Getting the flavor of ... The ancient ruins of Arizona

The ancient ruins of Arizona

Flagstaff has long been considered the “hub of northern Arizona’s natural and historical attractions,” said Anne Z. Cooke in National Geographic Traveler. Past the pioneer town’s pine forests and “rolling ranch land” sit two ancient monuments that offer a rich window into the Southwest’s history. Just northeast of town, the Wupatki National Monument is the largest and most well-preserved Native American pueblo standing. Dating back some 850 years, the ruins were once home to the “ancestors of today’s Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo people.” The park’s “centerpiece” is a 100-room pueblo with sandstone walls that controlled temperature extremes and flat roofs that funneled rain into clay jars. Farther east, the Walnut Canyon National Monument hints at how the Sinagua people thrived in the high desert. Descending 185 feet, the Island Trail passes by 25 different rooms cut into cliffs. The “scenic but strenuous” hike feels like a pathway into the past.

Contact: Flagstaffarizona.org

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Steinbeck’s California

John Steinbeck may have made Salinas, Calif., famous, but the residents of this rural town weren’t always his biggest fans, said Jay Clarke in the Contra-Costa, Calif., Times. While the novelist was alive, some citizens of his native town burned his Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath and cringed when he nosed around Salinas Valley in search of material for East of Eden. But that all changed after his death in 1968. Today, Steinbeck is a “revered figure” here. His family home, now a restaurant, not only displays artifacts linked to the author but also bears his name—the Steinbeck House. Nearby, the National Steinbeck Center attracts thousands of visitors year-round. Literati can wander through themed galleries, listen to excerpts of works, or view clips from films of his books, such as Of Mice and Men and Tortilla Flat. They can also hang out inside Rocinante, the pickup camper in which Steinbeck traveled the country with his poodle Charley.

Contact: Steinbeck.org