On the way back to Las Vegas from Meteor Crater, we passed the Walnut Canyon National Monument exit. Hubby and I had been there the last time we were in Arizona before we had kids and enjoyed the stop. We took a short detour to visit the park and show the girls.
Walnut Canyon is only 3 miles off of I-40, so it is also a quick and easy stop. Walnut Canyon is most known for the cave dwellings from the early people who used to live in the sides of the cliffs. You can view the dwellings from the giant glass windows in the Visitors Center, the outdoor overlook, or by hiking around them. We went into the visitors center, and checked out the overlook. Last time Hubby and I were at this park, there had been a giant landslide that had damaged the hiking trails, so it was good to see it all repaired this time.

Because we hadn’t planned on stopping here, we didn’t spend very long at Walnut Canyon. It was maybe a half hour stop, but we didn’t do any of the hikes. Eventually, we would like to take the girls back here. For now, though, they were pretty impressed by the idea of living in the side of a mountain!
