(Click on the picture to enlarge it)Our next stop was to be Flagstaff, AZ and to see Brianna, our granddaughter, who is in her first year at Northern Arizona University (NAU). This was something that we both were looking forward too. Checking the temperatures in Flagstaff (6,903'), which were in the low 20's, we decided to spend the night in Camp Verde (3,133') and drive up the following morning and have breakfast and visit with her.
We also were starting to deal with another issue - our health. Neither of us were feeling that good, plus we both had similar symptoms - sinus allergies, nasal drip, coughing, sore throat, clogged ears, itchy eyes, but fortunately no temperature. It look like it was the FULL MEAL, SINUS DEAL! The pollen counts in Arizona are at the highest levels during this time of the year, and we both had been stomping around in the desert for days admiring the cactus bloom.
Our plan, after visiting with Brianna, was to head to the northeast corner of Arizona and visit Monument Valley, then to Four Corners and to Mesa Verde, and on to Moab, UT and the Arches. We checked the weather in those areas and the temperatures were still in the 20's with snow predictions on the way. So considering this and our health issues, we decided to head home after our visit with our granddaughter.
Before leaving Camp Verde, we both wanted to visit the Montezuma Castle. It is not a castle nor was the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II ever present. Montezuma Castle is a pre-historic American Indian structure that is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in the United States. Rising 100 feet above the Beaver Creek floodplain, Montezuma Castle is a testimony to the resilience and innovations of the "Sinagua" people. The castle is 90 percent original despite years of unauthorized excavation, visitations, and even one attempt to blow apart a wall to collect artifacts.
The castle was a small and dramatic part of a large community of people spread up and down the waterways of the Verde Valley. As many as 6,000 to 8,000 people may have lived in the valley in small villages no more than two miles apart. The 19 rooms could have housed 35 to 50 people, conserving precious farmland and the huge Sycamore Tree groves near the creek. There was a feeling of security as the series of ladders used to climb to the site could be pulled in for the night and the panoramic view of the valley gave advanced warning of anybody entering the area. Historians feel that it was the final leg to a major trade route from northern Arizona. People following this trail were seeking salt, cotton, argillite, and other minerals.
Were the residents of Montezuma Castle keeping watch on traders or other visitors entering the area, or was it simple a very nice place to live? No one really knows.
CLICK HERE to see our Montezuma Castle pictures. Go back in time and place yourself in one of the small rooms of the Castle and think about why you would be there.
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