Happy Birthday to Ashton Norris, 13 years old! Happy Birthday to Noah Birt – 15 years old! Happy Birthday to Cole Guerra – 24 years old! We are so proud of all of you!!
Today we visited Tonto National Monument, the Cliff Dwellers near Roosevelt, AZ. It was a 1 1/2-hour drive and enroute we ran into a traffic jam on the highway. This was bumper to bumper on a four-lane highway and we first thought it may have been an accident but then we saw signs about a Renaissance Festival, in the middle of the desert about 30 minutes outside of Apache Junction. It’s held every year from the first part of February through April on Saturdays and Sundays. There were hundreds of cars there with more turning in to the festival and we decided we are going to check it out tomorrow.
It was a scenic drive here and at one point, we were at 4,600 elevations. Some of the mountains are covered in huge boulders, stacked on each other in precarious positions and others were simply huge mountains, with some snow-capped in the distance. This is a historic highway, the Apache Trail and it winds through the mountains, through passes, and down into valleys. We imagined how the early settlers would travel here and the difficulties they experienced. They were a hardy people.
Upon arrival at the visitor’s center at Tonto National Monument, we collected our cancellation stamp for our passport book and paid for the tour (not, we have the senior pass and it’s free!). The rangers told us about the logistics on how to walk with Justice up to the Cliff Dwellings and we started out. The views here are amazing, overlooking the valley and Lake Roosevelt with mountains surrounding it.
The trail is paved all the way up to the cliff dwellings but is at a steep incline for 1/2 mile. After we reached the cliff dwellings, we took turns to go into them to learn more about the ancient civilization who inhabited this region. From what we learned; the cliff dwellings were used about in the 13 &14th centuries after which, the people left them for unknown reasons and possibly assimilated into other nearby tribes. While in residence, the cliff dwellers traded with other villages for staples to survive and water was collected where the visitor’s center now stands. It would be quite a hike down to collect water everyday but certain that those who lived here were hardy people and quite adaptable to their environment.
It was truly an awesome visit to something we’ve always been curious about and so glad we took the time to visit here. We have a tendency to think of the United States as a young country in comparison to other countries, but today’s visit put it into perspective for us that we have ancient cultures, too.
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