Sedona

Since leaving the Acoma Pueblo I've been staying in Sedona, courtesy of a generous Ancona family. The lizards and plants are interesting, but the rocks are what I came to see. These late Pennsylvanian/early Permian rocks are at the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau. Lots of people come to see the beautiful red rocks, which are oxidized limestone and sandstone. I did a few solo hikes on the Red Rocks trails and spent a lot of time driving around the area. I especially liked swimming in Oak Creek with a view of the Cathedral. Amazing views just getting groceries. Best Sedona wildlife sighting: a pair of roadrunners with ten chicks atop Airport Mesa. Wednesday I drove my own family to Phoenix and saw them onto the plane for Chicago. Since then I've been doing more serious rockhounding, including collecting samples on BLM land. Yesterday I went to Montezuma's Castle (which has nothing to do with Montezuma.) This group of Sinagua cliff dwellings was located on a permanent creek. The creek allowed them to irrigate their fields for several hundred years. I had taken the name the Spanish gave to them at face value! No one knows why they left, though Hopi legends suggest that they moved to their pueblos. Time now to go prepare for more rockdigging tomorrow.

This twenty-room building is 900 years old!