Date: May 12, 2016
Contact: Cecilia Shields, 928-526-1157 x228
Flagstaff, AZ—On Saturday, May 14, 2016, Wupatki National Monument will host the Plein Air Artists of Northern Arizona at the Wupatki Visitor Center from 9am–1pm to celebrate NPS Centennial and the legacy of Wupatki Pueblo. There will be 6–12 artists working along the pueblo trail. Visitors are welcome to talk and learn about what draws them to paint Wupatki Pueblo. Visitors can walk the half-mile trail and interact with the artists as they paint the 104-room pueblo.
Built in one of the lowest, warmest, and driest places on the Colorado Plateau, there was no other pueblo like Wupatki in its time. Less than 800 years ago, it was one of the tallest, largest, and most influential pueblos in northern Arizona. It may have housed 85-100 people, and several thousand more lived within a day's walk.
Besides Wupatki, the monument has five other short walks to the pueblos that the public can visit. Check the Wupatki website at www.nps.gov/wupa for a listing of programs.
From Flagstaff take US-89 north for 12 miles (19 km). Turn right near milepost 430 at the sign for Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments. The Wupatki Visitor Center is 21 miles (34 km) from this junction. The drive time from Flagstaff to the Wupatki Visitor Center is 45–60 minutes. For more information call the visitor center at (928) 679-2365, on visit the monument's web site at www.nps.gov/wupa. The monument is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WupatkiNPS. Wupatki National Monument is open daily, except December 25, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The entrance fee is $20 per vehicle.
