Sedona and Red Rock Country!

Oak Creek Canyon

On Wednesday, the 2nd of May, we drove to Oak Creek Canyon, just south of Flagstaff. Our journey first took us to the visitor center parking lot where we found a Native American Arts and Crafts market. Jenny, at the Flagstaff Visitor Center, mentioned this market to us in case we were looking for handiworks made by actual Native Americans. Some shops are known to sell fakes (made overseas or in the U.S., but by non-Native Americans), so we appreciated the tip. We were not disappointed. The sellers offered a variety of beautiful and colorful items made by local tribesmen.

Oak Creek

We wandered over to the scenic viewpoint as well where we could see the Oak Creek Canyon stretched out below us. The east side of the canyon is about 1,000 feet lower than the west side from movement due to a fault line down the center of the canyon floor. We could see lots of tall pine trees and some interesting rock formations sticking out from beneath them.

Red Rock Country, near Sedona

Pretty flowers near
Oak Creek

As we continued our trip south through Red Rock Country and into Sedona, the rock formations turned a bright shade of red with significantly less vegetation to block the view. The red color is caused by iron oxide coating sand grains as groundwater filtered through the rocks before they eroded. The effect is startling. Huge red rock formations tower above the road in several places and peek out from between the trees in others. We stopped at one point along the Oak Creek to dip our toes in the water across from just such a formation.

In the town of Sedona we found lots of little shops and restaurants willing to take our money at every turn. We did not oblige them, though we did soak up the beautiful scenery behind the town. We walked around and found painted javelinas in a couple of spots, just like the DC pandas a few years back, though much smaller.

Sedona is a pretty name for a town, but more charming is that it was named for the beloved wife of the city's first postmaster, Mr. Theodore Carlton Schnebly. Several other names were suggested to the postmaster general, but they were rejected for being too long for the cancellation stamp. Mr. Schnebly's brother-in-law suggested he submit his wife's name, Sedona, and the rest is history. Sedona is known for its vibrant arts community and psychic connection to the natural world. We just enjoyed the scenery.

Red Rock Country, near Sedona

We stopped several times along the way to take pictures and admire everything, but eventually found ourselves in need of lunch. Considering the outrageous prices charged by every restaurant we encountered on the main drag in Sedona, we ventured far out of the tourist section of town to a local buffet by the name of India Palace. Wow. The buffet had a great selection of really yummy entrees and desserts, with complementary garlic naan, all for a totally reasonable price. Perfect.

Tuzigoot Pueblo

Tuzigoot and Verde Valley

With our belts loosened, we drove on to the next destination...Tuzigoot. Tuzigoot is an ancient pueblo built by the Southern Sinagua people in about 1125 AD. The Sinaguans lived here for roughly 300 years when all traces of their civilization vanished. Modern archaeologists have no definitive explanation for their disappearance, which occurred a full 100 years before European settlers arrived in the area. The Sinaguans built the Tuzigoot pueblo high on the bluff in the Verde Valley area, where they had ready access to the Verde River to irrigate their crops. The original pueblo was two stories high in some places, with 77 ground floor rooms. They accessed the rooms using ladders through roof openings.

Montezuma Castle

Next, we drove on to Montezuma Castle, about 45 minutes southeast of Tuzigoot. The Castle is another ancient pueblo site, built into a high cliff 100 feet above the valley below. It was built beginning in the 1100s AD, home to 35 people who would have climbed tall ladders to get into it. Although the limestone facade is soft and splits unevenly, the structure itself has lasted over 800 years, probably due in part to being protected from the elements by the natural cliff above and from people by its inaccessibility.

Ancient twig animalia

We wandered around the museum at the Tuzigoot visitor center as well, and saw pottery shards, pieces of baskets, arrowheads and some weavings from the Sinaguans. The archaeological excavations at both Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle have resulted in hundreds of different items detailing the lives of this civilization. Earlier peoples who lived in the area also left their mark here. We saw little animal figures made from twigs wound into shapes and tied together. These little figurines were made two to four thousand years ago! Amazing!

We were totally impressed with the Southern Sinagua culture and how they lived in this area, but wonder why they left so quickly in the early 1400s. Some theories suggest disease, famine, drought, warfare, better hunting in other areas, internal strife, and a variety of other possibilities, but really no one knows for sure. What a mystery.

We had a great time exploring Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock Country and the Verde Valley. A very colorful day indeed.