Wupatki National Monument
near Flagstaff, Ariz.
Visited: October 7, 2004
NPS Site Visited: 107 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?
Red limestone and sandstone brick ruins of pueblos believed to have been built some 1,000 years ago by ancestors of present-day Hopi and Zuni Indians. The structures were inhabited for about 100 years until they were abandoned around the year 1225. Archeologists believe the life at Wupatki to have been intrinsically tied to the volcanic eruption at nearby Sunset Crater Volcano NM.
BEAUTY (6/10)
Picturing structures amid the rubble of Wupatki NM’s five ruins takes imagination. Even the bases of these buildings clearly were not made to last 1,000 years. The construction is shoddy and not meant to be permanent. But there they stand preserved through geographical isolation, a non-erosive climate and the National Park Service. A positive thinker can imagine the ruins akin to the southwestern work of Frank Lloyd Wright where the colors, shapes and architectural lines mimic and meld with the desert surroundings. A negative thinker may only recall a pre-fab square red brick apartment complex.
We found a typical southwestern beauty at Wupatki NM. The desert colors shimmer in their starkness and the ruins appeal to a mythic understanding of the native Indians.
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (4/10)
People lived in these buildings 1,000 years ago. They weaved intricate cotton cloth, farmed on land made rich by the volcanic eruption and broke shards of painted pottery when they left after only 100 years in residence. We learned little about their day-to-day life and nothing of where they emigrated. We do not know of anything significant that happened here and our rating is just a guess based on the limited amount of teaching provided at the Site.
CROWDS (3/10)
There were about one hundred people touring the ruins during our visit. The parking lot was nearly full. Our visit was altered by screaming children dangerously running through the adobe ruin, obnoxious adults speaking at impossible decibel levels and dozens of people audibly trying to answer the same questions as us: “what exactly are we looking at?” Organized Ranger tours, or at least an outside Ranger presence, could have alleviated this problem.
 EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Wupatki NM is located along U.S. Route 89, 36 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona and Interstate 40. If you are traveling to both Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano NM, because of the location of the two Visitor Centers, it is best to visit Sunset Crater first, travel up the local loop road to Wupatki and then back to Flagstaff via U.S. Route 89.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
Wupatki NM’s bookstore is well stocked but you know the Site is not up to snuff when you are searching for Park-related explanations in the books it has for sale. Some nice titles included a mouth-watering southwestern Indian cookbook that won a James Beard award for food writing excellence.
COSTS (2/5)
Entrance is $5 per adult, 16 and under free. Your admission includes the nearby Sunset Crater Volcano NM. If you have a National Parks Pass, there is no charge.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)
No Rangers working during our two-hour, early October visit, despite more than 20 cars in the parking lot. No Ranger talks, no help whatsoever.
TOURS/CLASSES (3/10)
It is troubling when you leave an unknown historical site knowing less and being more confused than you did when you arrived. Such was the case at Wupatki NM. You enter the Visitor Center and either pay $1.00 for or borrow and return a well done but intellectually vexing Wupatki Pueblo Trail Guide. Then you go out to the Pueblo and try to sort things out for yourself.
The Mission ’66-era museum is not recommended. Disconcerting but unexplained NPS post-its on the exhibit glass tell how there is much difference between what has been learned and what should be taught regarding the Indian people in the 40 years since the displays premiered. Problem is, nowhere does it tell you what these differences are. It is like giving someone five mushrooms, telling them that two are poisonous and will kill you and then saying bon appetite.
The Trail Guide confounds things even further ending many of its entries with difficult philosophical questions like, since the Wupatki people did not believe in historical preservation and wished their belongings and structures to return to the earth, should the NPS preserve their homes for educational purposes?
The brochure is chock full of information but is unclear about where that knowledge comes from. Speculation? Native oral tradition? Archeology? Local rumor? Ranger clarification would have been nice. We cannot emphasize how much we wished that a Ranger could have led us through the ruin. How can you throw tourists into a 1,000-year-old ruin built by an unknown culture, give them a few pieces of paper and tell them to sort it out?
 FUN (4/10)
Walking around well-preserved ruins is fun. Not knowing what you are looking at is upsetting.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (3/10)
Our day spent at the three Flagstaff-area NPS Sites was a long boring and overwhelmingly confusing experience. We do not wish that on anyone else. Perhaps the new Museums at Wupatki NM and Walnut Canyon NM will change things. Judging by the remodeling already done at Sunset Crater Volcano NM, we are not so sure.
Wupatki NM was our favorite of the Flagstaff sites despite being the most out-of-the-way. If you happen to be driving on U.S. Route 89, stop in and tour the ruins. We would not recommend taking the 70-mile round trip detour from Interstate 40.
TOTAL 32/80
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