Location, Location, Location! Montezuma Castle and Well and More Petroglyphs

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!

What the heck IS that? And where did they go today?

What the heck is THAT?  We left our Meteor Crater RV Park (after collecting a small bag full of Granny Smiths, that just so happened to be hanging low enough to reach), and headed west.  You know what they say, Go West, young man, go West.  And being as we're still young, we heeded the sage advice.  Besides, it got down to 48 degrees the night before, and I had to break out a coat, so it was time!  Sooo, we only got about 3 miles down the road, and look what was in our sights!  Holy crap!  If I am correct, that is Humphrey's Peak, elevation 12,633 feet.  And we're headed that way!  We turn South when we get to Flagstaff, so we can only hope that stuff stays in place!

 It wasn't too far along, shortly after we passed by Flagstaff and turned south that we began to see warning signs.  Warning for what, what could possibly be coming up on such a pretty ride?  Well, steep grades, apparently.

And sharp curves, with short little guard rails.  And looooong drop-offs!

Lovely views, when I had enough courage to peep out the window.

I know you can't read that sign....even if you blow it up, you can't read that sign.  Or maybe you can, I dunno.  Personally, I find the letters pretty blurry.  But, as I recall, they warned that there was a runaway truck ramp, 10 miles ahead.  How comforting.  Only 10 hair-raising, white knuckled, pants-pooping miles ahead.  I'm soooo glad we didn't have to use it!!  It was only a couple of weeks ago that RV Newsletter had mountain-driving tips, and we had the discussion about how and when to apply the brakes.  And, after having just replaced those in the car, I'm doubly glad we don't have to replace those in the coach!  Pretty sure I'd rather use that money for ice cream!

Here we are back up in the mile high club...

And, please enlighten me...what kind of animal is this majestic beast?  We never saw one off the signs, but we were definitely on the lookout!

Someone had a sick sense of humor...Only 14 miles to go!

 Oh, yay, Sedona!  That was one of the places I was hoping we could go to.  Just like Garden of the Gods, I had been there AGES ago, but only in passing through, hardly remember it, but know it was someplace I would like to return to and see again, this time, paying more attention.  And with a camera.

The campground was pretty easy to find...it was right at exit 233, just as the GPS indicated.  Only it was LEFT, not right, as she said.  Thankfully, my Driver knows to listen to ME, not her whenever there's a discrepancy.  So when we pulled it, it appeared to be still under construction!  There were a couple of guys building a stone column out front, there was a metal structure being welded, the trees were newly planted, and none of the roads had names or directional indicators.  Hmmm...but there ARE a few other campers in place...let's see.  Last week, when we had to change our reservation date, we (and I'm using that term loosely!) also discovered that the park takes Passport America discount card, but only for 7 days.  Well, we are only staying 7 days!  Soooo, we called back, after changing our arrival & departure dates, and asked if we could also use the Passport America discount.  She suggested probably not, but she would give it a go.  Surprise!  It worked, so when we checked in, we only owed a grand total of about $22!  And she neglected to charge us the $25 early check-in fee (before 2 pm is early, to them!) or the $20 pet fee!  Yippee, we scored!  Saved us almost 200 bucks!!

What we did NOT know is that it only opened up in August!  We had made our reservations way back in June, I think, so I guess it was just lucky that we found the place!

That's Dick, heading in to the clubhouse.  They have a lovely water feature out front - it's that silver globe...there is water bubbling out the top and coating the globe as it falls into a rock basin.

The pool is heated with a beautiful paver deck with a huge firebowl and TWO sunken hot tubs!

Inside is spacious and has every amenity you might want.  Billiards, shuffleboard, magazines, cozy seating, full kitchen and eat-at bar, double sided fireplace, a full fitness room, with brand new workout machines, not someone's old castoffs, card room, bathrooms, laundry, big TV's, cable and internet.  FREE internet and cable, throughout the park!

Here is our site - plenty long enough for us to stay hooked up to our tow dolly, and plenty wide enough for us to walk on either side, even with our slide outs extended.

This is the view out our front window.  Nice, wide street, and then a field.  Off in the distance are the mountains.

Soooo, I know y'all didn't come here for an RV park review.  You want to see where we go and what we do, right?  Yeah, I hear you, loud and clear.  And, so, you ask, I shall provide.  We came up with a plan that we would tour Camp Verde (the town and the Fort) Saturday morning, and then head on over to Montezuma Castle and Well.  

So, Fort Verde, here we come!  But first, a geocache was in order. We started out ok, finding a geocache right away....well, we found where it WAS, but it's not there any more.  We also found the cache owner, who is also the store owner, and he 'fessed up, yup, that's where it should have been hanging.  He was also easily distracted and had some fuzzy math, when it came time to pricing the 2 bolo ties we found for sale in his shop.  Even MY math was not as fuzzy as his. And after that...we stumbled on a parade!  A parade of antique cars!  

If you're reading this in your email, you can click HERE to view it directly from YouTube.

On to the Fort, which is now an Arizona State Park.  No Golden Age pass, no military, no old geezer discounts.  Only discount is for AZ residents, and even though we plan to be here the next 3 months, that didn't count.  Oh well.  

So here's a little story on how this Verde Valley came to be.  Interesting stuff!

Then the Park Ranger, who was dressed in period costume, encouraged (coerced!) us into our own costumes.  Poor Dick, his was wool.  Mine was a simple cotton frock, that I couldn't button in the back, so it kinda hung off.  Bailey was barely cooperative, but we did get one good sit out of her!

The adobe walls are 16 inches thick, making the buildings pretty cool, even though the day was already warm.  Yes, farther south, lower elevation, warmer already!

This was the Commander's quarters.  And only as long as he was the highest ranking officer on base.  If a higher rank came to visit or stay, HE got the Commander's quarters for as long as he was stationed here, and the previously ranked officer had to move into the married soldiers' quarters.  Sometimes, they had as many as 10 families bunked up together.  The only other two buildings remaining from the Fort's prime were the married soldiers' quarters and the surgeon's quarters.  Both were quite a bit simpler and less ornately furnished than the Commander's quarters.

On the other side of the picket fence, at the end of the field, was what they call a "power shovel," the precursor to today's backhoe, I guess.  This particular one was used in the Salt Mine down the road (that is an excursion for another day!).

As we were walking back to the car, we passed by a small rock building which was identified as the Camp Verde Jail, built in 1933, by the Civil Works Administration, serving as a jail until the early 60's.  It's available for rent, today, just in case you're interested, but it's only open to the public on Tuesdays.  That would be Yesterday, for those of you keeping track.

So, back to the plan.  Except for one thing.  I had woken up with a splitting headache, taken some ibuprofen, and still had my headache, only it was worse.  I was getting confused and tired, and really didn't feel up to touring Montezuma Castle at the moment.  I wanted to be clear headed and be able to enjoy the trip, so we looked on my phone and the Geocaching app indicated there was one not too awfully far away, down at Clear Creek Church.  But, first we stopped back in at the Museum, which had been closed the first time we tried to enter.  It was open now, and I totally forgot there were signs posted all over saying NO PHOTOS, and yeaaaah.... I took a couple.  I knew we were going to the Church, so I snapped a couple for you..

And here's the real thing.  Cute little church, also available for rentals today.

Lo and behold, the cache.  Being guarded by someone with more legs than I have.

We still had time, and my headache was slightly subsiding by now (maybe the stuffiness/moldiness) of the old artifacts and garments in the Fort were exacerbating things??) so we decided to head down the road a bit farther to Clear Creek Vineyards.  Turns out, there is only one owner, an older gentleman, and he has turned an old(er!) schoolie into a party bus!  It, too, is available for rentals!!  Cmon, I know you want to go for a ride!!

Here he is demonstrating how he has to push air down into the grapes to keep the fermentation going.  One of us got talked into a tasting, but we took the smaller one, only 3 wines for $6.  A little pricey, but we sort of felt obligated after getting the tour and taking up his time.  I would have preferred to buy some of his free range eggs, but he trades them (and wine) for food.  Yeah, he's not indigent, but he is single, and he doesn't cook.  So he trades veggies, wine & eggs in return cooked dishes every night.  Nope, didn't buy any wine.  Didn't find one we liked, sorry.

So, the rains hadn't started yet, actually, haven't even appeared on the horizon yet...and we still had some GO in us, so we headed up to Alcantera Vineyards.  We crossed over a cattle guard, so we shouldn't have been surprised...but, we were surprised to see them so very close to the road!  There were several heifers just chowin' down, but this was the prettiest and only one that showed her face.  Didn't think you'd be all that interested in pictures of cows' butts.

Can you see the terraces going up to the top of that mesa?  THAT's the vineyard!

 

When we wound our way down to the river (Verde River), we saw this stately structure.  Actually, truth be told, we knew the tastings would be over shortly, and we knew we would want to return on Friday or Saturday, when tours were available, but the road was so darn narrow, and windy, and STEEP, there just was nowhere to turn around safely, so we just kept going.  All the way down to the actual winery, where we could turn around in the parking lot.  Then we had to go back UP the windy, narrow and STEEP road.  Thank God it was paved!!Apparently, it wasn't always, and the asphalt was a recent improvement.

 You can see all the work that went into making these stone walled terraces.  Wow.

By now, though, it was time to head home.  Three little (HA!) bellies were beginning to voice their opposition to staying out any longer!

A big shout out to Lora & John, who left for Iowa yesterday, for her mom's wedding to a 93 year old suitor!  Lora & John are the reason we've come to this part of the country, and they'll be back in town a couple of weeks after WE get in town, then they'll be able to take Dick on all those hikes he wants to go on.  And Lora is big into the photography club, and he has the same brand of camera as hers, so she can show him some tricks.  Or at least how to work it.  Or maybe just get it back to default settings so he can see what he's doing.  We'll see.

Tomorrow we will visit another vineyard or maybe go up to Jerome and Clarkdale.  Or maybe Montezuma Castle and Well.  Who knows.  Just load up the car, suit up the pup, and let's ride!