A Santa tree, Tlaquepaque, and Montezuma's castle

We started off the day helping out at a volunteer thing with L's parents. First, we helped throw out some rubbish. The place held a surprising amount of interesting artifacts, including this one...

Our main task was to help decorate the Santa tree for the Festival of Trees. It took a surprising amount of time to finish the tree, which looked something like this all the way around. It will be auctioned off for charity sometime in December.

The we headed out to Tlaquepaque, a key tourist shopping destination in Sedona. From the shopping centre, we could see a grey home on a hill--formerly owned by none other than Lucille Ball.

Tlaquepaque means 'the best of everything' and was apparently fashioned to resemble a Mexican village. D enjoyed the fact that trees were growing throughout the complex.

 There were also some amazing statues and art galleries. This was D's favorite.

 Then we went to Montezuma's castle, about a 30-minute drive south of Sedona.

Interestingly enough, the structure is neither a castle nor connected to Montezuma. Instead, it is a well-preserved set of Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings near Camp Verde. Apparently the dwellings were built and used about 700 years ago and housed about 35 people. Hopi clans and Yavapai communities trace their heritage to this area and return home for ceremonies periodically.

 The dwelling is built up high into the cliff face and has been well preserved for hundreds of years.

Beaver Creek runs near the dwellings and must have been the source of water for the community.

Sunset in Red Rock country on the drive home. Simply sublime.