Well, that's what the sign said anyway, it's all about location. Water, plant and animal resources and farmland were all nearby. As a result, this was deemed an ideal place to settle and build homes a hundred feet up, under the limestone ledges in the cliffs of the Verde Valley.
Just so ya know, Montezuma had absolutely nothing to do with this "castle" nor they now think he even knew about it. Montezuma was an Aztec, and lived many years after this Pueblo was occupied and deserted. It's just that then-current thinkers associated all Native structures with Aztec life, so it was named after him.
Arizona Sycamores are the strongest wood around - stronger than oak and hickory even. The supporting beams inside the structure are over 700 years old and still doing their job.
There used to be sycamore ladders leading up to the tower and doorways, as well as a few inside, leading to the higher levels. Used to be, visitors were permitted to walk all around inside, but increased traffic led to the site's degradation and destruction, so in 1955, all access was banned.
Next up, just down the road, is Montezuma's Well. Again, absolutely nothing to do with Montezuma, but the name stuck. This is a limestone sink, created by ground water filtering through the ledge, many miles away, then hitting a horizontal and vertical basalt wall, that was impenetrable. Sooo, the water percolated back UP to the surface, here in this hole. Even during times or drought, the water level doesn't change, proving that water is still bubbling INTO the sink. During times of flood, the water level also doesn't change...that's because there are a couple of caves, over on the right, that act as an outlet for excess water. NOOOO, we did NOT go down there and explore the caves, though there were steps and we were free to do so. The Ranger at the Castle had asked us not to enter the caves, due to there being lots of guano (bat poop) and remains of humans still inside. If I had been comfortable with the steps, that sage advise would have been enough to scare me off. Don't worry, Mr. Ranger....we stayed up on top and out of trouble!
There were pueblo remnants here, too, way high up on the cliff sides of the well. I wondered how in the world they got into 'em....the walls did not divulge the answer to that question, but there was a poster that mentioned they carefully traversed the narrow ledges. Yikes.
We followed the pathway down and around, to the outlet for the caves, where the overflow was released. I thought I had taken a photo of the steps leading down to the creek. Apparently, I didn't. I did take several of my feet, though, I wonder if they were the resulting snaps. In my defense, it's really difficult to see my polarized screen, especially when the sunlight is strong and/or I'm wearing my sunglasses. Or the dog is pulling me, or I'm standing near the edge, or Driver is, or...you get the picture. Or, more likely, you DON'T, sorry.
This is where the water is actually released. And, boy, was it flowing at a rapid rate! I expected it to be ice cold, but it wasn't much cooler than the pool at the campground!
Two miles more over paved road, then another 1 over gravel, and we were at the Pit House ruins. This appeared to be a communal room, formed with materials that were on hand at the time. Today, only the floor with its holes remains. The 2 large holes in the center likely held roof supports, and the door is directly across from me in the back wall. The ruins are well covered, and the fragile dirt floor has had soil cement applied over it, so no more degradation should occur.
From there, we moved on down to the V Bar V ranch historic site....another immense rock wall full of petroglyphs. So far, over 1000 have been identified, and the local Hopi clan has made an attempt to educate the Rangers on some of the symbolism and stories told by their ancestors.
This is all that stands of the original ranch house - you can see the V Bar V brand that was built right into the corner chimney.
The people here were given the name Sinagua (Spanish, Sin (without) Agua (Water)), but no one really knows what they called themselves. What is known, is that they considered the Well their source of origination, and they used part of the 3 mile long wall of rock as their calendar, to aid, not in telling time, but determining when to sow the corn and when to reap it.
It's hard to tell here, but there is a vertical slab of rock (lighter colored, dead center) whose edge appears to be chiseled in such a way that the shadow cast is a PERFECT match for the profile of the San Francisco mountains, north of Flagstaff, and a couple hundred miles away. Remember when we drove here from Winslow, and we saw S#$%W on Humphrey's Peak? THAT was the San Francisco mountains. The shadow cast below is hard to see, but the Ranger provided a photo of the moutains, side by side with a photo of the stone and its shadow, and it was as if a tracing had been made! How DID they do that??
Off to the right, there is a break in the rock, that legend has it, is a portal for the spirits to return to the mountains and there is a large face-type petroglyph just to its left, that is said to be guardian of the portal. On our way back to the car, this modern portal caught my eye...Can you just imagine yourself, sitting on the front porch, looking up at that moutainside, where so many years prior, a whole entire population lived and died, then simply vanished from the area?
So, today was another long, hard day, and again, we missed our PBJ lunch, so we were pretty hungry by the time we started back to the camper. I had taken a couple of hamburgers out of the freezer, so dinner was planned, but it remained to be cooked. I also wanted to stop in at Basha's (the local grocer) to replenish our fruit supply, so it was suggested that we could also pick up a bag of frozen french fries. That sounded good, but I would still have to be cooking...and we had stopped in at Crusty's, the local pizza parlor earlier in the week, and we found out they used only mozzarella cheese......yup, you know where that went! I went into the grocery store, picked up some strawberries and UTAH peaches (I'm promised they will be delicious!) and Driver went next door to order our pizza. It was delivered, hot and fresh, taken home, and devoured in about 10 minutes! No cooking involved, thank you kindly! What's that? What about the puppy? Oh, don't you worry about her....oh no...SHE got her food around 4 pm, just a little later than normal. I've taken to packing her a generous portioned snack and her bowl, along with water for us all, every day. SHE eats, even when we're out on the roadside!
We got news tonight, that one of our dear friends and fellow square dancers had suffered a massive heart attack early Saturday morning and passed away as a result. Gene, you will be sorely missed, by us, and a whole slew of others. Kerry, we're so sorry for your loss, and we send you our deepest sympathies. We sincerely hope you will continue traveling and visiting all your Florida friends and dancing when you can, in his honor. I know he would want you to be brave and continue on. We hope our paths will cross again, sooner than later.
What's up for tomorrow, Monday? At this point, we don't really know. There is still a salt mine, coincidentally enough, down Salt Mine Road, that bears investigation. NO, we don't plan to return to Alcantara Vineyards; once down and back up that road was sufficient, thank you ever so much. NO, we don't plan to return to Jerome; again, once up and down that road was quite sufficient, thank you ever so much. In truth, we actually did consider returning to Jerome on Monday, when, hopefully, the crowds will be considerably less, but, well, there's that road....with sheer cliffs going up one side and down on the other....soooo, nah....we didn't really see anything up there that absolutely had to be seen up close and personal. Maybe in another lifetime, but not this one! Maybe we'll give the dog a bath- she could sure use one! But then again, maybe not, since it is nothing but dirt and pea gravel in our current site. Maybe that will wait until Tuesday, when we are on a better site and have more time.
Barbara S is on the road, traveling back to her home base, in Oregon, and Barbara & Charles A (and Molly) , as well as Gary & Gail, and Jennifer & Steve (and Bella!) should all be setting out for Florida real soon - y'all be careful and travel safe! Star & Rich - I think you're heading to Georgia - I know you'll be seen by several of our friends there, y'all be safe too, and keep on making those dreams come true and spreading smiles & joy everywhere you go!
