Walnut Canyon

On the same weekend we visited Montezuma's Well we also stopped by Walnut Canyon.  This is a Canyon carved out by water, and because of the water supply it became popular for the Hopi indians. They  built houses in the cliff walls of the canyons. It's beyond me why they would build a house in a wall, I mean talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed. But it is definitely a neat and beautiful site. 

In this picture you can see the stairs that take you on the island trail on the right side of the picture.

Because of the time that we arrived at the park the island trail was closed. This trail leads down into the canyon where you can see up close some of the cliff dwellings. Some of them you can even walk into. 

So instead of being able to get up close and personal with the dwellings we walked the outer rim trail which took us up above the canyon so we were able to see the dwellings from up above.

There are dwellings all along these cliffs, keep looking for some closer shots.

Along the lighter colored rock you can see a gap in the cliff. This is one of the dwellings. How would you leave and get home every day if you lived here?

I wouldn't mind seeing the view every morning though.

In this picture you can see another one of the dwellings. And that rim of trees that connects the canyon is part of the island trail that we didn't get go on.

We were all a bit disappointed that we couldn't get closer to the dwellings. I guess it's motivation for us to  head out for an adventure again so we can see them.