Well we had a full day today. Today, we decided our babies (Clyde & Duffy of course), should join us on our trip past Sedona to check out several of the National Park Monuments in the area that we had wanted to check out.
The first monument we saw was Montezuma's Castle. The primary structure was a five story, 20-room dwelling built between the 1100- 1300's by the Southern Sinagua Indians. It was erroneously named, assuming this settlement was built by the Aztecs, but was not. In addition to the Castle, there was another building that held up to 100 people.
The next monument was the Montezuma Well. That was really interesting. It's a 55 foot deep circular hole, for lack of a better word. The diameter of this body of water was probably only 15 - 20 feet. The springs that feed it still flow continuously. The Southern Sinagua irrigated cropts with these waters. Traces of the original irrigation ditches they dug with primitive stone tools still exist. Several of the original stone building remains still exist. The Sinagua people lived in the area until the early 1400's and mysteriously left and it remains a mystery. They left prime architectural lands, water and shelters built over a 200 year period suddenly. It has never been determined where they went, no Sinagua people or tribes were ever recorded after the 1400's.
Then we drove to Tuzigoot, about 20 miles from the Montezuma Castle and Well. Tuzigoot means 'crooked water' in Apache. This was probably the most beautiful location we saw today. The views were breathtaking. This structure is several hundred feet about surrounding areas with several structures that remain in relatively good shape. They were also built in the 1100 - 1300's. The original pueblo was 2 stories high with 77 ground floor rooms. There were few exterior doors and entry was by ladders through openings in the roofs.
The drive to and from the area was spectacular as well. Unlike the mountains in New Mexico, the mountainous areas in Arizona have a red hue and large with flat tops...bottom line, they're just beautiful. The scenery in Arizona is just awesome...we really love it here!
The first monument we saw was Montezuma's Castle. The primary structure was a five story, 20-room dwelling built between the 1100- 1300's by the Southern Sinagua Indians. It was erroneously named, assuming this settlement was built by the Aztecs, but was not. In addition to the Castle, there was another building that held up to 100 people.
The next monument was the Montezuma Well. That was really interesting. It's a 55 foot deep circular hole, for lack of a better word. The diameter of this body of water was probably only 15 - 20 feet. The springs that feed it still flow continuously. The Southern Sinagua irrigated cropts with these waters. Traces of the original irrigation ditches they dug with primitive stone tools still exist. Several of the original stone building remains still exist. The Sinagua people lived in the area until the early 1400's and mysteriously left and it remains a mystery. They left prime architectural lands, water and shelters built over a 200 year period suddenly. It has never been determined where they went, no Sinagua people or tribes were ever recorded after the 1400's.
Then we drove to Tuzigoot, about 20 miles from the Montezuma Castle and Well. Tuzigoot means 'crooked water' in Apache. This was probably the most beautiful location we saw today. The views were breathtaking. This structure is several hundred feet about surrounding areas with several structures that remain in relatively good shape. They were also built in the 1100 - 1300's. The original pueblo was 2 stories high with 77 ground floor rooms. There were few exterior doors and entry was by ladders through openings in the roofs.
The drive to and from the area was spectacular as well. Unlike the mountains in New Mexico, the mountainous areas in Arizona have a red hue and large with flat tops...bottom line, they're just beautiful. The scenery in Arizona is just awesome...we really love it here!
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