We drove to Tonto National Monument this past Sunday, about a two hour drive north and east from Picacho. It is located near Roosevelt Lake, AZ, a man-made lake that came about from the damming of the Colorado River back in 1902. There was a Roosevelt, AZ, a small town located there but now it is under water. The hike up to the ruins was a paved walkway, nice but steep. We took out time to go the distance and was well worth it.
There are cliff dwellings of the Salado Indian people who were there prior to 1450 when for some unknown reason they abandoned this area. Amazing that these people built this dwelling in a side of a cliff and the only means to get in and out was up a ladder into a small opening. They think this structure was built by women where as the men did the hunting and gathering. We were able to walk up to the Lower Cliff Dwelling ruins and see the structure where they think about 70 people lived. The Upper Cliff Dwellings are in an area that is restricted with limited visiting on specific days.
Pretty awesome to see and wetted out appetite to see the Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez, Colorado which we will visit sometime this early summer.
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| Lower Cliff Dwelling |
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| Looking out towards Roosevelt Lake |
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| Lower Cliff Dwelling |
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| Roosevelt Dam |
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