Tuzigoot & Montezuma

These are pueblo ruins.  Montezuma's castle was misnamed by the Spanish explorers who thought it was Aztec.  Incredible to learn how people out here managed to live! 

We met a Forest Ranger who explained how all the pueblos had been built by the women while the men were off hunting.  There were rooms where they would store a lot of grain, and then build a fire in the room, shutting the door closed on it.  Once the fire burned out inside, the grain would be completely preserved until they opened the door again.  How do you figure something like that out?!

And then there is Montezuma's Well, which has consistently released 1.5 million gallons of fresh water every day in the middle of the desert.  Underground rivers bubble up there, and they dug irrigation canals for their crops.

It's also fascinating to see how fertile a desert is - how many plants can be used an in how many different ways.  Who was the first person to get past the pain of a Prickly Pear to realize it could be eaten?