I know…a little behind….last Tuesday we decided to take a drive to an area we have not been yet so we visited Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Tuzigoot National Monument and the city of Jerome.
Dead Horse Ranch State Park
First, an annual state park sticker is much more expensive than in Minnesota — it is $75!!! So you know we will get our fill of Arizona State Parks to get our monies worth!! We just drove through this state park to check out their campgrounds and see what else was in the park. It was nice, but we wanted to save some time to go to the national monument so we did not hike.
Turns out this park has a Minnesota connection! Dead Horse Ranch got its name in the late 1940’s from the previous owners, the Ireys family from Minnesota. They were looking to buy a ranch and on their tour they discovered a large dead horse lying by the road outside of the property. After two days of viewing ranches, Mr. Ireys asked the kids which ranch they liked the best and they all agreed – the one with the dead horse!! In 1973 this land was acquired by the Arizona State Parks by the Ireys family on one condition that the park would keep the name of Dead Horse Ranch. (Source: Dead Horse State Ranch park brochure)
The drive into and out of the park was pretty with the mountains in the distance. We did find it interesting that within the park were three “lagoons” where a number of people were fishing. Guess they are an equivalent to a small Minnesota lake! 🙂
Tuzigoot National Monument
This was our second stop. By the way, all national monuments require an entrance fee, but last year David purchased a Senior Pass for $35 (they are now $80) which gives you free entrance at the National Parks, National Monuments and National Forest sites. It was definitely a good investment — even the $80 one would have been good!
Tuzigoot (Apache for “crooked water”) is the remnant of a Southern Sinagua village built between 1000 and 1400. It crowns the summit of a long ridge rising 120 feet above the Verde Valley. The original pueblo was two stories high in places with 87 ground floor rooms. There were few exterior doors; entry was by ladders through roof openings. The village began as a small cluster of rooms inhabited by some 50 persons for 100 years. In the 1200s the population doubled and then doubled again. (Source: Tuzigoot National Monument brochure)
The walk up to the monument was an interesting path that wound around the ridge.
At the top, there was an entrance in to the inside, along with a narrow staircase that took you up to the very top for a wide ranging view.
I jumped a little when we entered the inside because the walls were lined with these little creatures scurrying along the wall as we invaded their peace and quiet.
Here are some more views and off in the distance in the middle of the mountain you can see the city of Jerome, our next destination.
Jerome
Our next stop was the city of Jerome Arizona. Others in the campgrounds had indicated that was a great place to visit. At an altitude of 5,066 this old copper mining town had amazing views in all directions. We will go back there sometime and do some more of the tourist stuff, like the Jerome Mine and Jerome State Park, but we did not want to get caught coming down this mountain in the dark.
The drive up there was a narrow 2 lane road that was full of switchbacks and over the edge views that some people may want to avoid. Monica and Jackie if you are reading this, I am thinking of you two!! I have to admit in a couple of places even my hands were sweating. It doesn’t help that we drive a Ram 3500 dually so it is a little wider than the normal vehicle. And when you come up to some of those curves that are narrow and another truck comes face on, it is a little creepy. But the view was worth it and we cannot wait to go back and experience more of the city. Here are some pictures of the drive and the area.
We decided to stop for lunch at the Mile High Inn and had a table right next to the window that looked over the sidewalk and the distant view was so nice.
We stopped at a couple of art/souvenir shops and then headed back to the campsite before the sun set over the mountains! 🙂
We need to learn to start out earlier in the day for our excursions. Driving on the mountain roads are not something you want to be stuck with once the sun goes down. So we rushed a little in Jerome on this trip and will return at some time in the future.
TIFN
Dandy Ventures 