We had a seven hour drive back to the canyon on Monday and didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing, but we did manage a few stops. We took a detour on highways off of I-40 to visit El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments. We only had time for a brief stop at El Malpais, which focuses on the volcano history of the area. We stopped at the visitor center (nicely done) and checked out the entrance of one of the caves (there are lava tubes and caves to be explored in the park and you can see the outflight of bats from Bat Cave during summer evenings).

We spent more time at El Morro, which was a nice surprise. There is a large cliff (El Morro means “the headland”) and a great little hike that goes to the top past the Puebloan ruins and back down the other side by Inscription Rock. A reliable water hole located at the base of the bluff made El Morro an attractive spot for Ancestral Puebloans, Spanish, and American travelers, all of whom left their mark on Inscription Rock. It was neat to mark the history of the area through the various inscriptions and I liked seeing the juxtaposition of ancient petroglyphs and signatures of Anglo pioneers. The hike was a 2 mile loop with 250 feet elevation gain and you can get a brochure in the visitor’s center that helps interpret the inscriptions on the rock. The Inscription Trail can also be done by itself. It’s a paved, 1/2 mile loop.

We had one last stop on our way home - the historic La Posada hotel in Winslow. The hotel was designed by Mary Jane Colter and one of Fred Harvey’s famous Santa Fe railway hotels. We had a bite to eat in the Turquoise Room - the posole is delicious! All in all, a terrific road trip!