7. Montezuma Well

 Montezuma Well Lookout. (Tomasito photo)

There are two other ancient sites near Montezuma Castle National Monument:  Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot. 

We drove the few miles to Montezuma well and saved the ruined village of old Tuzigoot for future exploration. .

I was very curious to see Montezuma Well since I had heard about it since I was a boy but never had the opportunity to visit. It is well worth the drive to this out-of-the-way part of the huge state of Arizona.


The well is a "limestone sink formed long ago by the collapse of an  immense underground cavern."

There is a paved access road from highway eleven, parking lot and restroom facilities for the many tourists to wish to see this small pond smack in the middle of this vast desert.


When we arrived, a couple of busloads of elementary school kids from Phoenix and their adult chaperones were climbing all over the place--gawking at the still water below from the viewing area at the rim and clogging the trail which descends to the water's edge with their lively young bodies. Maybe fifty other tourists were mingling with the exuberant children--and we were there too, of course.


I was thinking how lucky these kids were to be here--to enjoy this one-of-a-kind rare place as children when it has taken me a long lifetime to get here.

...