We did a shorter than usual trip this summer and we decided to make up for it on Thanksgiving weekend. We spent 5 days in east central Arizona exploring in and around the Mogollon rim.
Day 1:
Wednesday, 21 Nov 01: We had planned to leave pretty early, but an ever growing list of things to do before leaving, and an almost-flat front tire slowed us down. We got everything done, and the tire fixed and headed out a little after 9 am. West on I-40. We stopped at the Giant Truck Stop (mile 39) for food and bathrooms, the last convenient stop off of I-40 until Flagstaff, and then continued west.
We arrived at Flagstaff about 2 pm and the kids were (understandably) starving. We had a large lunch at the Beaver Street Brewery ( we ate there on our 2000 vacation) and packed the leftovers. Well-sated, we headed south on 89A through Oak Canyon to Sedona. There was very little traffic in the canyon, and which made for a pleasant drive. We had seen the spectacular Oak canyon overlook on a previous trip (Memorial Day, 1998) so we felt no need to stop again. We saw no vortices, and felt no auras while driving through Sedona so we pushed on to Jerome . Karen had been there briefly in June on a trip with the Southwest Institute. Karen had told the guys about the mining town turned ghost town turned tourist town up on the side of a mountain, and the twisty streets. The guys were skeptical, until we started navigating the actual streets and tuned onto the very narrow, steep path that leads to the Jerome Grand Hotel . The hotel used to be the United Verde Hospital, which at one point was the largest and best-equipped hospital in Arizona, back when Jerome was a booming mining town.
We checked into our suite (1 room with two twin beds for the boys, one room with a queen bed for the adults, and shared bath and closet. Each room had its own tv/VCR). After depositing our stuff, we walked around town a little. We didn't have much time but did see the mine, the downtown area, and the Sliding Jail. Dinner was leftovers and bagels from our cooler.
Thursday (Thanksgiving) , Day 2:
Our first stop was Montezuma's Castle National Monument . As the web site says, it is not a castle, and Montezuma never slept there. It is a lovely example of a Sinagua Cliff house. It is called Montezuma's castle because the first Western explorers to see it assumed that it must have been built by Montezuma's empire. We walked the trail and then the kids did their Junior Ranger Badge activities, and received their badges.
Our next stop was Montezuma's Well, which is part of the Castle monument, but 10 miles away. Guess what, it is not a well, and Montezuma was never there. It is a Cenote (sinkhole) with a sizable lake inside. There is a drain at one side and some incredibly large amount of water flows out. It was used by the Hohokam and Sinagua to feed irrigation ditches. Some of the ditches can still be seen - naturally waterproofed from the high mineral content of the water.
Next stop was Tonto Natural Bridge State Park , an hour's drive up and over the Mogollon rim. The road leading into the park is a couple of miles of 14% grade going down, not recommended for RV's. At the park, we saw the largest Travertine bridge in the world. A stream is dissolving limestone and then redepositing it to from a bridge. You can view it from above as well as walk down a steep half-mile trail under the bridge, which we could not pass up (Best Hikes with Children in Arizona #18)
Our last stop was Tuzigoot Tuzigoot National Monument , just a stone's throw from Jerome. On the way, we got to listen to Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant, a Thanksgiving tradition. The boys loved it. Tuzigoot is the site type of the Tuzigoot phase of the Sinagua pueblos. We have been to so many Anasazi sites, it was instructive for the kids to see a very different architecture. We hiked the ruins trail and a 3/4 mile trail to view the nearby marsh and look for wildlife. Tuzigoot is administered as part of Montezuma, so the boys couldn't get another Ranger badge.
We were back at the hotel by 4 so we could clean up and have Thanksgiving dinner at 5 in the hotel restaurant. It wasn't bad but not quite up to expectations
Friday, Day 3:
Friday morning we drove over to the
Verde Canyon Railroad to embark on a 4 hour Diesel train ride through the canyon.
We did the Durango and Silverton Train on Thanksgiving of 1997, and we did the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad
just this fall. Both of these are long- over 6 hours and start to
get a bit tiresome.
The Verde was only 4 hours and promised ruin sites, wildlife, geology, and narration to point it all out. In summary- the ride was Ok but not great. The loading procedure was cumbersome, they did not have reserved seats, we saw little wildlife, the ruin sites were pretty good, but the narration was pretty corny. The Verde Canyon railroad is not as good as the Durango-Silverton or the Cumbres-Toltec and we probably would not do it again.
After lunch in the parking lot, we headed to Phoenix. We arrived in time to visit the Desert Botanical Garden . We only stayed an hour, but it was great. We will definitely go back for more sometime.
We found our motel (just a Days Inn, nothing fancy) with no problem, and ascertained the location of the nearest multiplex theater. It turned out to be 2 freeway exits away. We arrived at 6:15, bought tickets to the 7 pm showing of Harry Potter, and ate dinner at a neighboring fast food place (don't remember the name- it was "philly cheese steaks"). The food was pretty good for the price. Harry Potter was, of course, great.
Saturday, Day 4:
We started the day by driving the long way to Tonto National Monument . The short route is the Apache Trail- 20+miles of dirt and gravel, and reported to be quite narrow and winding in spots. We took the longer, paved route. Tonto is a Salado Cliff dwelling with a great view of Roosevelt Lake. The kids did their Jr. Ranger badge activities, as we hiked up 600 ft of elevation gain to the lower ruin.
On the way back to Phoenix, we stopped at Boyce Thompson Arboretum , which is also a Arizona state park. After lunch out of our cooler in the parking lot, we hiked the ~ 2 mi. perimeter trail, the kids got badges, and we got to see more desert plants. Another place worth a second visit.
Our final stop of the day was Casa Grande National Monument. This is a huge Hohokam building. It is unique in it size and its preservation. Being made of mud it was slowly dissolving until it was made a monument and a roof put over the largest building.
Sunday, Day 5:
We decided to drive home via US 60 instead of going out of the way to get on the interstates. We got an early start, about 7 am. The weather was a little iffy, with sleet and rain in some places so we decided to keep going to outrun the storm. While there were several worthwhile tourist sites along the way, including the spectacular Salt river canyon, we only stopped at Pietown for lunch (and to buy pie to bring home, of course) (Note: there used to be a werbsite for the Pie-o-neer Cafe, but I can't find it now.). We got home about 3 pm. Kitties were glad to see us.