Badger Den Dwellings

As most of Wisconsin fans are tucked away in their Badger Dens tonight, hoping for a victorious move from the Sweet 16 to the Elite 8, I was reminded of some other "dens" we saw out West.

While we were traveling around from Mesa to Flagstaff via Sedona, we took just a slight detour to check out Montezuma Castle National Monument near Camp Verde.

Now there are two things that typically come to mind when I hear the word Montezuma. One is the Halls of Montezuma in the Marine's Hymn. The other, of course, is the dreaded Montezuma's revenge.

Now, though, I can think of Montezuma Castle, which isn't a castle at all, but rather one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America, carved into the sandstone cliffs high above Beaver Creek. The real Montezuma was never there. Early settlers erroneously connected the Aztec emperor to these ruins but he wasn’t born until after the ruins were abandoned.

The 5-story, 20-room cliff dwelling stands like a high-rise ancient apartment building standing guard over the Verde Valley below. The precariousness of the dwelling's location and its immense scale – almost 4,000 square feet of floor space across those 5 stories – suggest that the Sinagua were daring builders and skilled engineers. Access into the structure was most likely permitted by a series of portable ladders, which made it difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.

As you'll note in these photos, though, those Sinagua tribal portable ladders look to have been replaced by Home Depot portable ladders. Probably due to some renovation work. Still, the view was undeniably beautiful and intriguing.

See those non-ancient ladders?

I thought this looked like either a tongue sticking out or someone's tonsils.

Carter the climber staying off the prohibited area. Barely.

Perhaps the secret entry to the ruins? Or maybe Bucky Badger has a "winter place" reserved for the upcoming Final Four?

All those hiding places!

We also saw what I termed "camo trees." They look just like the gray camouflage shirts and pants the boys used to wear!

Of course that meant a photo. Good suggestion, Rayna!

Some of the plant life was identified on the "keep off the grass" areas. I found it interesting that a scratching bush would have the name catclaw in it! Appropriate.

There were also pretty flowers and, right along with it, bees. Glad our hosts and tour guides Rayna and Paul did not take my bee-allergic hubby here when he was out there. But grateful we got to visit something so unusual – and actually ancient on U.S. soil!

Hope to get back out in that area some day. At a minimum, let's hope Bucky can get out there to his Desert Den next week WITH the team! Go Badgers!