As we mentioned yesterday, we are tired of large crowds so this morning we drove to the Red Butte trailhead on forest service land 6 or 8 miles south of our RV park.

The butte (elevation at the top is 7326') rises over 900 feet above the surrounding plateau and the trail up it is about 1.25 miles long. It was a beautiful sunny cool day so the hike was great. And the best thing is we had it all to ourselves.

All over the flat top is a light scatter of prehistoric stone waste flakes (pink to orange chert and an occasional obsidian flake) left over from making and repairing stone tools.

The Havasupai say it is a sacred place and their name for it translates as "clinched fist mountain."

The 360 degree views are beautiful - to the north the north rim of the Grand Canyon can be seen (barely visible on the horizon behind Sharon and Abby in the photo above), and to the southeast the snow covered San Francisco Mountains (which contains a major source of obsidian used by prehistoric folks).

This afternoon we are puttering around the trailer relaxing and stowing most things so we can leave first thing in the morning on our way to Bryce Canyon (a 250 mile drive). Hopefully we will beat the hordes of tourists entering the park.