After bidding farewell to Marge and Diana, Natalie and I
knew it was time to start heading home.
With west-to-east travel working against us now, and knowing the drive
west was exhausting, we opted to break it up a bit and do some sight-seeing so
there would not be long stretches in the car.
Heading north out of the greater Phoenix Area, and
marveling at the lenticular clouds along the way, Montezuma’s Castle was the
first stop. Not to be confused with
White Castle, this location has nothing to do with Montezuma (the Aztec Ruler) and
was not built for defense.
Constructed around 1100AD, the Sinagua (SIN-uh-wah) are
thought to have built this structure in the cliff face so they would not gobble
up valuable farming real estate in the valley below. With an array of farming skills and a vibrant
trade with other groups in the region, a permanent settlement made good
sense. The south facing structure would get valuable
winter sun. Sadly, this location was
picked over by treasure seekers decades before it became a National Park site
in 1906 (Thanks Teddy! You da man!).
Official archaeological work was never done. To this day, no one is allowed up into the
“Castle” aside from staff excursions that are only done twice a year.
Birding was not particularly strong. With the heat of the
day, much of the bird activity had died off.
Of note where the Cliff Swallows that had built their mud-jug nests in
the cliffs. There is no doubt in my mind
that these birds were the same one sharing the cliffs with the Sinagua. Well, not the same birds…the same species….
The Sinauga did not disappear, by the way. Historians suggest
they simply left over time and became a part of other cultures of the
region. In this case, there is a sharp
difference between “disappear” and “assimilate.”
With the Verde River literally right below them and
Montezuma Well not far, the Sinagua had more access to water than many people
would think. Unfortunately for them, the Flagstaff Brewing Company, in
Flagstaff, would not be around for another 900 years. The Great Golden Ale, Weisspread Wheat, Bubbaganouj
IPA, and Blackbird Porter (#1,275- 1,278) were all excellent, with the Wheat
and Porter being especially good. I had
no complaints about raspberry turkey sandwich, either!
Pressing on from Flagstaff, a mandatory detour was made
through the Petrified Forest National Park.
Early Europeans traveling the region literally tried to burn the trees,
more or less oblivious to the fact that the trees (growing there 250 million years
beforehand) had been petrified. Our
drive through the park was punctuated by gray skies and the occasional rains
shower and lighting shot in the distance. But that did not stop us from
enjoying the time. No way.
The vibrant colors, when the sun broke the clouds, were enough to make us say “Wow” as
often as Mitt Romney changes his mind.
The view of “Newspaper Rock” showed more ancient graffiti while walking
in and around Puerco Pueblo was simply tremendous. Built around the 1200’s (or so) this was
actually a large community housing perhaps 125 people. The Kiva, resembling a primitive hot-tub, was
used for religious ceremonies. (Reports that Hugh Hefner used the Kiva as a hot-tub hundreds of years ago can not be confirmed or denied by archaeologists. Maybe his Bunnies were just Jack Rabbits.) By 1380,
everyone left after the structures were burned. No one knows why.
Like Montezuma’s Castle, the place was not particularly
birdy. Rock Wren. Ravens.
A Phainopepla. That was about it,
really. But so what. 800-year old rock
carvings? Cool.
With any storm (that aroma!) comes the possibility
of a rainbow. Folks, we saw the fabled double rainbow. While my picture does
not show it well, it is there. For the
record, we did not have the same reaction as this guy.
With the sun setting behind us (and the park now closed
preventing evening photography at the Painted Desert), we pressed on to Grants,
New Mexico for the night.
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