Monday, April 28
57 degrees this morning as we head north, through Tucson then Phoenix, to Montezuma's Castle, a National Monument. We discover that our GPS connection is not working, so have to rely on the phones. Suspect the connection was jolted loose during those rough roads and we can't reach the connection which is behind the dash.
Montezuma's Castle is a five story, 20 room cliff dwelling dating back to around 1200. There are also adjacent rooms carved into the cliff. Located in the Verde Valley, it was occupied for over 100 years and no one knows exactly why it was abandoned. The Southern Sinagua were mainly farmers who grew corn, beans, squash (known as the three sisters) along with cotton, and supplemented through hunting and gathering.
Their dwellings ranged from one room houses to large pueblos. There is a large sinkhole with springs nearby that provided water for living and irrigation. This was an active trade area as well, with evidence of items like salt, copper, scarlet macaw feathers and pottery from other areas.
There is a nice trail with signage that goes near the base of the cliffs but no access to the actual cliff dwellings which were originally accessed with wooden ladders. A few critters along the way and a few friendly rangers here and there. Greg asked one ranger whether they had seen any impact from Trump's budget cuts and he said they are down several staff and everyone is anxiously waiting to see what happens next.
We move on the Tuzigoot National Monument, about a half hour away, which is a pueblo above the Verde Valley. Originally 2 stories with 87 ground floor rooms, it had very few exterior doors, as entry was through ladders to the roof!
The Hopi people consider this their ancestral home. I wonder whether kids today learn any of this history that was never mentioned to us.
Neither of the monuments offer camping facilities, so we head to some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land about 10 miles south of Sedona with dispersed camping areas. We found a spot in the Javelina area - a very busy place! Greg finds a bit of shade by a juniper tree but things cool down nicely by late afternoon.
Dinner is kielbasa sandwiches with potato salad.
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