Montezuma’s Castle

Woke up just before 7AM and pink streaks are running through the sky as the sun climbs into the sky. It’s 9F and I actually slept well enough through the frigid night after putting snow pants and the winter jacket on. The new sleeping pad is damn comfy. I did have to set the alarm to wake up every two hours though to check the interior temperature of the Escape. If it was too frosty then I’d start the car so that the contents of the solar shower and other things didn’t freeze. This night has been the coldest I’ve ever slept in the car, and it happened in Arizona of all places. Go figure.

Pulled over in Payson and had a breakfast of yogurt with a banana from Safeway before cleaning myself up in the bathroom there. Up to this point I’ve just been heading to Arizona, and now I’m here. It’s profoundly disconcerting - I have no plan beyond this parking lot. And it’s about 40 degrees Fahrenheit colder than what I was expecting. Shit… do I keep going to Cali?

It’s Xmas Eve and the entire town has been consumed with feverish holiday energy. I stopped by a Goodwill store to look for local travel guidebooks, and as I was in line the lady in front of me lost it and started shouting at the man in front of her for buying so many items and making her wait 5 minutes. Once they left I asked the cashier if she was ok and I told her that us normal people appreciate her being there. There’s nothing to really say about people that act this way.

Now, what to do with myself…

Drove west and up up Montezuma’s Castle on the suggestion of a friend from high school who I had been chatting with on the social media. I made it there at 1:30 and they closed at 2, so the lady at the front let me in for free. The “castle” is actually an old Indian cliff-side settlement constructed 700 years ago, before the conquistadors had ever heard of the new land.

From there I continued on to Sedona, where the rocks are a deep crimson and dotted with green shrubs. Fitting colors for the holiday season.