It was another cold morning today. I woke up, packed up camp and hit the road headed for Montezuma's Castle National Monument. I arrived at the site just after it opened and used the restroom there to change my clothes and brush my teeth. As I exited the restroom I discovered a tour bus had arrived. Uh oh, I figured I better go check out the site as quickly as possible to beat the hordes of whoever was on that bus.
The castle site is very interesting. It's set in a peaceful location along the Verde River
in a copse of sycamore trees. The castle itself is not open to the public. It is a high cliff dwelling that is reputed to one of the best preserved ancient sites in the southwest.
I walked the trail to great views of the castle and past some other archaeological sites along the river.
Besides the interesting antiquities, there were some interesting birds like a ladder-backed woodpecker
and this bird.
Is it an ovenbird? A thrush?
From Montezuma's Castle I drove to the other site included within the national monument, Montezuma's Well. I hadn't heard much about the well, but I actually found it to be more interesting than the castle. When I first arrived I headed to the picnic area where I made a nice hot breakfast of oatmeal and hot cocoa. The picnic area was very pleasant and a ranger was there giving a bird walk. I didn't join the walk but did see lots of birds around. The only ones I was able to positively identify were a few flickers. Near the picnic ground was an ancient section of irrigation ditch. It appeared to be lined with concrete, but was actually covered with calcite and other minerals that had precipitated out of the water which had once flowed through it.
After my breakfast I headed to the well itself.
The well is actually a collapsed section of sinkhole with ducks and other aquatic birds swimming around in its waters.
There is a trail that leads to its rim, with spurs that lead to Wet Beaver Creek and some ruins near the well's outlet. The whole place was just really interesting and at first glance it seems like an ingenious place to live. Unfortunately, for those who lived here, the water contains high levels of arsenic. Still, I enjoyed looking at the ruins,
the river,
and section of irrigation ditch that still carries water.
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