More GPS Woes and Change To Our Adventure Plans.

Our Location today is Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, Arizona, U.S.A.

As mentioned yesterday the Blogger-Fest for 2018 is being organized so if you are interested contact Shadowmoss to let her know you are coming. 

We are both slowly getting used to the Time Zone that we are in. The only thing that seems to be bothering Kathy more then myself is the short Daytime hours. The time between when the Sun rises and the Sun sets has gotten shorter. Gone are the Fifteen Hours of summertime days and even at the present Ten Hours of Sunlight the days are still growing shorter. With Kathy still recovering from a Bug she picked up, thanks to her taking the Antibiotics she has, watching the Sunrises is not on her to-do list at the present time. 

We were up shortly after 8:00 MST this morning and even though it was fairly cool we readied ourselves for our adventure. While Kathy made us some Sandwiches that we’d surely need on the trail I readied our Walking Sticks, Backpack and Hiking Bottles. After having read many Blogs that people out hiking had regretted wearing Short Pants and Lite-Weight Shoes we made certain we had Long Pants, Hiking Shoes and Hats to shield us from the Sun. 

Camp Verde Historical Museum and Tourist Information 

As we left the Dead Horse State Park we needed to stop for Diesel and surprisingly not all stations here carry it. Who knew how far we’d be driving today so Better Safe Than Sorry. With her driving instructions in hand and the GPS set to a silent mode we were soon on our way back out of Cottonwood the same way we had came in on 89A. We were heading back towards Camp Verde and I-17. 

By the time we reached that area due to the time spent finding Fuel it was already approaching Noon so Kathy suggest we get fast-food for lunch and save our Sandwiches for supper. Burger King was the easiest to get to so that’s where we ate. When paying for our meal the young Cashier was shocked when we paid by using Tap. She had never seen it done before. That happened to us last winter when another Cashier had thought that I’d broken his machine. There are things that the US is ahead on but when it comes to the Chipped Banking and Credit Cards they are years behind many countries including Canada. 

The size of a Five Story Building.

Leaving BK we started following roadside signs for our destination but when we stopped seeing more signs Kathy took the advice of our GPS and we ended up in Camp Verde. Tom was taking us down all the Dead-End Back Alleys it could before recalculating. We finally spotted the Camp Verde Historical Museum and Tourist Information and asked for directions. The volunteer was as helpful as could be but had us touring the entire town. When we left Camp Verde we simply ignored the signs and went back to I-17 and Ten Minutes later we were arriving at our destination. Looks like we need to update our GPS real soon. 

Kathy with Montezuma's Castle behind..

Now anyone that has ever been here is going to have a laugh. Remember all the hiking equipment we came prepared with. Our destination was Montezuma’s Castle. After parking the Truck and paying our Entry Fee we walked the Paved Paths and got to see the Cliff Dwellings of the Pueblo Inhabitants who lived here between the years 1100 AD to 1350. Before 1951 visitors used to be able to tour the Ruins themselves but due to Vandalism and Looting you can only see them from the paths below. 

Driving from one location to the other.

With all the Information Cards along the path it was easy to understand how this had been a thriving community near the Verde River that had grown their own food, made their own pottery and clothes. Looking at the Model of the Ruins it resembled a Modern-Day Apartment Building that had been built into the side of a cliff. It was a mystery why this location was eventually abandoned. 

Kathy climbing to the Well.

It was nearly 3:00 before we headed further up the highway to Montezuma’s Well. There were no Entrance Fees at this location though there were a couple of Rangers on duty to give information and to be certain people followed the posted Rules. This smaller attraction was more of a Workout then the Castle location. From the parking area you needed to climb up to the Rim of the Well where the Pueblo Inhabitants from the Castle would get their water from through times of Drought. 

Water down in the Well is speckled with Ducks.

The Well is fed from Underwater Springs that keep the water at 74 F and when we saw it today it was occupied by a number of Ducks. There were a few more Cliff Dwellings that had been used for storage purposes at this location. The ranger advised us to just take our time, rest when we needed and breathe. They also told us about the Paths that would take us down near the Water’s Edge where we could see the water escaping through a fracture in the surrounding rock wall. 

Kathy exploring behind the Well.

Rock resembling a Lion.

We somehow missed that first Path and found a second that took us to the outside of the Well. You could see the water escaping though a crack in the rocks and running to a nearby stream. That was interesting but Kathy wanted to retrace our steps to find the Path to get down near the Water. She always says “Who knows if we’ll ever be back here”? We made our way back to the top of the Well found the Path that took us 125 Steps down into the Well. There were more Dwellings near where the water was escaping through the rocks. Everywhere you looked you could imagine how an ancient civilization could have survived here. 

The Path down into the Well.

More Dwellings above the Yellow Tree.
More people on the Upper Left Rim.

After climbing the same 125 Steps back out of the Well as we were taking a brief rest when we met a young couple on their Honeymoon. They were traveling around visiting all the National Parks and Monuments while they could. 

Down near Water Level.

More faces in the rocks.

We took 89A through Cornville and were backing into our Site in Dead Horse State Park just minutes after 5:00. We enjoyed our Sandwiches and Snacks that had been packed for today’s adventure. There is no doubt that we’ll sleep like a couple of rocks tonight from all the Walking and Climbing we did today. Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment and click on the pictures to enlarge them. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Words of Inspiration

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.

Epictetus, Greek Philosopher