Descent into Walnut Canyon National Monument | Flagstaff, Arizona

[@SomeplaceOrAnother]

This was a pretty neat one 👍😎

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@frankedgar6694]

Walnut Canyon is one of my favorite places to visit. And that climb out, for a 65 year old was tough. If I get to go back, you can bet money that defending and then climbing all those steps out will be worth it for this 70 year old with lung issues. It’s that good.

[@CactusAtlas]

It is so worth it. LOVE that place. And yeah, that climb out is no joke. 😅

[@gstiles7]

what a beautiful place and thank goodness because without Amy to do your makeup I could barely make it through the video :P

[@CactusAtlas]

🤣 I've never been able to do my own makeup much less anyone else's! Haha! Thanks for watching, Gannon. I'm glad you were able to power through. LOL 😂😉

[@DovieRuthAuthor]

What an amazing treat! Once again, I have learned about a wonderful place I've never heard of before. Thanks!

[@CactusAtlas]

Our pleasure! We're always happy to have viewers tag along with us! 😄 There's really no shortage of old ruins out here and while there's many obvious similarities, the settings are all quite different and unique.

[@antzcheeku2254]

the mortar at 14:56 is in fact original material. however if you look closely at other rooms there is the work of new mortar in efforts to preserve the dwellings. the work was done a month earlier than your visit but Ancestral lands conservation corps #641 out of Zuni New Mexico

[@CactusAtlas]

Great info! Thank you so much! 😊👍

[@Maintenance63]

I really liked the old black and white pictures of the souvenir hunters. It is good that it was documented

[@CactusAtlas]

Indeed. It seems that back in time people weren't quite as cautious about documentation as attitudes were entirely different about history. I've seen a number from days long gone of people wandering about taking petrified wood from what would eventually become Petrified Forest National Park as well. 😞

[@lostbear53]

Walked it in 3/83.... 5 hrs down and back.. found 2 peyote buttons about 2/3rd's of the way down... was called Walnut Creek Canyon then and no paved paths either... 3 trails longest was 7 mi.

[@rr7firefly]

What a well-made video! Beautiful shots, good narration, and the music is perfectly suited. You have shown the proper way to visit a sensitive site. Thank you for this.

[@CactusAtlas]

Thank you very much! That really means a lot to us! 😄

[@danialaho5543]

The Sin Agua peoples did a great engineering feat building the stairs, trails, and safety railings to descend and ascend the canyon walls.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Love going to Walnut Canyon (not the hike back up so much). We try to go every time we are in the Flagstaff area. Its amazing to think about what life was like for the Sinagua people living on the sides of the canyon. Great video as always.

[@CactusAtlas]

Always that darn rule of what goes down must come up when it comes to hikes. 😂 It would be fascinating to jump back in time to see how busy things were and what life would be like back then.

[@Pixics]

That's crazy how there are dwellings in the cliff. It must've been a massive undertaking to source all the material to build these.

[@CactusAtlas]

Agree! And then the effort and time to build it! But I suppose if each person is working towards the same goal then it isn't that terrible. Would be amazing to see what it looked like in the day and how many dwellings were there that aren't today. I bet it was amazing!

[@SwiftyTravels]

Yep! Ponderosa smeller here! You taught me that!! This looks like a really neat place that I haven’t explored yet! Every time I pass to Flagstaff I always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere else I hope to go up there again soon and show my daughter the University and do some exploring😀

[@CactusAtlas]

Hurray! Another smeller! 🤣 The Flagstaff area has a lot of cool things in and around it. Definitely worthy of a day or so stop and check some stuff out. We haven't even scratched the surface ourselves.

[@Raptor-gd6sk]

Just visited Walnut Canyon this past Sunday. It has amazing views and history.. My wife and I enjoyed the hike , our teenagers not so much 😂.. Thanks for posting these videos, found out about this place because of you!

[@CactusAtlas]

Oh, that's so awesome! So happy you enjoyed it! Our apologies to your teens, though. 😅

[@fatmanhikes]

You sir are correct about the tree smell. I have done it on your suggestion and yup, butterscotch vanilla! Noses in cracks IS funny tho!

[@CactusAtlas]

Yay! Confirmation we're not crazy! 😂 I think I've read that the more yellow the bark, the stronger the smell.

[@robertallen6710]

Just wonderful Glenn..the narration, camera work and content..FYI, just 10 minutes east on I-40 from there is a world-class petroglyph site on a river that is one the most extensive, best preserved, and least vandalized...a rancher owns it and charges like $30 a head or something for a personal tour...thanks for the vid!

[@CactusAtlas]

Thanks! We're so glad you enjoyed our work. I'm guessing you're talking about Rock Art Ranch? We have that one on our radar and hope to get up there to film one of these days. There's some amazing things said about it! 😀

[@robertallen6710]

@@CactusAtlas That's it...R.A.R. 😎

[@doxielover2814]

A beautiful landscaped canyon. Great information on how they came to be in this canyon. You wonder how hard life was for them with having to collect water and store it for period of time. Very enjoyable and well filmed video.

[@CactusAtlas]

I wondered too about the water. They'd have to climb down and back up and then keep it from evaporating. A lot of work! Thanks for watching! 😄

[@gearhead598]

I've been to amazing sites in AZ, this is one I missed!

[@CactusAtlas]

We missed it for many years as well! Worth the visit for sure! 😄👍

[@PanhandleHopper]

Always great to hit a spot you have been meaning to but never got a chance. I'm glad you picked this one. The terrain and ruins are beautiful. I like to imagine what it must have been like living there and just having that view greet you every day.

[@PanhandleHopper]

"...boarder on not being family friendly..." 🤣

[@CactusAtlas]

You and me both! Can you just imagine waking up, taking a deep breath and seeing THAT? What a life! 😄

[@Maintenance63]

Good job!!

[@melanieevans8402]

Look across the gorge there everywhere

[@vanhouten64]

Is there flowing water at the bottom of the canyon?

[@CactusAtlas]

We couldn't see well looking towards the bottom, but it's possible seasonally.

[@kreggossmer2029]

😎👍

[@felipelozano933]

WE USED TO SMELL TREE BARK ON A TOUR IN LASSEN PARK IN THE 60'S WHEN I WAS A KID. ITS TRUE. SOME VANILLA AND SOME OTHER AROMAS ..

[@CactusAtlas]

We learned about it during the train ride to the Grand Canyon. Never knew it previously but it's becoming a tradition for us when we see ponderosas. 😅

[@JohnSmith-ef2sp]

Imagine being a worker building the stairway.

[@frasiec]

You need a good hat