Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood AZ and Tuzigoot National Park

March 20-22, 2016

Our base camp for exploring the Sedona area has been the unfortunately named "dead Horse Ranch state Park" in Cottonwood, AZ.  According to their literature: "The story of the park's name begins with the Ireys family, who came to Arizona from Minnesota looking for a ranch to buy in the late 1940s. At one of the ranches they discovered a large dead horse lying by the road. After two days of viewing ranches, Dad Ireys asked the kids which ranch they liked the best. The kids said, “the one with the dead horse, Dad!” The Ireys family chose the name Dead Horse Ranch and later, in 1973, when Arizona State Parks acquired the park, the Ireys made retaining the name a condition of sale."  Well, fortunately, there were no dead horses but a number of live ones!  

Trail riders coming back to the corral just as I was completing my pre-dinner walk

Among the activities available at the park are trail rides, and fishing in one of their three lagoons.  It was very refreshing to see "real" water, as this park is in the Verde (Green) Valley where the Verde River actually flows!  I believe we are a bit starved for green and water!

Blackbirds settling in to roost among the reeds in one of the lagoons 

 

 

Not to be outdone by Sedona as far as unusual energy vortices, I saw quite an unusual sky at Dead Horse Ranch State Park during an evening walk....

UFO?

 

In old Cottonwood, we found Larry's antiques and collectibles where we spent a bit of time but no money!  We also found a good coffee shop and a Thai restaurant where we got some takeout for cook's night off !  (Yeah, that's me!)

One of many signs for sale!

 Only a few miles from our campground is Tuzigoot National Monument, which is the remnant of a Southern Sinagua village built between 1000 and 1400. The original pueblo was two stories high, with 87 ground floor rooms.  It is thought that the village began as a small cluster of rooms inhabited by about 50 people for about 100 years.  Then, in the 1200s the population doubled and then doubled again.  The Southern Sinagua people were hunters, gatherers and farmers.  They were skilled artisans who made tools, craftsmen who wove cotton, potters and jewelers who made bacelets, pendants and other decorative ornaments out of shells, turquoise and argilite.  
When the site was "discovered" in the 1930s, much of the structure had collapsed.  Many local out of work miners were hired to help in the excavations and "rebuilding" of the pueblo. Very little original structure is left today and the "castle" as it is called is mostly reconstruction.  Nevertheless, it does give one a feeling for the site as it would have been 700 years ago, with commanding views from 120 feet above the valley. 

 The most impressive part of this National Monument was the vast number of archaelogical finds inside the collapsed walls.  See some pictures below!

Metates (mortars and pestles used for grinding corn or other grains)

Various pendants found on the site

First tie-dyed cotton!

Lovely turquoise and shell bracelet and necklace

More turquoise and shell jewelry

Impressive basket weaving;on the left, 700 years old! Modern day on the right.

 The Verde river runs through some of the monument property, and this made for a peaceful lunch stop.