FLAGSTAFF — The ZIP code was not 86004 when people known today as the Sinagua lived here. The telephone area code wasn't 928.
That's because the Sinagua built their stone dwellings a bit before the advent of mail delivery and phone service — some 800 years ago.
But if modern conveniences were lacking in that long-ago era, construction techniques apparently weren't too shabby.
Foundations, walls and artifacts of the Sinagua village survive today at the Elden Pueblo archaeological site on the edge of Flagstaff.
The pueblo — with more than 60 rooms, ceremonial sites and a large community area in a pine forest setting — is open to the public daily with no admission fee.
A 250-yard trail, accessible to handicapped visitors, leads around the ruins. Take the trail for a close-up look at pit-house dwellings and pieces of brown and red pottery made by residents of the pueblo.
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Archaeologists have turned up an array of artifacts at the site, including trade items such as macaw skeletons from Mexico and shell jewelry from the California coast.
Bear in mind that it's illegal to dig at the pueblo or remove pieces of pottery or other artifacts.
To reach the site from Tucson, take Interstate 10 northwest to Phoenix and continue north on Interstate 17 to Flagstaff. Once there, follow U.S. 89 northeast to the pueblo. It's on the west side of the highway — about a mile past Flagstaff Mall and just south of a junction with the Camp Townsend-Winona Road.
For more hiking stories, go to go.azstarnet.com/trails.
