Catching up... Sedona - 7. PALATKI RUINS

This place, the Palatki Ruins and Petroglyphs, was right up at the end of the road where we were camped.  Just get on Forest Road 525 and keep going, when you get to the Y, go right, to the end of the road.  It's kind of a rough road, but if you go slow, it's fine.

Palatki Ruins is a designated World Heritage Site, and has cliff dwellings, pictographs and petroglyphs from the Southern Sinagua people.  The ruins and dwellings were built by the ancient Sinagua Indians who inhabited the Sedona and Verde Valley area from 500 to about 1425 AD.

 Palatki is the Hopi word for red house, I'm guessing that's from all the red rock into which the structures were carved.

You need reservations to tour the area with a Guide and I think there's a nominal fee, but our Golden Age Passes got us in free.  Our guide was really interesting and gave us a lot of information about the area and the people who lived here.

This site has two distinct areas, first you tour the ruins with the guide, then you can do a self-tour over to the petroglyphs, which has a docent standing by to give out information and answer questions.

First photos are the ruins.

This area also had two designs carved on or bleached into the walls.

And the pictographs and petroglyphs from the second location:

I really enjoyed this tour. These people picked such beautiful places to establish themselves.  The Verde Valley is so green and has water - great for planting, so they were able to sustain themselves. And the way they carved out their homes in the rocks, they had the warm sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon from the overhanging cliffs, so the hot summer temperatures wouldn't have affected them as much as if they settled on flat land, and in the cold winters, they would have had sun hitting their home during the day, and the overhanging cliffs would have protected them from rain and snow.  Such a beautiful, perfect place to have lived!

Wikipedia's  Palatki Heritage Site.

From Me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!   😎🔆😎

Catching up... Sedona - 6. TLAQUEPAQUE ARTS AND CRAFTS VILLAGE

Diana and I had three locations planned one morning, and this was one.  We were too early for any of the shops to be open, but totally enjoyed touring the grounds and all the beautiful plantings and sculptures and architecture.  And honestly, who has room for more stuff?  I'd rather enjoy the ambiance of the Village and window shop!

So, without further ado or explanation, here are the best photos I took that morning.  (I've reduced the size so hopefully you'll be able to pull them up.)

This last photo - the house, if that's what it is, maybe it's a hotel or restaurant - but it overlooks the Arts and Crafts Village.  If you look carefully, you can see people standing out on the decks.  I think they are dummies. 

From Me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!  🙃😍😉😎

Catching up... Sedona - 5. MONTEZUMA'S CASTLE

Montezuma's Castle was a pretty quick tour.  We went through the Visitors' center, showed our Golden Age Pass, and walked out the door to the path leading to the ruin.

Along the way we saw a dove:

Closer look at the castle:

 Another critter on the path:

And a close-up:

This model was behind glass and shows what Montezuma's Castle looked like when it was lived in, and what some of the natives might have been doing to occupy their time:

Although this site has the grandest name, "Montezuma's Castle," it was probably the least interesting to me, and the shortest tour Diana and I took.  I'm glad I went, I've actually been here before, but forgot.  I guess that tells you how impressed I was.  Still, it's local history of how the natives lived and worked and survived, and it's a beautiful area with a short walk on a good path to the viewing spot.

From Wikipedia:

"Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings near the town of Camp Verde, Arizona, United States. The dwellings were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD. The main structure comprises five stories and twenty rooms, and was built over the course of three centuries."  Click the link above for more information.

From Me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!   😎🙃😎