12 - TUZIGOOTE AND THE VERDE CANYON RAILWAY

It was a beautiful blue sky day with several hot air balloons in the air as we left Phoenix early in the morning.

It was a beautiful drive...

...lots of majestic Saguaro cactus that grow like weeds on the hillsides the first half of the trip, then disappeard as the altitude increased and the terrain changed with it.

We drove about an hour and a half north of Phoenix planning to take the Verde Canyon Railway train. 

We arrived early so stopped off at the nearby Tuzigoot National Monument. It is considered one of the biggest ancient pueblos in Verde Valley.

The small visitor center housed an interesting museum detailing the history of the Tuzigoot.

Pieces of large pots have been excavated from the pueblo and put back together and on display in the museum.

There is a hilltop right above the museum with a short, steep walkway to the top.  This is where the Pueblo is located. 

This is what the Pueblo looked like after being excavated. The most important people in the community lived at the top of the hill. Other communities built lower down the hill. Over the years the walls collapsed and have been rebuilt as you see them.

 This is how the partial walls of the rooms look.

 Gazing downhill, you can see how they continue to connect.

 There were steps up to the top that we climbed.

The inside of a room was reconstructed to look as it did originally.

From the top of the pueblo we looked down over the rock walls of the rooms to the museum below and the mountains in the background.


Then it was time to catch the Verde Canyon Train a few miles away.


This was a great four-hour train ride and we totally enjoyed it.


It began in the little village of Clarkdale, that sits just a couple miles below the old copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona. The train took us to the ghost town of Perkinsville and back again.


The man who owns the 38 or so mile long railway and train, bought it in 1988 sight unseen, based on freight records only (the freight couldn't have been much).


The first time he rode it himself, he was amazed by the beauty, geology and archaeology in the canyon it traveled through and decided it needed to be shared with the public.

It is referred to as the "Blue Train" for obvious reasons.


Please excuse the streaks in some of my pictures as there were water streaks on the windows that I just couldn't avoid.

Our car was at the back of the train, near the caboose. 


When we bought tickets we found there wasn't much difference in the price of regular tickets and "First Class," which we chose. 

It was a good choice as it wasn't crowded, seats were comfortable and they fed us as well. 


The regular cars were packed in tight with tourists and they were on their own for any food that they might have stuffed in their pockets before leaving the station.

The train rolled slowly through the valley showing off a variety of beautiful scenery in the background.


The path of the train followed the Verde River, where we sometimes saw ducks on the water here and there.

Often the tracks were were right next to the river.

 The sun shone on the red hills that were in the distance...

...other times, the rocky cliffs were very close to the tracks.

There was also an area where there were several ancient Sinagua cliff dwellings very close to the railway.

Not only was the ride through beautiful scenery, but it was relaxing as well.


Next blog, The Unexpected; A Sedona Jeep ride and Oak Creek Canyon.