Another Full Day

After a restful night in Flagstaff, we were off again.

First stop, Montezuma Well, which was the home to another ancient pueblo people. The difference? They built their pueblos around this spring.
Over a million gallons of water flow from the well daily. The only problem with this water? It is tainted with arsenic. But it works fine for irrigation so they built irrigation ditches to direct the flow to their fields.

Some of the irrigation ditches are still maintained by the park service. It was very tranquil - a nice spot to sit and soak in the quiet. Until the group of 3rd graders showed up! So we moved along.Next stop - Montezuma Castle, another pueblo ruin with one big difference from the rest. It was huge! And perched on the side of a cliff!There were approximately 20 'apartments' in this dwelling. It was an awesome sight. And this blooming cactus really caught my eye!And the final park of the day - Tuzigoot, which is another ancient pueblo dwelling. Each of these rooms housed a family. We noticed that there were no doors and found out that they entered the home through a hole in the roof. That hole was also used as the chimney!!After Tuzigoot, we decided to explore the area a little more.

When planning a trip, I research. A lot! And in my notes (Yes I make notes too!), I had written "If time allows, explore Jerome". I had not written about what was there or why it would be of interest but we decided that time did allow.

I am so glad that we went. It ended up being one of our favorite places of the trip.

Jerome was a copper mining town back in the day, full of saloons and brothels. Today, it is home to art galleries, unique shops, restaurants, and saloons. We didn't find a brothel. We did find The House of Joy, which used to be a brothel and is now a restaurant.Our favorite thing about Jerome? The people. Vol Fan found a saloon (Paul & Jerry's - which has been open since 1899 or something crazy like that!) and settled in for a beer or two while I explored some of the shops. And the people he met made us want to spend more time there. Many gave advice on more places to see and explore. Roads to drive to see wildlife. Camping spots. If we ever make it back to the area, we will visit Jerome again.

But the red rocks of Sedona were calling our names so we hit the road again. Sedona is beautiful. And doesn't Vol Fan take a fine photo??But from our quick run through, I was left with the feeling that Sedona is quite the tourist trap. You can't even pull off of the road without purchasing a daily parking pass. We pulled off anyway but we are rebels like that!

Our route out of Sedona was a little off the beaten path. Well, quite a bit off the beaten path. Thank God we had a high clearance vehicle and 4-wheel drive! Even so, we had to drive very carefully. We went up. Up. And up some more. The road climbed 1800' over 13 miles. But look at the view!You know what happens when you drive through the woods on a deserted forestry service road at dusk? Especially when you don't have a tripod? You see elk. Lots of elk! And you end up with photos that look like this.But we saw elk. Lots of elk!!

And then it was dark. So we headed back to our comfy hotel in Flagstaff.