Clear Creek Campground in Camp Verde was close to three of the 5 attractions and was a great stop. Small campground with cottonwood and sycamore trees and a nice creek. Stayed 2 nights so we wouldn’t be rushed.
Montezuma’s Castle was the first national monument. Even though it’s named Montezuma, this was not where his people lived. It was named for Lake Montezuma. This 20 room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a story of ingenuity, survival and ultimately, prosperity in an unforgiving desert landscape for the Sinagua people.
Next we visited Montezuma Well, a limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an immense underground cavern near the town of Lake Montezuma. The Hohokam and Sinagua cultures used this to irrigate their crops and water to drink.
The last national monument for the day was Tuzigoot. The pueblo was built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400 CE. Tuzigoot is the largest and best preserved of the many Sinagua pueblo ruins in the Verde Valley. The ruins at Tuzigoot incorporate very few doors; instead, the inhabitants used ladders accessed by trapdoor type openings in the roofs to enter each room.
Up early the next morning, we headed to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park. We camped 2 miles outside of the park. This is another pet friendly park so we were hoping to hike some. Unfortunately, it was so windy we could hardly stay upright so we just drove around and took photos.
Tomorrow we leave for Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend a few days showing Drew our favorite spots.
I'd kinda like to have you as a tour guide. You're finding great places to visit and explore! Keep it up!
ReplyDelete