We drove up to Sedona as planned
this morning on I-17 towards Flagstaff. It is a two hour trip but we
stopped about 20 miles south of Sedona to visit a Native American archaeological site maintained as a national monument by the National Park Service.
The site is the Montezuma Castle National
Monument, a five-story, 20 room cliff dwelling built by the Southern Sinagua,
who flourished in the Verde Valley for thousands of years as hunters and
gatherers. The dwelling was built
sometime between 1100 and 1300 AD and occupies a cliff recess 100 feet above
the ground. Early settlers marveled at
the structure and assumed that is was Aztec in origin, hence the name
Montezuma’s Castle.
Adjacent to the main dwelling is a
badly deteriorated dwelling along the cliff base called Castle A. This dwelling was also once a five-story
structure with about 45 rooms. Occupants
found reliable water in a nearby creek and fertile land on the adjacent
terrace. The sites were abandoned around 1400 AD for unknown reasons when the
Sinagua migrated out of the area.
The site, designated as one of the
first national monuments, has now been saved from further destruction and
protected along with nearby sites Montezuma Wells and Tuzigoot. The visitors’ center displays are very
informative and a 1/3 mile loop trail provides excellent views of the structure
and the surrounding area. Entry into the
dwelling is no longer permitted.
We then went into Sedona and had an
excellent lunch at a Mexican Restaurant in an upscale shopping area called
Tlaquepaque, modeled after a Spanish shopping plaza. After lunch we walked around the complex, visiting
the many high-end art and jewelry stores and boutiques. Then, after a
refreshing Irish coffee at a restaurant in the complex, we checked into our
hotel.
After resting, we had a late dinner at an
Italian restaurant in town and retired for the night.
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