Been Busy Climbing

To the ruins on Black Mesa...

Saturday 7 January 2016 we followed the directions at Arizona Ruins and in Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen - by Dave Wilson, parked alongside Hwy 17 at mile marker  246, then hiked 0.8 miles east and 660 feet up, to the remains of a 12th century Hohokam dwelling with cliffs on three sides.  

Some of the walls there are still 12 feet high.  

There are still peep holes with which residents could easily monitor those approaching from below.  

Not many potshards, though we found a few.  Okay, we found two...

The hike calls for some work.  I would not recommend it during the summer months as the heat will bake you and the rattlesnakes might covet your handholds.

If you're willing to do the work, it's a treasure hiding in plain sight as you drive from Phoenix to the high desert...

Been Even Busier

Off the beaten path...

We made a day trip to Pueblo la Plata in Agua Fria National Monument Friday 30 December 2016. The ground is all but paved with potshards! Most were red ware and some gray, but there were a very few beautiful pieces of (decorative/ceremonial?) black on white ware. 

There were obsidian and quartz lithic fragments as well. 

There are other unadvertised sites to visit within the monument. We'll be going back!

Been Busy Two

Plenty of pre-history in my neighborhood...

We visited Tuzigoot National Monument near Clarkdale, Arizona, Thursday afternoon 29 December 2016.

Been Busy

Visiting local archeological sites...

We visited Montezuma Well near Camp Verde, Arizona, Thursday morning 29 December 2016.