Valley Verde

We left Tucson Monday morning and drove a couple hundred miles north to Valley Verde. I took some pictures along the way that I thought were interesting! The highway patrol sets up these unmanned cars with cameras and about a mile ahead warn you so you can slow down and go the speed limit and then you pass the car and go whatever speed you were going before. Not sure I find that too effective???? The Christmas decoration is in the middle of nowhere between 4 lanes of light traffic. Your guess as to what that is about is as good as mine!

Today I got my nails done and then Ted and I headed to Montezuma's Castle. It got Montezuma's name but he was actually not there.  They kept the name anyway! The Sinagua farmers began building this five-story 20-room dwelling in the 1100's. It stands in a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley. Some of the buildings were restored in the 1920's. Beaver Creek is close by to supply water and the ground was fertile for farming. They don't know for sure what happened to the Sinagua because they disappeared after 300 years. But they think they mixed with the Hopi Indians and left with them for some reason. You can't get inside the dwelling these days but get a good view from the ground below. The pictures in the second row are of Castle A. It is badly deteriorated but was once a six story building of 45 rooms.

Enjoying the cliff dwellings..."Ain't Life Grand!"