at the Merriam-Powell Research Station, which happened to be nestled in the quietness of the woods. Aaaahh the smell of pine trees! During our weekend there we went into the woods on the road up to Snowbowl and collected tree ring cores. Then we visited Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument where the ground is covered in a velvety black layer. Also visited was the Museum of Northern Arizona. Last on the list before heading back to Tucson was Wupatki National Monument, also located outside of Flagstaff. It is a pueblo that was inhabited about 800 years ago.

There are so many historical and prehistorical sites in the region that Jeff and I will have to go back sooner than later. After all, travelling is just not the same without my partner in crime😉

(scroll all the way down to see more pics😊

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Photos

lonely
Sunset Crater NM

Door to the past
Wupatki NM

years in the making
Sunset Crater NM

Name?
Don't know the name of this place, but there was a whole complex of the buildings used by researchers

trapped
Sunset Crater NM

Wupatki NM
the ability to date sites with tree samples

Comments

[Launie]

Awesome!
Very nice pics! You are going to have to make me a map of all of these places to visit! :)

[HeatherLauren]

Wupatki
Wupatki is one of my favorite places to visit in Arizona - i've been there a couple of times. Your Dendrochronology class sounds awesome!! Are you taking it as part of a program at the U?

[in the blink of an eye]

Heather--yeah it's a class at the University of Arizona. It's pretty awesome that we got to take a fieldtrip and do something hands on instead of sitting in boring lecture for hours:) We only went to that one spot at Wupatki, but I know there is a lot in the region especially as far as archaeological stuff goes--so I'll have to go back! ;)