I've shared several places to visit in Arizona - all within two or three hours of Mesa, Arizona. I call them my day trips. Granted, you might want to stop overnight somewhere, but you don't "have" to. You can actually go to Montezuma's Castle, near Camp Verde, just north of the Phoenix Valley, stop for lunch and be back home to Mesa within four hours.
Montezuma's Castle National Monument is a group of well-preserved cliff dwellings. I have included an excerpt from Wikipedia which is fascinating. These cliff dwellings are fascinating as well.
As a kid, we would actually crawl through them. This, of course, was before it was made into a national monument. I took my daughter and her children to see this spectacular area.
They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people around 1400 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to immigrants from the Montezuma Castle/Beaver Creek area. Clan members periodically return to their former homes for religious ceremonies. When European Americans discovered them in the 1860s, they named them for the Aztec emperor of Mexico Montezuma II, due to mistaken beliefs that the emperor had been connected to their construction.[1]
I definitely consider myself to be a beginner at photography, but do enjoy taking pictures and then sharing them online - especially her on Active Rain.
Enjoy the slideshow!!!!
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.216-3334 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit one of my websites: HomesAzRE.com, MoveToMesaAz.com or MoveToSunnyAz.com. Or stop by my blogs at: Active Rain; or Phoenix Valley Real Estate Blog.
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate. Call me at: 480.382-8711 for information on purchasing or selling a home in Mesa, Arizona or surrounding towns. OR email me: Teri@TeriEllis.com. Feel free to visit my website: HomesAzRE.com, or stop by my blogs at: MesaAzRealEstateVoice and AzLadyInRed!
Hi Teri,
Your photos are wonderful!
I visited this amazing place one before a few years back after a trip to beautiful Sedona. I couldn't believe my eyes, the fact that people actually lived their entire lives in these caves, just amazing.
And they let you kids play here at one time, yikes.
Teri, I love cliff dwellings and it is so close to your area. We need to see Carlsbad and other caves sometime. I did see some outside San Antonio once.
Teri- Amazing photos! I think those cliff dwellings are so cool looking! It is very interesting history too.
Very nice pictures Terri. You have a beautiful family too!
Teri, great photos. Your daughter looks like she's getting a well deserved post-graduation vacation. Looks like you had fun!
Hi Teri - Now that is really cool! This place looks awesome...I bet you had a lot of fun!
Teri
A lot
of work went into the castle. I hope he had a good pick axe.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Teri, I love your photos. I think the cliff dwellings are so neat. I am amazed some have stood the test of time. We dont have anything like that here in my area.
Hi Teri: Very interesting. Say, isn't there a place called Four Corners where there's more of that stuff? It's where four states come together, and I thought Arizona was one of those states.
Teri - very nice slideshow and presentation about Montezuma Castle - I have never seen it, but it is beautiful!!
Lynda, in the OLD days, there were no restrictions....thank heaven there are now. They were able to access their caves via ladders that they would drop down and pull up to keep safe from their predators.....they hauled in watter from the bottomless Montezuma well, up the way. ;-)
Pretty cool, huh?
Gary, they are, indeed, awesome. There are caves to see as well, and lots of other cool stuff. As I visit, I'll share. ;-)
Katerina, aren't they something? Appreciate what I live in these days, that's for sure. ;-)
Leolinda, thank you - as always for your comments. ;-)
Mark, she loves going to the places I did as a child....and loves for her children to experience these great spots. ;-)
Bill, it is absolutely awesome....;-) We did, thank you. ;-)
Tom, probably had pick axes in those days do you think? ;-)
Audrey, thanks so much. It is amazing how many years they've been there isn't it? ;-)
Elizabeth, there is a place called Four Corners...where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico....touch corners. I'll visit there some day...don't think I've been there yet, and didn't know they had cliff dwellings. There's another place by Roosevelt Lake that has them I believe. ;-)
Sharon, glad you enjoyed the slideshow....it is an amazing place. ;-)