Montezuma's Well & Castle National Monument

Our trip back to Tucson on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 started in Flagstaff, AZ...where we enjoyed antique shopping, wine boutiques, and speciality stores. Next stop was Montezuma's Well. The well is a limestone sink formed by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. The spring that feeds the well flows continuously. The Southern Sinagua pueblos here vary in size from 50 rooms to one-room houses built around 1100.

The Southern Sinagua irrigated crops with water from the well by building irrigation ditches, thickly coated with lime.

Our next stop "Montezuma Castle"...Southern Sinagua farmers began building this five-story, 20 room dwelling early in the 1100s CE. It stands in the cliff recess 100 feet above the valley. When early settlers discovered the structure they assumed it was Aztec in origin, hence the name Montezuma Castle.

Steve and Angel had time to catch up other than a phone call for the first time since Christmas. Angel has grown to be a beautiful young woman...what blessings God has bestowed on our family.