Another view of Tuzigoot from Dead Horse State Park across Verde River from Tuzigoot
This picture shows the cliff dwelling built by the Sinagua Indians about 1125 to 1450. There are several areas around the Arizona and surrounding states where there are Indian ruins. At this site there are two living areas like this but the other one was destroyed by fire gutting the dwelling and it was never built back. The Sinaguian Indians mysteriously disappeared from this area around 1450. They also left Tuzigoot about the same time.
This is a hot air balloon that went over our canpground several times the three weeks we were there. You could ride in it for a fee but we never did, I don't know why not, it really looked like fun.
This is a picture of our camper and truck at our campsite at Verde Valley Thousand Trails campground. You can see some hills in the background. A very pleasant campground and all three of us really enjoyed it.
This is a picture of Helen and me "Standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona" a monument to the song and the original Route 66It has been too long I know since we posted anything so I will try to catch you up on our adventures. We will have been here in Verde Valley thirty-eight day when we move this coming Thursday, October 16. We have stayed at three campgrounds in the Verde Valley area which are from eight to twenty miles apart.They are in Cornville, AZ, Cottonwood, AZ, and Camp Verde, AZ. There has been much to see and do and we have really enjoyed it here. This has been the longest that we have stayed in any area since we started full-timing in August of 2007. It is beginning to kind of feel like home it is so peaceful and pleasant here.
Some places we have seen since our last post are Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, Dead Horse State Park, Out of Africa Park and Zoo, and a trip to Winslow, AZ to visit Helen's nephew and his family. While we were there we went to the monument to Route 66 "Standing on the Corner of Winslow, AZ". We also went to a state park that was a army fort when this area was just being settled.
We also took another six mile hike back West Oak Creek Trail. What a pleasant canyon. If I had to pick a place on this earth to live out the rest of my days this would be the place if not too many other people came there and if I could get Helen to live in a tent with no electricity. We crossed West Fork Oak Creek twenty-six times on the six mile round trip. There are high colorful cliffs, so high you had to look strait up to see the top. Lots of huge Ponderosa pine, Sycamore trees,Cottonwood, and oak. Some one maybe a hundred years or more ago homesteaded the canyon and had an apple orchard and
chisled a food storage place right into the solid rock cliff. After they abandoned the homestead someone built a lodge there and several famous people stayed there one of which was Zane Gray. I can't really put into descriptive word just how beautiful this canyon is. I hope some day you can see it for yourselves.
