Montezuma Castle in central Arizona is an amazing place. It's easy to see why the Sinagua people wanted to call this little corner home. The cliff curves around two sides, and on the third side is Beaver creek. It is shaded by cottonwood trees and beautiful Arizona sycamore trees with their silvery bark. The cliff had natural holes in it which the people only had to enlarge or build upon. Sinagua is Spanish (sin agua) meaning "without water" and refers to the way these people managed to survive in this high desert landscape.
Our camera went dead just before our visit, so we didn't take any pictures at the Castle. Here's a video so you can see what it looks like:
The fourth side of this little area is the visitor center/museum, picnic area, and parking lot. You enter through the visitor center.
The junior ranger program here is set up for kids as young as age 1! We have a 2 year old, so we love it when he can easily be included. The little ones are asked to look for things (castle, bird, hole in rock, etc) and a coloring page (so make sure you bring colored pencils or crayons). There is a separate booklet for older kids. They have to find information primarily in the museum area of the visitor center, and also on trail signs outdoors.
And here's the badge:
Junior Ranger: "I liked having our lunch in the picnic area and after it was fun standing on the little berm by the creek and trying to throw sticks into the creek."
Mom: "There was a guy here today playing on a native American wooden flute and it was echoing on the cliffs. It gave us a feeling of the people who lived here. It's amazing to think about the little children that lived here climbing up and down that cliff each day!"
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