PART 5
A Visit to Tuzigoot
National Monument
The National Park Service maintains a website about this National Monument.
Much of what was said on my page about Montezuma's Castle also applies here. These dwellings were at their height in terms of occupancy in the 1300s and were abandoned in the 1400s. The building boom in these valleys (this is the Verde River Valley) began about 1150.
So all in all the village thrived for only a relatively short time. Relatively? Yes, when compared with other sites in Europe, Asia, or even the Americas, but of course the duration of their occupancy is a bit longer than the time the US has been in existence, which, to most of us who are not as old as our country, is a very long time.
My photo of the structure on its hilltop did not come out very good, but it gives an idea of its setting (can you tell there is a thunderstorm coming?):
We hurried out of the visitor center up the incline to the ruins, looking behind us to see how close the thunderstorm was getting: close--
To the left (southeast, I believe) lies the verdant Verde Valley with the town of Cottonwood in the near distance:
The path turns right at one point, dividing a lower set of rooms from a higher set with a lookout tower:
A modern stairway gave access to the roof of the tower:
One view down from the top was this one, giving a good view of the extent of this complex, which was mostly single-storied but had some sections that were two-storied:
This is a model of what it looked like when it was in use. Note that rooftops were areas in use for activities, and that access to the rooms was through the holes shown in the roofs:
Looking to the west shows that the current civilization still farms the same fields beside the river, still irrigating with river water. A big change is the use of pumps to move the water further from the river, or to tap into the river's underground flow through wells:
A glance to the north suggested that it was no longer smart to stay on top of this hilltop structure and act as lightning rod:
By the time we returned to the car, the storm's worst had passed (we took refuge in the visitor center) and the world was all wet --but not us, for a change!
Thanks for joining us on our end-of-Summer trip to Sedona and environs. We very much enjoyed it (except for a serious headache on my part).
We hope you enjoyed it too.
Go back to a wild ride to Schnebly Hill Overlook
Go back to a wet walk to Red Rock Crossing
Go back to a sunny time at the Red Rock Crossing
Go back to Montezuma's Castle National Monument
Go to 1998 photos of our previous Sedona trip
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