Sunday. Funday. Happy 100th birthday to the National Park System. Mom, Audra and I decided to celebrate by taking advantage of the free admission being offered this week. Fortunate to have such varying places so close to home.
Montezuma's Well. 15million gallons of Natural spring water is fed into the well daily. It is believed that people have inhabited this area for 10,000 years. You may be able to spot some cliff dwellings on the far side of the lake.
Water. Guessing that the water from Montezuma's Well would give you a fierce case of Montezumas' Revenge.
Something about being in such a dry climate that makes any water an Oasis. Tempting to not just jump in. Probably a good thing I didn't go in the middle of summer. I probably would have stripped down and been in the water before I had a chance to think about it.
They found a rattlesnake. Smart idea to have the snakes head inclosed. I've seen some rattlesnake bites and it's not pretty. Good luck ladies, glad you are holding the snake and not me.
Montezuma's Castle. 1100-1425 AD comprised of approx. 20 rooms and took over 3 centuries to build. It's pretty neat that such a huge structure still exists after all these years and is so accessible to get to.
Tuzigoot. Another Native American structure found in the Verde Valley. Had over 100 rooms. Curious how hard it was to get in and out of this structure in it's hayday. 3 parks, no fees. Really can't complain about that. We ended the day by going to Jerome. An old copper mining town that is now a fun community with restaurants, artist shops and plenty of tourists.
Exploring the town.
Apparently the population of Jerome is 454 which is hard to believe with the number of cars and people around.
Would be fun to go back and do one of the tours again. It has been quite a few years since I have been.
Looking out from Jerome. Check out that clear, blue AZ sky. A beautiful day for some sightseeing.
