Tonto National Monument

Oxbow RV Park

Payson, AZ

October 14, 2022 

Our next adventure had us heading south on Highway 88 and making a left turn onto Arizona Scenic Highway 188.  It's a beautiful drive that follows the mountains and saguaros on one side and Roosevelt Lake and saguaros on the other.  

Roosevelt Lake is the largest lake located entirely in Arizona.  It lies within the Tonto Basin.  The basin is described as a low elevation Sonoran desert scrub habitat zone.  It is a reservoir lake that was created by a dam built on Salt River between 1905-1911.  The purpose of the dam was to control the flow of the Salt River and harness the water for irrigation.  In its day, it was the worlds tallest masonry dam built with huge irregular blocks.  Updates to the dam in 1996 raised the height of the dam 357 feet and the dam was then covered with concrete.  The dam now has electric hydrogeneration capacity and can provide service for 30,000 homes.  

President Roosevelt dedicated the original dam in 1911.

The Roosevelt Lake wildlife area is approximately 78,000 acres along the north and west shore.

Our destination for the day was Tonto National Monument. This small monument showcases two Salado-style cliff dwellings in the Superstition Mountains between Payson and Globe. President Roosevelt declared it a NM in 1907.

Both dwellings were built quite high up a steep hillside within well protected natural caves overlooking the Tonto Basin.  I knew before arriving that the trail to the lower dwelling is open year round, but the trail to the upper dwelling is only open November-April and can only be done with a park ranger.  

The trail to the lower ruins is a bit over a half-mile with an elevation gain of 350 feet.  Beginning the trail, we could see the destination...the black hole just left of center in the photo below is the lower ruins.  

    

Benches are spaced along the trail for those who need them.  The trail closes at noon during summer hours and I expect that those who venture out in the Sonoran desert to make this trek during the summer take full advantage of the benches.  I love the stone work and the effort to make the benches a part of the trail.

Signs along the way offer information about the plants, the animals  and the people who lived here.

About half way up, I took this photo.  If you squint your eyes and look real close in the bottom right corner you can see the roof of the VC and the parking lot where we parked.

And a view from the top. 

A park ranger greeted us at the dwelling offering information and a notebook to look thru describing the stages of excavation and to monitor visitor behavior.  We were free to walk around and explore on our own.  

The dwelling, a two story complex, was established by the Salado Indians around 1300.  It originally had 19 rooms and housed about 40 people. 

Even after 700+ years, the walls remain thick and strong reflecting the sturdy construction by the Salado Indians.  Originally, the only access was by ladder leading to an entrance on the far left side of the structure which made the village easy to defend. 

The ruins face southeast.  Imagine beginning the day watching the sunrise from here. 

  

And this is why visitor behavior is monitored...makes my stomach hurt !  I didn't notice the graffiti until I downloaded the photo.   

The Salado appear to have abandoned their villages, suddenly early in the fifteenth century, for reasons which are not known. 

Peaking thru one of the lower windows...

A huge alcove lined with metamorphic rocks, grayish overall, but including thin-layered components of more brighter colors.

 

Beautiful stone walls and slate floors...

Looking up...

The small Visitor Center showcases artifacts found in the dwellings.  These talented people are best known for their striking polychrome pottery.  Potters used mineral and organic materials to decorate their pots with red, white and black paints.  

Red paint was made from iron-rich clay or minerals. White paint came from pure white clay.  And black  was usually carbon based, made from boiling down plants to a tar-like substance.  The large piece (#1 dated 1167) is a cooking and storage pot and they were not decorative.

Tje Salado were also highly accomplished weavers.  The closely woven cotton fabric rivals modern day cloth made by machines. 

The dry Arizona environment protected this rare textile found in the cave for all these centuries.  

There is also a display of hunting and stone tools found in the caves and in the area.

The stone axe, usually made of fine-grained volcanic rock, were time consuming to make and lasted for generations.  This one dated 694-97.

A large display described life 700+ years ago.  The wild plants, farmed plants, the importance of agave (which the Salado used ever part of) and trade were depicted.

The entrance road to the National Monument (from Hwy 188) is in the center of the photo below.  Today, Roosevelt Lake has flooded the Tonto Basin, but back in the days when the Salado Indians lived here, the Salt River flowed year round in the basin.  Salado farmers planted their crops in the basin and carried water from the river to their fields.  Small field houses served as seasonal housing for monitoring and protecting the crops.

I do love days like this one and the one we spent at the Natural Bridge.  I have one more post to write from Oxbow.  I have said it before, the days fly by !  Until next time,

The Roosevelt Lake Bridge on Hwy 188  

We were both happy the path was paved when we started the walk down.

    HAPPY TRAILS !