Phoenix – Monument Valley
Montezuma Castle National Historic Site
We were out of the resort at about 8.45am. Which is a huge feat considering we have 5 teenagers to get moving. The first stop was Montezuma Castle National Historic Site. It was about an hour into our journey. There was just a short paved walk to the adobe set into a natural overhang in the cliff. When it was habited there was at least 5 levels and each level was accessed by wooden ladders. Over the years the weather and looters were not kind to the structure. The National Park Service does a great job in keeping it restored. You can see why the Indians picked it as a place to live with natural shelter and defense. It also had a natural spring providing a constant source of water.
We headed into Flagstaff where we stopped for some lunch. After Flagstaff the landscape seemed to change every 15 minutes or so. We also came through rain, sleet and snow at different times. These photos are taken from a moving car so you’ll have to excuse their blurry-ness.
Upon arriving at Monument Valley we found the cabins we were staying in had an almighty view of the buttes of Monument Valley. We watched the sun set and all the colours reflected off the buttes. We were then lucky enough to witness a nearly full moon rise over one of the mesas.
JP
So we got to the place that surprisingly was really nice. Really roomy and comfortable and had a nice atmosphere. There was also a little bit of snow outside so walking around was a lot more wet and slick then I’d expected. Overall great experience from the ride there to the overnight stay
All in all a big day of driving but lots of beautiful scenery sprinkled in a light dusting of snow.
