Indian Ruins of Central Arizona

Tuzigoot National Monument

When I lived in Arizona, one of my favorite places to see while traveling north along Highway 17 was Verde Valley. The highway crests a hill and suddenly the view of a lush green valley opens up. As the highway descends into the valley, the green fields and bright green of the cottonwood trees are a stark contrast to the dry surrounding desert. Vermillian cliffs surround the valley while snow-capped mountains peak over the rim. It is a stunning view.

View from the top of Tuzigoot NM. Cottonwood trees line the Verde River. The ghost town of Jerome sits on the side of the distant mountains.

The Indians who came here 1400 years ago traveled along the Verde River valley. Like people of today, they liked to settle near water or on hilltops. One such group, the Sinagua, settled on a hill overlooking the Verde River. They were close enough to the river for water, but high enough to avoid the floodwaters when the river overflowed its banks.

Tuzigoot ruins sit on a hilltop

We don’t know much about these people. Their multi-room settlement was similar in construction to many other pueblos found in New Mexico, Colorado and southern Arizona which means they traveled frequently to each others’ settlements. The relics found, as well as the construction of their dwellings, show evidence of this.

View from the ruins looking down toward the Verde River

The Sinagua people eventually moved north and the walls crumbled and became buried and forgotten until the 1880s when two men from Smithsonian Institute began excavating the site. They gave the name “Tuzigoot” to this site. Tuzigoot is a corrupted form of the Tonto Apache name Tú Digiz, the name for this stretch of the Verde River. It is translated “Crooked Water.”

Typical wall construction was of adobe and stone.
Roof construction was of logs from trees growing by the nearby Verde River.
To preserved the structure, mortar is regularly replaced with a mixture similar to the original.

Since taking a pottery class many years ago, I have always been interested in pottery from historical sites. These pots were probably made by coil rope construction, smoothed, glazed and fired in a pit in the ground. What amazed me about these pots was their size!

Large pots probably for water storage.
Pottery imported from neighboring areas show that the desert people traveled and traded with one another.
Grinding stone for grinding corn into flour.
Wildlife is plentiful along the Verde River.

Along the walkway several indigenous plants were labeled. Isn’t this Hedgehog Cactus cute?

Cane Cholla Cactus is easily caught on clothing and shoes while walking by.

Today visitors can enjoy walking through the rooms of this ancient Indian village, see the displays of artifacts that were discovered here, and enjoy the beautiful views from atop the historical mound.

Montezuma’s Castle National Monument

Less than 25 miles away is another ancient ruin known as Montezuma’s Castle National Monument which was also occupied by Sinagua people. It was misnamed by early discoverers of the site who thought that it was built by the Aztec Indians of Mexico.

Montezuma’s Castle cliff dwellings

This pueblo cliff dwelling is an impressive five-story 20 room dwelling accessed by ladders during the time it was in use. It was south-facing, so it got the warmth of the winter sun. In summer, it was cool because of the shade from the cliffs.

Nearby, Beaver Creek kept the cliff dwellers supplied with water for living and gardening. The Indians grew crops of corn, beans and squash which were known as the Three Sisters because of how the plants worked together to sustain each other.

The beans climbed the corn stalks to reach sunlight, while supporting the corn from the winds, while the squash was a ground cover that kept the soil moist and discouraged the weeds. The beans, a legume, also enriched the soil. Do you grow these plants in your garden?

The pathway to the ruins is a short pleasant walk from the Visitors’ Center.
One can see the similarities between these rock walls and the ones at Tuzigoot.

The day we visited, Beaver Creek was a rushing torrent from recent rains. The pathway to the creek was cordoned off to visitors. The Ranger told us that in a previous year, the creek had overflowed and the water came up to the bottom of the cliff. Maybe this is why the Indians built their pueblos way above the water.

Looking toward Beaver Creek, this area was where they grew their crops.

Montezuma’s Well

About 10 miles north of Montezuma’s Castle is Montezuma’s Well. Instead of taking us on paved roads, our GPS took us the long way. I couldn’t believe such a popular national monument would be accessed by a three mile dirt road. It dawned on us that there was a better way when we reached the entrance to the Monument. There was the paved road we were looking for. On our return route we followed the paved road back to Rimrock from which we were able to access Interstate 17.

Montezuma’s Well and cliff dwellings

There is a short climb up to the rim overlooking Montezuma’s Well. The well is an ancient sinkhole that is fed by an underground spring of over 1.5 million gallons of water each day. The spring waters are from rain and snow that fall on the nearby Mogollon Rim which then seeps through the rock until it reaches the spring. Pressure pushes the water up to the surface. It is said that the water takes as long as 10,000 years to travel from the Rim to the Well.

The well is deep. Millions of gallons of water flow into and out of the well.

The water exits the well through underground streams and a cave system which drains into an ancient irrigation canal. The water level remains constant, as well as the temperature of the water which averages 70 degrees F. However, because the water has a high alkalinity and an excessive amount of dissolved carbon dioxide–more than 100 times higher than normal–fish cannot survive.

Fish can’t live in the water, but thousands of leeches live here.

The depth of the well is unknown because of the pressure of the water. Divers have discovered a “false bottom” at around 60 feet of pressurized groundwater that holds a column of fluidized sand in suspension. The fluidized sand rises from two deep vents in the floor of the well. One is 124 feet deep and the other is 74 feet deep. But previous measurements measured 137′ and 95′. So, we can just say, it’s deep.

Pueblo dwellings in the rocks above Montezuma’s Well

The people who built homes near Montezuma’s Well were the Hohokam and later the Sinagua.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Leaving the Verde Valley area, we traveled south to Mesa, Arizona. One afternoon we drove south, halfway to Tucson to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. This “Grand House” was probably built in the 1300’s, which is the time period of the founding of the Byzantine Empire, the 100 years war, and the black death or bubonic plague in Europe. These desert people had already been using irrigation methods for hundreds of years to grow their crops.

A metal structure over the ruins keeps it from deteriorating.

Archeologists are not sure of the purpose of this grand structure. However, because of the construction they believe it was well planned and organized. The builders used caliche, a natural concrete-like material found under the soil around this region. They used it to build houses with solid walls and flat roofs covered with this caliche substance.

Walls were made from caliche, a concrete-like material found in the ground.

These desert people were given the name “Hohokam.” It is not really the name of a tribe or people. The name may have come from “huhugam,” an O’Odham word that means ancestors. Today these people are referred to as Sonoran Desert people. By the way, Hohokam is the name of the grade school I attended. Our elementary schools were named after Indian tribes.

A pigeon makes its home among the walls of the ruins. Note the etched name and date below it.

When I took the photo above, I didn’t notice the name and date etched on the wall. It is a good thing that people like Mary Hemenway and President Benjamin Harrison took steps to preserve the ruins for future generations from vandalism and looting. Mary Hemenway was a wealthy woman who sponsored archaeological expeditions. One expedition to Casa Grande Ruins alerted her to the vandalism. She made efforts to preserve the site and as a result, it became the first federal prehistoric and cultural reservation by President Harrison in 1892.

One of the purposes of this structure might have been a calendar. Some of the holes line up directly with the sun on the summer and winter solstices.

In later years, the village homes were grouped into caliche-walled compounds which were arranged around public plazas and public structures. The Grand House or Casa Grande was at the center of this settlement.

These desert people were identified by their type of pottery called “red-on-buff.” This beautiful piece of pottery below is an example of the techniques used in creating their pottery. In my opinion, the dark portions on this pot look to me like leaves of some plant that they tied around the neck of the pot while being fired which left these unusual designs.

This pot below looks similar in design to the one above with the plant-like designs.

These desert people also enjoyed games. There are over 200 oval-shaped, structures with earthen sides located in large Hohokam villages in southern and central Arizona. Archaeologists have speculated that some kind of game was played within these courts with two teams using a hard rubber or stone ball. Round discs were found that might also have been used in other games.

The map below shows many places around Arizona where the Sonoran desert people lived and moved. Eventually, they all left for unknown reasons. It may have been drought, floods, disease, invasion, earthquakes, internal strife or salinization of farmland. We don’t know. Yet we can still appreciate the structures, relics and places they left behind and marvel at their ingenuity.

I am glad we took time to see these places, having never visited any except Montezuma’s Castle when I was growing up. I don’t think I appreciated the contributions these people made to Arizona history. It’s a shame that Hohokam school didn’t teach us anything about the people that our school was named after. I think it would have made a big impression on me to have learned about them and to have visited Casa Grande National Monument.

But the moral of the story is, explore your own backyard. You never know what you might be missing!

Arizona, Texas and California

March, April and May 2021

While we were in the Cottonwood area, we visited a few other places nearby. Jerome, 9 miles away, is a ghost town that has come back to life. It is now a tourist trap. Jerome State Historic Park is worth visiting.

The “ghost town” of Jerome is coming alive once more.

We drove the windy road through Jerome to Prescott, Arizona, where I spent one summer of my life as a kitchen helper at Prescott Pines Campground. The campground is a few miles outside of town. In many ways it looked the same, just updated.

The chapel at Prescott Pines Campground where I worked as kitchen staff in 1972.

While we were in Cottonwood, we flew to Texas for a week-long stay with my dad while my sister was on vacation. We visited Round Rock, Texas, a pretty little town and the home of the beautiful historic Woodbine Mansion which is now a wedding venue.

Round Rock, Texas, main street.
Woodbine Mansion in Round Rock, Texas

Another day, we visited the Texas Military Museum in Austin. It was large, so we saw just a small portion of it. We plan to visit it again someday.

Texas Military Museum

When we got back to Cottonwood, it was time to head back to California for the birth of our 10th grandchild. We used our Harvest Host membership for the first time and stayed overnight in the parking lot of Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner about 10 miles from Barstow, California.

Inside gift shop at Peggy Sue’s 50s Diner

We stayed at our Thousand Trails Encore park in Oceano until our grandchild was born, helping the family with meals and laundry and other such things. Getting to be around the grandkids is always fun, but we made sure we took time for a side trip to Morro Bay for a lunch near the water.

Morro Bay, CA, marina

With the new baby welcomed, we made one last visit to our storage unit before heading north for our summer travels. The campground where we like to stay is in Oakhurst, CA. There is a beautiful little waterfall and wildflowers just behind the campsites and plenty of shade.

Our waterfall at Oakhurst, CA.
Wildflowers at Oakhurst, CA.
Our campsite at Oakhurst, CA.

Cottonwood, Arizona

February, 2021

We probably moved too soon to Cottonwood, Arizona, in mid-February. The elevation of Cottonwood is 2,000 feet higher than the Phoenix area. The first couple of nights the pipes froze that supplied our water. After that, we left the water dripping during the night. The days were warm and pleasant, however.

DEAD HORSE RANCH STATE PARK

We took a day trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park. There is a story about how it got its name. Calvin Ireys bought the ranch in 1950. The first time the family looked at the ranch to purchase, they saw a dead horse lying in a field. After buying the property, they named it Dead Horse Ranch. In 1971, Ireys sold the ranch to the state for a state park. Today the park is 423 acres with 10 miles of hiking trails, 150 campground sites and several picnic areas.

We took a walk on the “Canopy” trail which is just a quarter of a mile long.

Canopy Trail Dead Horse Ranch State Park
Canopy Trail
Canopy Trail
Canopy trail to bird feeders

We sat on a bench and watched the birds at the bird feeders.

Canopy trail
Bird feeder at Canopy Trail

Later we took a short hike down this trail by the Verde River.

Trail to Verde River, Dead Horse Ranch State Park
Verde River

“Verde” means “green” in Spanish, and it is green! The cottonwood trees that surround the river on both sides were dormant. In spring or summer, they would be a brilliant lush green.

Verde River

We saw some horseback riders.

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Later we drove around the park and found the “West Lagoon”. I got out to take some photos and walked on the pathway that goes completely around the lagoon. (about .7 miles)

Lagoon at Dead Horse Ranch State Park

The lagoon was home to much wildlife.

We got some exercise and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife. It would be nice to see the Cottonwood trees (which the town is named after) in spring and summer when they have their full foliage. It’s a bright green, which gives another reason for the name Verde Valley. The entire valley is a green oasis in the desert, surrounded by red rock rimmed mountains. It’s a place to see!

The Airstream reflects the evening sunset in Cottonwood, AZ.