On the way, we spontaneously stopped at Montezuma Castle, which is the ruin of a pueblo built by the Southern Sinagua (Spanish for without water) people. The Southern Sinagua inhabited the Verde Valley from about 700 AD to the early 1400s and were skilled farmers. Situated in a cliff recess 100 feet above the valley, the original pueblo was five stories tall and consisted of 20 rooms. Early settlers who thought the ruin was of Aztec origin mistakenly assigned the name Montezuma to it.
In Sedona, we hiked the Boynton Canyon Trail in the Coconino National Forest and the Red Rock Ranger District. The trail was mild, which I appreciated because the backs of my knees and legs are still injured. Parts of the trail were positively beach-like with thick white sand, and I was amazed at the extent of the forest.
Afterward, we had a snack at the Enchantment Resort's Tii Gavo restaurant. The restaurant has a stunning view, and the prickly pear mojito was marvy, but the cactus fries resembled mushy green peppers. The cornmeal crust offset the texture somewhat, but they were still rather bland and greasy.
For dinner at the Heartline Cafe, we shared pecan-crusted trout with grain mustard sauce, seared polenta and braised pork with roasted pepper sauce, and quail in a port wine demi-glace.
After dinner, we drove up Airport Road to watch the sunset and then walked around the Tlaquepaque shopping district before getting back on the road.
On Tuesday night, we went to Scottsdale 6, a drive-in movie theater, to see Shrek 3 and How to Train Your Dragon. I'd never been before, so it was a hoot.
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