31 March 2018
Thousand Trails Resort
Cottonwood,AZ
Montezuma, that is. He was emperor of the Aztecs in Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. Montezuma Revenge is diarrhea suffered by travelers, especially visitors to Mexico.
Nope, it’s Montezuma’s Castle !
So if “he” was not there, nor does this place cause any “discomfort”, why is this cliff dwelling named Montezuma? Montezuma was never in Arizona. But what happened was that early White settlers mistakenly figured that the cliff dwelling had been built by Aztec refugees who fled Mexico during the Spanish conquest. The name stuck……and I’ll just leave the “revenge” alone….
Montezuma Castle is situated about 90 feet up a sheer limestone cliff, facing the adjacent Beaver Creek, which drains into the Verde River just north of Camp Verde.
It is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America, in part because of its ideal placement in a natural alcove that protects it from exposure to the elements. The precariousness of the dwelling’s location and its immense scale – almost 4,000 square feet of floor space across five stories – suggest that the Sinagua were daring builders and skilled engineers. Access into the structure was most likely permitted by a series of portable ladders, which made it difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.
It’s location made it almost impossible for intruders, whether man or animal (unless they brought their own ladders!), the valley was fertile, so they could farm, and they had fresh water. The Sycamore trees were huge.
We talked to a real nice volunteer, who told us stories and and pointed out a cave, way up high, and she asked what we thought was in it. Well, my first thought, it was a “man cave”…. nope, it was full of honey combs!
The top of the dwelling, is the original adobe (notice the lighter color). It is protected from the elements due to the large rock overhang and it faces south. The logs seen up there, which were part of the roof, are also original. There is low moisture (ah, hello, desert), so the logs are working on becoming petrified.
We had great weather, and this park was laid out with a nice sidewalks, scattered with storyboards. We enjoyed our visit.
