The Long and Winding Road from Californina to Washington, Part 4: Tepees, Canyons, and Cliff Dwellings

October 12-13, 2021

    After leaving Meteor Crater Natural Landmark, we had a 170-mile day. Our rule of thumb is to stop at 300 miles or 3:00 PM, whichever comes first, but less is always good. 

    We continued on I-40, which now turned a bit southwest, with no specific destination in mind.

Arizona Day 5: Meteor Crater; Holbrook; Mogollon Rim; Salt River Canyon. Day 6: Salada Cliff Dwellings. 

    At Holbrook, we stumbled upon the Wigwam Hotel on the old Route 66—yes, we traveled on Route 66 whenever possible. Not only were the rooms designed to resemble tepees, but each featured a classic car in front. Though all was in need of some TLC, it did present a window into the post-WWII era.

Wigwam Village was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Another Route 66 piece of history. 

We were curious what the inside of a room shaped like a tepee was like. Marilyn's research turned up that you can get a room—tepee with a queen size bed—for $80. May I add, she loves any shade of green, so the green relics were her favorites.

    Always choosing the route that will take us through the most country, we headed south to Show Low, which is located on the Mogollon Rim and earned its name from a card game. Two frontiersmen by the names of Cooley and Clark thought it was getting too crowded in the juniper forests of the Mogollon Rim. To decide who would move, they played "Seven Up," a card game in which the lowest card wins. As Clark dealt the last hand, he said to Cooley if he "showed low" he'd win. Cooley proceeded to turn over the two of clubs, Clark moved down the road, and Cooley named the area "Show Low."
    The Mogollon Rim is an escarpment that marks the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. It ranges from 4,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level and runs for 200 miles southeast from near Flagstaff almost to New Mexico.

Colorado Plateau, Mogollon Rim, and roughly the route we took from Flagstaff to the Salado Cliff Dwellings.

    Not needing to stop "in civilization," we headed southwest and were treated to a drive through the spectacular Salt River Canyon. Thrillist.com includes it in a post entitled "The Most Exhilarating Drives in Arizona." As the blog says, in the northern part of the drive through the Fort Apache Reservation, "the canyon dictates what the road can do, and what it can do is thrill."
    After descending 2,000 feet, we crossed a pink bridge—pink?!—over the Salt River. It's the "new" 1996 bridge for vehicles, which replaced the original 1934 bridge. The original bridge is now pedestrian only.

1996 vehicle bridge over Salt River Canyon, dubbed "Apache Bridge," for the Native American symbols on its sides. It's described as being "red," but it sure looked pink in the light that day.

Original 1934 Art Deco Bridge over Salt River Canyon, now pedestrian only.

As well as the pink bridge, Marilyn also liked the rest stop, an Art Deco design all curves inside and out that also reflects Native American culture and Salt River Canyon geology.

Art Deco rest stop, Salt River Canyon

    As the Thrillist.com blog says, driving out of the canyon involves three giant switchbacks, a bunch of S-curves, and lots of other equally tight curves. Doug found navigating the twisty road while attempting to enjoy the beauty posed a bit of a challenge.

Road up out of 2000-foot-deep Salt River Canyon. We borrowed an internet picture as gawking and taking photos didn't mesh well. 

    Late in the afternoon, we pulled into Timber Camp Recreation Site north of Globe AZ, another Campendium find. (Campedium is a wonderful app we use to find boondocking sites as well as public and private campgrounds.) It was a perfect, quiet spot for the night.

Timber Camp Recreation Site. Note the wood blocks under the front wheels. Doug has become a pro at driving the van up onto the 2 x 4s to level it. 

    The next morning found us turning northwest to avoid Phoenix and driving through Tonto National Forest. Saguaro with all their amazing arms covered the hillsides. "Tonto" is derived from the Apache word meaning "wild, rough people."

Saguaro forests of Tonto National Forest.

    Near Roosevelt Lake we saw a sign for Tonto National Monument: Salado Cliff Dwellings. A quick turn up to the Visitors Center and soon we were on a 1/2-mile walk up to the dwellings. "Salado" is a name archeologists have given this people because they lived near the Rio Salado (Salt River) that runs through the Tonto Basin.

An old picture of the dwellings. It seems that in the early 20th century a train would drop off visitors near the cliff dwellings. Unfortunately not all respected them, and damage occurred. The result was in 1907 the creation of the Tonto National Monument. Now a ranger is on site whenever the trail is open.

The Salado culture is derived from members of three Native American groups who settled in the Tonto Basin: Ancestral Puebloans from the Four Corners region to the north, Hohokam from the Sonoran Desert to the south, and Mogollon from the high elevation mountains and canyons to the east.

Salado culture derived from Puebloan, Hohokam, and Mogollon peoples who moved into the Tonto Basin along the Salt River.

    We were able to visit only the Lower Cliff Dwelling, as the upper one is by tour only. The young woman ranger there was very well informed. The lower dwellings sit at almost 3,000 feet above sea level, 1,000 feet above the Salt River, where most of the Native peoples lived. 

Designed for protection, the only way to enter the lower cliff dwellings was by ladder up the cliff behind this alcove. Fortunately today visitors can wander up a path to the dwellings. 

Original walls of stone and mud. The ribs of the saguaro and clay mortar were laid on top of roof poles to assist in supporting the walls. Trapezoidal windows and doors, which we've seen in ancient dwellings in the Southwest and in South America, also give the structure more stability.

Soot on walls is from original clay fire pit in center of room. Floors were leveled by adding dirt which was then covered with clay.

A central vertical post supported the main roof beam. The dwelling contains numerous original metates and manos for grinding food.

Original metate with mano on top, used for grinding.

Ribs, like those used in the cliff houses, can be seen on nearby dead saguaro.

    Along the trail to the cliff dwelling we encountered numerous desert plants, including some of our favorites:

Red barrel cactus perches above cliff dwellings.

Palo verde.

Ocotillo.

Chollo

    By the time we left, it was mid-afternoon, and we had three hours of driving to get to our destination. We drove along Roosevelt Lake, a reservoir on the Salt River, for some time. As we began to climb again, we entered Coconino National Forest, eventually reaching 6,700 feet. 

    It was almost dark when we reached White Spar Campground just south of Prescott, and at 5,600 feet, it was getting chilly. But once settled into a site, our reliable Promaster's heater (installed under the passenger seat) quickly did its job, and we were toasty warm all night long.