Sunday, November 26, 2017 (Porter Springs/Windy Hill Rec Site, Roosevelt Lake, AZ)

This morning our plan is to go check out the ruins at Tonto National Monument, just a short distance up the highway. Ray's back and knees needed a rest so they chose to stay home and relax for the day but offered us the use of their car...thanks, guys!

Steve had phoned earlier to reserve a spot for the Upper Dwelling Tour but was told they were fully booked, so shortly after 9:00, we headed off in hopes of a cancellation for the 10:00 guided tour. We were in luck! The Upper Cliff Dwelling hike is 3 miles round-trip and gains 600 feet in elevation.

Tonto National Monument contains of the ruins of two cliff dwellings established by the Salado Indians around 1300 AD. The southeast-facing settlements were built quite high up a steep hillside within well-protected natural caves overlooking the Tonto Basin, which is now flooded forming Theodore Roosevelt Lake, though originally the Salt River flowed through the basin which was therefore well irrigated and fertile. As with many other ancient peoples of the Southwest, the Salado appear to have abandoned their villages suddenly, early in the fifteenth century, for reasons which are not known.

The group taking today's tour met at the end of the parking lot at the trailhead. Surprisingly, our group was quite large...18 in total. After a brief introduction from the Ranger and guide, Christa, we were on our way.

Here we are following a stream bed that flows year round and in some spots from underground. A lot closer for the Salado people than the Salt River down below. Our guide said it's been estimated that it takes around 800 years for the rain water to cycle through the mountains and that the Visitor Center uses it for it's water source.

Leaving the forested area as we continue up the mountain...

Christa made several stops along the trail, talking about the area and what was needed to survive in this area.

Cliff dwellings come into view...

Barrel Cactus, always grow facing south...

Theodore Roosevelt Lake in the distance...

The forested valley below that we came up...

Almost there...

Cliff dwellings come into view...

We all made it to the shade of a cave just before the ruins...time for a rest break and a snack before continuing with a tour of the ruins...

What a  view!

 Christa gave everyone a taste of Agave Syrup...it was very sweet and delicious!

When the tour of the dwellings started, Christa asked everyone to leave their backpacks and hiking poles outside, so as not to damage the area.

Nestled in a cave overlooking Tonto Basin is the 40-room Upper Cliff Dwelling. Many theories have been presented as to why people began building here. Protection from the elements is certainly a possibility. The cave is dry even during the worst weather, and receives the full benefit of the morning sun in winter and cooling shade in summer. Perhaps people were protecting themselves from their neighbors, or were glad to get away from crowded conditions on the valley floor.

The flat stone is called a metate and the rounded ones are called a mano, used for grinding corn...

 One of the original artifacts found...stem from a squash estimated to be around 700 years old!

Original wood also around 700 years old...

This was built to collect the water that at times dripped from the cave wall...

The Upper Cliff Dwelling contains about 40 rooms, 32 on the ground level, and about 8 to 10 second story rooms.

Christa is leading us below the dwellings to the building in the distance...

The ends of the wood have had a core removed for carbon dating and a numbered disc is placed in the hole.

 The couple on the left had just moved from Victoria to Kelowna.

Unfortunately the wooded beam has lots of graffiti carved into it.

Christa said this was a 700 year old spit ball! Agave root balls were buried in a fire pit for a couple of days of cooking releasing a sugary treat...

From here it looks like two lakes but there is a narrow channel out of view. The dark area is the Windy Hill Recreation area where we're staying...

After a excellent tour (thanks, Christa!) of the dwellings, everyone was left on their own to hike back down the mountain at their own pace, so we led the way...

 Hedgehog Cactus...

Yucca...

This was the only bench on the trail...

It only took us about a half hour and we were back at the Visitor Center. After a brief rest, it was time to conquer the trail up to the Lower Cliff Dwellings.

The Lower Ruin is reached by a paved, half mile, self-guided trail which leads from the visitor center/museum quite steeply 350 feet up the side of a rocky hill, giving increasingly good views of Tonto Basin and Theodore Roosevelt Lake.

Cliff Dwellings coming into view...

The paved path was very steep and we found it a much more strenuous hike than to the Upper Dwellings...mind you, we had just finished that hike...

There were numerous interpretive stops along the way...

The two-storey Lower Ruin originally had 19 rooms; most are quite well-preserved and it is permitted to walk through some of them. Many surfaces are worn smooth from being walked over or touched yet the walls remain thick and strong, reflecting the generally sturdy if unspectacular construction, not like the more delicate and intricate cliff dwellings of the Anasazi. The settlement is constructed in a big alcove lined by unusual metamorphic rocks, greyish overall but including thin-layered components of more brighter colors. Originally, the only access was by ladder, leading to an entrance at the far left of the structure, which made the village easy to defend.

A construction sequence of the Lower Cliff Dwelling gives details about how and in what order the rooms were built.

All the artifacts in the dwellings were found on site...

Time to head back...

It was after 2:00 by the time we got home...wow! what a fabulous day! The dwellings were very interesting and we loved the hike! 4 miles and 950 feet of elevation gain! We were both hot and tired...time for a shower and some "R'n R"!

While we were gone, Deb captured a picture of this fellow walking through the campground...a coyote that looks as big as Freya!