Northern Arizona; April, 2011

Marko just turned 1 and the temperatures were creeping up in Phoenix so we decided to head north, cool down, and check out a few of the sights. I love history so the area around Cottonwood and Camp Verde sounded like fun. About an hour and a half north of Phoenix you come to a small town called Camp Verde, this would be our base of operations for the next couple of days as we explored what the area had to offer. A little north of Camp Verde are two prime examples of ancient ruins. About 1,000 years ago, the ancient Sinagua used to call the verde valley home. The area was very fertile and a great place for them to farm, hunt, and fish. They were prosperous for thousands of years when all of a sudden, they just dissapeared. It is believed that the more recent Hohokam are decendants of the Sinagua. Well preserved in lime stone cliffs you will come across Montezuma Castle, a 20 room structure built into the cliffs.






It only takes a few minutes to roam around the site, but you will find other ruins not as well preserved. From the looks of it, this area housed quite a few people in it's day and fresh water was abundant due to the the close proximity to Beaver Creek which flows almost year round.

About 10 miles north of Montezuma Castle lies Montezuma Well. A natural spring nearly 500 feet deep with Sinagua ruins laying in the limestone walls and at the base of the spring. The water is a constant 74 degrees year round and the Well fills with more than 1.5 million gallons of water a day. There is an outlet at the base of the well that travels underground for over 150 feet and lets out into an irrigation ditch dated to over 1,000 years old. The Sinagua used this to help irrigate crops for nearby Montezuma Castle.


Ruins along the cliff of Montezuma Well.


View of the cliff dwellings from the water level of the Well.


The Well being overlooked by ancient ruins. What a nice place this would have been to live 1,000 years ago.

About a half hour drive West of Campe Verde is a small town called Clarkdale (just Northwest of Cottonwood). Clarkdale houses some great ruins from the Sinagua culture. This Sinagua village is called Tuzigoot and it is some of the best preserved ruins we have seen. The National Park Service even lets you walk around and into some of the ruins.


Near the bottom of the ruins, you can still see where many rooms were located, and many matate's and mano's are visible.


Looking up to the well preserved and slightly restored top room. Pictures make it hard to realize actually how big this place is and was.


Looking down from the top room.


Inside the top room, the adobe really makes a difference in temperature as it is cooler in the room than it was outside.


A view of the lattia's used to make the ceiling. A very effective form of arcitecture using only what the land supplied.

After Tuzigoot, we decided to head to one of our favorite towns for lunch before heading back to Phoenix. Jerome is a quiet little artists community nestled on the side of Mingus Mountain. While we didn't take any pictures this time around, I did want to share that you cannot rely solely on your GPS unit. A good map and some knowledge of the area you are in are always important when traveling.


A sign clearly stating that your GPS is giving you the wrong directions. Always obey signs that say to keep out. Better to be safe than sorry.

And, the National Park Service says it best. When ever exploring public lands, please be respectful and not take artifacts, destroy the vegitation, and please always pack out what you brought in.



Remeber to Tread Lightly and Leave no Trace.