Places Visited Along The Pathway through Hell...er, I mean, On the Trip to California

City of Rocks State Park
Formed of volcanic ash 30 million years ago and sculpted by wind and water into rows of monolithic blocks, City of Rocks State Park takes its name from these incredible rock formations.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s. The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited.

Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon is more than a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It is more than an awe-inspiring view.

Tusayan Museum and Ruins
The Tusayan Museum provides access to and information about the Tusayan Ruin, a 12th century Ancestral Puebloan village site. The ruin is accessable via a 1/4 mile trail from the museum itself.

Yavapai Observation Station
The station contains temporary exhibits about the fossil record at Grand Canyon and offers a panorama of the canyon through large windows. Yavapai Observation Station is located 5 miles north of the park's south entrance. Open year-round and hours vary seasonally.

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Sunset Crater Volcano was born in a series of eruptions sometime between 1040 and 1100. Powerful explosions profoundly affected the lives of local people and forever changed the landscape and ecology of the area. Lava flows and cinders still look as fresh and rugged as the day they formed. But among dramatic geologic features, you'll find trees, wildflowers, and signs of wildlife – life returns.

Meteor Crater, Arizona
The Meteor Crater in the state of Arizona was the first crater to be identified as an impact crater. Between 20,000 to 50,000 years ago, a small asteroid about 80 feet in diameter impacted the Earth and formed the crater.