Images of Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument – Northern Arizona, taken in April 2018.

The most recent cinder cone created in the San Francisco volcanic field, the 1000-foot-high Sunset Crater erupted about 900 years ago. While ash and cinders were projected into the air lava flowed from the base of the cone to create the Bonito Lava Flow.

I visited the park on two separate days to explore and hike several trails and while the skies were clear the temperatures hovered around 60 degrees; it was much different than what I have experienced to the south in the last few weeks. Flagstaff sits at approximately 7000 feet so it was no surprise when the wind began to gust 30 to 35 miles per hour and snow flurries developed but it’s not something that I wanted to see. All this limited my outdoor activities but highlighted the fact that it’s always good to stay in one place for at least a week so that I can wait out bad weather and still enjoy the parks I came to see.