The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan is a deeply moving tribute to the nearly 3000 lives lost on 11 September 2001 featuring twin reflecting pools etched with victims' names and immersive underground galleries honouring their stories and legacy.
Arizona: Montezuma Well and Castle
🏜️ Montezuma Well — The Accidental Detour That Stole the Show
We’d been up early, which at our age feels like a minor achievement in itself, with the firm intention of visiting Montezuma Castle — an ancient cliff dwelling tucked into the red rock country south of Sedona, Arizona. The road out was genuinely spectacular, winding through that impossibly dramatic landscape of rust-coloured sandstone formations that have made Sedona the sort of place people put on vision boards. All very well until the tarmac ran out and we found ourselves bouncing along yet another dirt track. We seemed to have developed an almost supernatural talent for finding these things.
It was on this particular dust-churning detour that we stumbled, entirely by accident, upon something called Montezuma Well — a National Monument we hadn’t planned to visit, hadn’t read about, and frankly couldn’t have found on a map if we’d tried. Which, given our track record with dirt tracks, was probably just as well.
What greeted us was extraordinary. Montezuma Well is a sinkhole — the result of an underground limestone cavern that collapsed at some point in the distant past, leaving behind a great circular bowl of water sitting incongruously in the middle of the Sonoran Desert grassland. The numbers alone are impressive enough: the Well measures 368 feet across and drops 55 feet down, and more than a million gallons of water flow into it every single day from underground springs, continuously and without any apparent intention of stopping. The result is a lush, verdant oasis that looks entirely out of place — like finding a swimming pool in a car park — surrounded on all sides by dry scrub and ochre desert.
The name Montezuma, incidentally, is one of those cheerful historical confusions the Americans are occasionally prone to. The Aztec emperor Montezuma II had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. The sites in this area were associated with the Sinagua people — a pre-Columbian culture who inhabited this part of central Arizona from around 700 AD through to approximately 1425 AD, when they appear to have abandoned the region, presumably fed up with the heat like any sensible person. Early European settlers, unfamiliar with local history and apparently quite happy to guess, assumed any impressive ancient structure in the southwest must have something to do with the Aztecs. They were wrong, but the name stuck.
We followed a short trail that wound down to the floor of the Well itself, and it was here that the visit shifted from pleasant to genuinely remarkable. Cut into the rock walls and along the upper edges of the Well were ancient dwellings — rooms and alcoves carved and built directly into the cliff face by the Sinagua people, some of them still remarkably intact after the best part of a thousand years. There were once around 150 to 200 people living around and within the Well, taking advantage of the reliable water supply that the surrounding desert conspicuously failed to offer. You could see why they’d chosen the spot.
Climbing back up to the rim — which took rather more effort than going down, as these things invariably do — we followed a second trail to where the spring water from the Well had carved its way through the limestone and emerged as a proper flowing stream. The Sinagua, who were nothing if not practical, had engineered an irrigation system using this outflow, diverting the water through channels to their agricultural fields where they grew crops including corn, beans, and squash. Parts of this ancient irrigation infrastructure are still visible today, which is either testament to the quality of Sinaguan engineering or a rather damning comment on the pace of subsequent development in the area. Possibly both.
The whole visit was unplanned, unscheduled, and entirely without expectation — which, as any seasoned traveller will tell you, is often exactly the right condition for having a thoroughly good time. We thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.
🏛️ Montezuma Castle – Ancient Apartments in the Arizona Cliff Face
From Montezuma Well, we drove a short distance further south along the Verde Valley to what is officially recognised as America’s first National Monument — Montezuma Castle. And yes, before you ask, the name is completely wrong on both counts.
The “castle” isn’t a castle at all. It’s a remarkable five-storey cliff dwelling, tucked snugly into a vast natural alcove in the limestone bluff above Beaver Creek. It was built by a people known as the Sinagua — a name borrowed from the Spanish sin agua, meaning “without water,” which is exactly the sort of bleak observation you’d expect from early Spanish explorers wandering about in the Arizona heat. The Sinagua were a remarkably capable group who had settled across the Verde Valley from around 650 AD onwards, farming, trading turquoise, and apparently deciding at some point that living halfway up a cliff was a perfectly sensible idea.
Construction of what we now call Montezuma Castle began around 1100 AD, and the dwelling grew over the following couple of centuries into an impressive multi-roomed complex of around twenty rooms spread across five storeys. It housed perhaps thirty to fifty people at its peak — a sort of prehistoric high-rise apartment complex, as the park literature rather cheerfully puts it. The Sinagua built it almost entirely from limestone blocks, mud mortar, and wooden beams, and they did all of this without metal tools of any kind. That fact alone is worth sitting with for a moment, because it’s genuinely extraordinary. We couldn’t build a decent garden shed with those resources, yet here these people were, constructing a multi-storey dwelling eighty feet up a vertical rock face, and doing it to a standard that has lasted the best part of a thousand years.
Getting in and out required ladders — long wooden ladders that could be hauled up behind the inhabitants, which made the whole place essentially impregnable. Any raiding party attempting to reach the upper storeys would have found themselves clinging to a sheer cliff with no obvious way up and, one imagines, a growing sense of regret. It was the perfect natural defence.
The Sinagua eventually abandoned Montezuma Castle around 1400 AD, along with most of their other settlements in the region, for reasons that remain somewhat unclear — prolonged drought, resource depletion, and the movement of other peoples into the area are all thought to have played a role. By the time European settlers stumbled across the ruins in the nineteenth century, the Sinagua had been gone for the better part of two hundred years. The early settlers, displaying the confident ignorance that characterised so much of that era, assumed the ruins must somehow be connected to the great Aztec emperor Montezuma II — hence the name that has stuck ever since, despite being entirely wrong. In fact, Montezuma wasn’t even born until 1466 AD, a full sixty-odd years after the Sinagua had already packed up and left. The poor man has been posthumously blamed for a clifftop apartment block he had absolutely nothing to do with.
It was a brilliant opportunity for a field trip, so we handed Jack and Emily over to the Junior Ranger programme at the visitor centre — one of those wonderfully American institutions that gives children a booklet of activities, a sense of purpose, and, crucially, something to do while the adults wander about reading information boards in peace.
The walk from the visitor centre to the ruins themselves was mercifully short, and it was one of those perfect Arizona winter days where the sky is an almost aggressive shade of blue and the air has a pleasant crispness to it — the kind of day that makes you briefly forgive the summer temperatures, which are, frankly, unconscionable.
As we made our way along the trail, we passed a couple of signs that gave us pause. The first warned of rattlesnakes, which seemed reasonable enough. The second was rather more alarming — a notice politely informing visitors not to approach the ground squirrels, as they were known to carry bubonic plague. The Black Death. In a National Park. In the twenty-first century. Karen stared at it for a long moment and said she simply couldn’t believe that sort of thing was allowed to happen in such a litigious society. She had a point — you’d have thought someone would have sorted it out by now, or at the very minimum put the squirrels in quarantine. We half expected to return to find the park authorities had quietly removed all the squirrels overnight and were hoping no one would notice.
The trail wound its way down to Beaver Creek, which was the true lifeline of the Sinagua. This modest stream, fed by the springs at Montezuma Well upstream, provided the water, the fish, and the fertile floodplain soil that made agriculture possible in an otherwise demanding landscape. The Sinagua farmed beans, maize, and squash along its banks, traded along established routes stretching from the Pacific Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, and generally got on with things in a remarkably organised fashion. Today Beaver Creek is simply a glorious backdrop — sparkling in the early afternoon sun as it winds its way below the cliff face, framing the ruins above it in a way that no landscape architect could improve upon.
And the ruins themselves were, it has to be said, quite spectacular. Standing beneath them, craning your neck upwards at those mud-mortared walls still clinging to the rock after six centuries, it was impossible not to feel a grudging and genuine admiration for the people who built them. No metal tools. No scaffolding. No project management software. Just skill, determination, and an apparently cheerful willingness to live somewhere that required a ladder to get home.
Planning your visit to Montezuma Castle National Monument
🏛️ Overview
Montezuma Castle National Monument is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the American Southwest, preserving the ancient cliff dwellings of the Southern Sinagua people in the Verde Valley of central Arizona. Established on 8 December 1906, it was one of the first four sites designated as a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt and remains one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America.
The monument encompasses two separate but connected sites: Montezuma Castle itself, and Montezuma Well, located approximately 11 miles to the north. Together they offer a fascinating window into indigenous life, engineering ingenuity, and desert survival spanning more than three centuries.
📍 Location
Montezuma Castle 2800 Montezuma Castle Highway, Camp Verde, Arizona 86322
The Castle is conveniently situated just off Interstate 17, approximately 50 miles south of Flagstaff and 90 miles north of Phoenix. Take exit 289 (Middle Verde Road), drive east through two roundabouts for approximately half a mile, then turn left onto Montezuma Castle Road and continue for around two miles to the car park.
Montezuma Well Located near the town of Rimrock, Arizona, the Well is accessible from exits 293 or 298 off Interstate 17, approximately 11 miles north of the Castle.
🌐 Website
📞 Contact Telephone
+1 (928) 567-3322
✉️ Contact & Enquiries
The National Park Service does not publish a direct public email address for the monument. General enquiries can be submitted via the contact form on the official NPS website at https://www.nps.gov/moca/contacts.htm
💵 Entry Fees
Entry fees cover admission to both Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments for seven days.
Adults (aged 16 and over): $10.00 per person Children (aged 15 and under): Free
Montezuma Well is free of charge to all visitors and does not require a paid ticket.
The monument also accepts all Interagency (America the Beautiful) passes, including Annual, Senior, Access, Military, and Volunteer passes, each admitting up to four adults. A site-specific Annual Pass, valid for both Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments, is also available. Fees can be paid in person at the visitor centre or in advance at recreation.gov.
🕗 Opening Times
The park, visitor centre, and trails are open seven days a week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Montezuma Well picnic area is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The monument is closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. It closes at 2:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve.
Visitors are advised to arrive well before closing, as the park gate closes at 4:45 pm, which is earlier than the visitor centre.
Best time to visit Arizona
🌸 Spring — March to May
Spring is widely regarded as one of the finest times to visit Arizona. Temperatures are warm and welcoming rather than punishing, ranging from around 18°C in March to the low 30s by late May. The desert bursts into extraordinary colour as wildflowers carpet the Sonoran Desert floor — saguaro cacti bloom their creamy-white flowers, and the hillsides around Phoenix and Tucson shimmer with Mexican poppies, lupins, and brittlebush. The famous Antelope Canyon in Page is beautifully lit in spring, and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim is at its most accessible and photogenic.
Crowds are moderate rather than overwhelming, making it an excellent time to visit popular national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Saguaro. Accommodation prices sit in the mid-range — higher than summer but without the peak winter surcharges. Spring is ideal for hikers, as trails that would be treacherous in summer heat are comfortably walkable, especially early in the morning.
What to pack: Lightweight layers for cool mornings and evenings, breathable shirts and trousers for daytime warmth, a light waterproof jacket, sturdy walking boots, sun hat, high-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a reusable water bottle. Allergy sufferers should bring antihistamines, as pollen levels are high.
☀️ Summer — June to August
Summer in Arizona is not for the faint-hearted. Temperatures across the lower desert regularly exceed 40°C, and Phoenix frequently records temperatures above 43°C for days at a stretch. However, summer has its own dramatic reward: the monsoon season, which typically arrives in July and runs through September. Towering storm cells roll across the desert skies each afternoon and evening, bringing spectacular lightning displays, dramatic dust storms known locally as haboobs, and short but intense downpours that transform dry riverbeds into rushing torrents.
Because of the heat, many domestic visitors stay away, meaning crowd levels at resorts and lower-elevation attractions drop considerably. Hotels slash their rates, and many upscale resorts in Scottsdale and Phoenix offer remarkable value. Those who want to escape the worst of the heat can head to higher elevations — Flagstaff sits at 2,100 metres and remains pleasant throughout summer, rarely exceeding 26°C. The ponderosa pine forests of the White Mountains offer cool hiking and stargazing well away from the desert floor.
What to pack: Ultra-lightweight, moisture-wicking clothing in light colours, a wide-brimmed hat, SPF 50+ sunscreen, insulated water bottle, electrolyte tablets or drinks, a light rain layer for afternoon monsoon storms, and sandals suitable for wet ground. Sunglasses with UV protection are essential. Avoid dark-coloured clothing.
🍂 Autumn — September to November
Autumn brings welcome relief as temperatures gradually ease from the summer extremes. By October, Phoenix and Tucson are in the comfortable 25–30°C range, and the southern deserts are delightful once more. The monsoon season wraps up in September, leaving the air fresh and the desert vegetation lush and green — a surprisingly verdant sight against the red rocks.
Sedona in autumn is particularly stunning, as the cottonwood trees along Oak Creek turn gold and amber, contrasting brilliantly with the famous red sandstone formations. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim sees good conditions, and the North Rim, which closes in mid-November, is at its most atmospheric in October. Festivals return to the calendar — the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the Sedona Arts Festival, and various harvest-themed events in Flagstaff make autumn culturally rewarding as well.
Crowd levels begin to build towards November as winter visitors from colder US states and Canada start to arrive. Prices rise accordingly, though the overall experience is excellent value compared to peak winter season.
What to pack: Light daytime clothing, but with a fleece or mid-layer for evenings, especially at altitude. Comfortable walking shoes or trail runners, a light rain jacket (residual monsoon possible in September), sunscreen, sunglasses, and a sun hat. Pack warmer layers if visiting Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
❄️ Winter — December to February
Winter divides Arizona neatly into two very different experiences depending on elevation. The low desert — Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, and the southern reaches of the state — enjoys mild, sunny days between 15°C and 20°C, making it extraordinarily appealing to visitors fleeing cold climates. This is peak season for the so-called “snowbirds,” retirees and holidaymakers from Canada and the northern United States who descend in large numbers to play golf, hike, and simply sit in the sunshine.
The crowds and costs reflect this popularity. Hotel rates in the Phoenix metro and Tucson are at their annual peak, and popular restaurants and resorts require advance booking. The upside is that the air is crystal-clear, the light is magnificent for photography, and outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and hot-air ballooning are extremely comfortable.
Meanwhile, the higher reaches of Arizona transform entirely. Flagstaff and the White Mountains receive significant snowfall, offering skiing and snowboarding at Arizona Snowbowl and Sunrise Park Resort. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim wears a dusting of snow and sees far fewer visitors than in any other season, offering a hauntingly beautiful and unusually peaceful experience.
What to pack: For low desert destinations — light daytime clothing, a fleece or light jacket for evenings, comfortable shoes, and sunscreen (the winter sun is still strong). For Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon — a proper warm coat, thermals, waterproof boots, hat, gloves, and warm layers. Always pack sunscreen regardless of season.
🌸 Spring — March to May
Spring is widely regarded as one of the finest times to visit Arizona. Temperatures are warm and welcoming rather than punishing, ranging from around 18°C in March to the low 30s by late May. The desert bursts into extraordinary colour as wildflowers carpet the Sonoran Desert floor — saguaro cacti bloom their creamy-white flowers, and the hillsides around Phoenix and Tucson shimmer with Mexican poppies, lupins, and brittlebush. The famous Antelope Canyon in Page is beautifully lit in spring, and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim is at its most accessible and photogenic.
Crowds are moderate rather than overwhelming, making it an excellent time to visit popular national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Saguaro. Accommodation prices sit in the mid-range — higher than summer but without the peak winter surcharges. Spring is ideal for hikers, as trails that would be treacherous in summer heat are comfortably walkable, especially early in the morning.
What to pack: Lightweight layers for cool mornings and evenings, breathable shirts and trousers for daytime warmth, a light waterproof jacket, sturdy walking boots, sun hat, high-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a reusable water bottle. Allergy sufferers should bring antihistamines, as pollen levels are high.
☀️ Summer — June to August
Summer in Arizona is not for the faint-hearted. Temperatures across the lower desert regularly exceed 40°C, and Phoenix frequently records temperatures above 43°C for days at a stretch. However, summer has its own dramatic reward: the monsoon season, which typically arrives in July and runs through September. Towering storm cells roll across the desert skies each afternoon and evening, bringing spectacular lightning displays, dramatic dust storms known locally as haboobs, and short but intense downpours that transform dry riverbeds into rushing torrents.
Because of the heat, many domestic visitors stay away, meaning crowd levels at resorts and lower-elevation attractions drop considerably. Hotels slash their rates, and many upscale resorts in Scottsdale and Phoenix offer remarkable value. Those who want to escape the worst of the heat can head to higher elevations — Flagstaff sits at 2,100 metres and remains pleasant throughout summer, rarely exceeding 26°C. The ponderosa pine forests of the White Mountains offer cool hiking and stargazing well away from the desert floor.
What to pack: Ultra-lightweight, moisture-wicking clothing in light colours, a wide-brimmed hat, SPF 50+ sunscreen, insulated water bottle, electrolyte tablets or drinks, a light rain layer for afternoon monsoon storms, and sandals suitable for wet ground. Sunglasses with UV protection are essential. Avoid dark-coloured clothing.
🍂 Autumn — September to November
Autumn brings welcome relief as temperatures gradually ease from the summer extremes. By October, Phoenix and Tucson are in the comfortable 25–30°C range, and the southern deserts are delightful once more. The monsoon season wraps up in September, leaving the air fresh and the desert vegetation lush and green — a surprisingly verdant sight against the red rocks.
Sedona in autumn is particularly stunning, as the cottonwood trees along Oak Creek turn gold and amber, contrasting brilliantly with the famous red sandstone formations. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim sees good conditions, and the North Rim, which closes in mid-November, is at its most atmospheric in October. Festivals return to the calendar — the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the Sedona Arts Festival, and various harvest-themed events in Flagstaff make autumn culturally rewarding as well.
Crowd levels begin to build towards November as winter visitors from colder US states and Canada start to arrive. Prices rise accordingly, though the overall experience is excellent value compared to peak winter season.
What to pack: Light daytime clothing, but with a fleece or mid-layer for evenings, especially at altitude. Comfortable walking shoes or trail runners, a light rain jacket (residual monsoon possible in September), sunscreen, sunglasses, and a sun hat. Pack warmer layers if visiting Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon’s North Rim.
❄️ Winter — December to February
Winter divides Arizona neatly into two very different experiences depending on elevation. The low desert — Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, and the southern reaches of the state — enjoys mild, sunny days between 15°C and 20°C, making it extraordinarily appealing to visitors fleeing cold climates. This is peak season for the so-called “snowbirds,” retirees and holidaymakers from Canada and the northern United States who descend in large numbers to play golf, hike, and simply sit in the sunshine.
The crowds and costs reflect this popularity. Hotel rates in the Phoenix metro and Tucson are at their annual peak, and popular restaurants and resorts require advance booking. The upside is that the air is crystal-clear, the light is magnificent for photography, and outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and hot-air ballooning are extremely comfortable.
Meanwhile, the higher reaches of Arizona transform entirely. Flagstaff and the White Mountains receive significant snowfall, offering skiing and snowboarding at Arizona Snowbowl and Sunrise Park Resort. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim wears a dusting of snow and sees far fewer visitors than in any other season, offering a hauntingly beautiful and unusually peaceful experience.
What to pack: For low desert destinations — light daytime clothing, a fleece or light jacket for evenings, comfortable shoes, and sunscreen (the winter sun is still strong). For Flagstaff or the Grand Canyon — a proper warm coat, thermals, waterproof boots, hat, gloves, and warm layers. Always pack sunscreen regardless of season.
Where to stay in Sedona
1. Cozy Cactus B&B
The Cozy Cactus is a small, family-owned inn sitting on the edge of Sedona’s Coconino National Forest in the Village of Oak Creek, about six miles from the centre of town. It offers six self-contained units — a mix of king suites, studios, and two-bedroom condos — all with either a full kitchen or kitchenette, king beds, private bathrooms, and direct views of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. Breakfast is included and delivered to your room the evening before, so you can eat at your own pace. The big draw for many guests is the direct trail access: the Slim Shady trail to Bell Rock starts right from the back patio, cutting out the usual business of driving to a trailhead. There are also three fire pits on the shared terrace, a Red Rock parking pass included with each stay, and a handful of restaurants within walking distance. It consistently ranks as the top-rated B&B in the area, and the general tone of guest feedback is that it punches well above its size.
2. Sedona Pines Resortt
3. Whispering Creek B&B
The Whispering Creek B&B offers you lodging and breathtaking views of the Sedona Red Rock Mountains right from your door. There are 4 well-appointed guest rooms. At this B&B, breathtaking views, historical relevance, and intimate privacy fuse with the relaxing and healing energy of Sedona.
Whether you dream of a fabulous Arizona Outdoor Adventure vacation, an intimate Sedona wedding, or a memorable weekend getaway, you’ll enjoy your stay at The Whispering Creek Bed and Breakfast
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