I didn't get to spend nearly enough time visiting Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument when I was in the Flagstaff area this past winter, but there is no one to blame but shitty January weather and the giant blizzard dumping 10 inches of snow in the area. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever spent less time in a unit of the national park system. I was on my way home from my winter desert trip in the beginning of January and had just left Wupatki National Monument. My plan was to catch the interstate in Flagstaff and head east toward home from there, but I had horrible timing and ended up driving smack-dab into the middle of a blizzard that was busy dumping 10 inches of snow on the mountains and high desert surrounding the city. Unfortunately, Sunset Crater Volcano was included in that area, and I had a fun time contending with my little yaris and the piles of snow along the road. I stopped once to talk to a ranger who had a shovel in hand, and he informed me that while technically the park didn't close, the visitor's center was closed due to inclement weather and none of the trailheads were accessible to any vehicle short of a snowplow. So, there went my plan to hike in the monument. Instead, I snapped a photo of the volcano from the road as I drove past it and promised both it and myself that I'd be back. Hopefully next time it'll be summer.
Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have a jeep for sale...seriously, I need something other than my little peanut m&m for a vehicle!
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