Summer 2013 - Southwest
Take Two
Williams, AZ
August 7, 2013
Area Map
Photographs and Commentary
Click on picture to enlarge
Today we traveled to the Sedona area. In 1995, Susie, the kids and I came through Sedona when we decided to take the scenic route (and that it is) from Flagstaff to Phoenix. We stopped in the center of town and on we went. We once again traveled on scenic route 89A through the mountains and down into the town... a beautiful ride from pine forests to the red rocks. This time we stopped and walked around the center of town looking at the shops and the scenery. I think that if I lived in this town, I would never tire of looking out at the world around me. After strolling through this part of town we headed south on route 89A and saw a whole different part of town where the shopping malls and fast food joints exist.
We turned off route 89A and drove through Cottonwood and quaint Old Cottonwood to Tuzigoot National Monument, an abandoned pueblo on a hilltop overlooking the Verde River Valley. A small part of the ruins was closed for architectural preservation, but we covered enough of the excavated area to get a feel for what the pueblo was like. The pueblo was established around 1,000 AD and abandoned about 400 years later. The people apparently moved to to the Hopi area in Northeastern Arizona. This was not a large ruin like the others we visited near Albuquerque, so it didn't take long to see what was to be seen.
We left Tuzigoot backtracking through Cottonwood and then continuing south on route 89A until we reached Camp Verde, AZ. Just north of Camp Verde is Montezuma's Castle National Monument, another ruin. Unlike the others we have seen so far on this trip, this is a cliff dwelling. The "castle" is a multi-story, multi-room dwelling with the floors interconnected internally. There were other dwelling that were carved out of the cliff adjacent to the castle. The Montezuma name came from an assumption by early settlers that this was an Aztec ruin. Like Tuzigoot, these dwellings were abandoned in the early 1400s and the people migrated to Northeastern Arizona. After walking through the area we headed back to Williams.
SEDONA SCENES
We saw these two sculptures on the main street in town. They were part of a set called Javelinas on Parade. The sculpture on the right is called "Mamacita de las Flores" by Susan Kliewer. The other one is called "Hairalina" by Liam Herbert.
Picture by Susie (added 2013-08-10)
Tuzigoot National Monument
Grinding Stones
Where is Susie?
Montezuma National Monument
Montezuma Castle
Right, The poor neighbors
Until the early 1950s you could go up ladders to the Castle. The National Park Service decided that visitor traffic was damaging the site so they closed it. In order for people to get a feeling for what the Castle looked like when occupied, the NPS had this diorama made.
As Seen on the Road
This is advertised to be the world's largest Kokopelli. It is located just off the I-17 exit in Camp Verde, AZ