I was up with the dawn and typed away until Shar started moving. We weren’t in a hurry, Tuzigoot National Monument didn’t open until 8am and we were a short drive away. We took our time with some coffee, and putting Austin into Driving Mode. The odometer said we were 2078 miles into our trip.
I had been on the Earth 51 years and wanted to celebrate with coated steak covered in a slurry of water, flour, and sausage chunks. Add a few burned potatoes on the side, and two attempts of reproduction by a chicken heated into a solid oval, and you have a perfect birthday breakfast. We found what was I was looking for at Georgio’s Cafe before going the 10 minutes down the road to the national monument.
Tuzigoot was very much like the Citadel Pueblo we had visited earlier at the Wupatki National Monument; a larger pueblo situated so that it could see the surrounding area. This theme would also echo in the National Monuments at Montezuma’s Castle and Tonto. While all of these locations ancient peoples lived in are only separated by 200+ miles, the similarities between them are striking. These similarities include how they made food, construction techniques, tools they used, etc. It was clear to us that while these areas have different names, languages, and culture, the groups of people have a common ancestry.
Our big takeaway of the day was watching a video of a young man explaining the making of a clay pot. He was using the paddle and anvil technique and making a pot no bigger around than your hand. Even at this small size we learned the process took weeks to gather and process all the necessary materials before construction could begin. It was a very fascinating process and showed how much even the most simpler vessels must have been valued. No wonder they took time to decorate the ones they traded so beautifully.
Montezuma’s Castle and Tonto are cliff dwellings, the difference being the biome where they were located. Both had good access to water, but instead of trees, Tonto had our first look at the great Saguaro Cactus.
Montezuma’s Well, neither national monument have anything to do with Montezuma, is a large artisan pool 10 miles away from The Castle. We weren’t allowed to take a swim, unfortunately.
We had hoped to visit Casa Grande National Monument, but time and distance just didn’t allow it. Instead, we set our navigation to Tucson and a place to boondock for the night.
We found one we couldn’t pass up about two hours from Saguaro National Park, and about 30 minutes south of the town of Globe. It's a lovely spot in a wash off of Dribbling Springs Road, but you wouldn’t stay here during the monsoon season. We would have left the Austin’s hatch open all night, not just the windows, if we could have turned off the cargo area light. We later would learn that it will finally go off after 15 minutes if the hatch isn’t closed. Oh well.
It was still a peaceful night, the only noise coming from the occasional vehicle passing on the main road, and for the complete record I did end up beating Shar at cribbage.
Places Visitied:
Tuzigoot National Monument
Montezuma's Well
Montezuma's Castle National Monument
Tonto National Monument
Roosevelt Lake
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