Miniatures and Montezuma's Castle

After a restful night in my hotel suite, I had a few more things to do in Tucson before leaving town. So far on my road trip, I've only visited one museum...that was the Museum of Modern Art last week in San Francisco. Today was my second... The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. The name of the museum comes from its ability to send you back in time with its depictions of historical events...and also some very old pieces...all in miniature. The definition they give of miniature is at least 1/12th the size of the actual thing. Some of the items I saw in the museum were definitely much smaller. I liked the animals, especially the cat stuff. Look at the tiny chamber pot under the mouse bed!

 

The first miniatures in history were generally dollhouses. Nowadays, you can still see miniatures on display in buildings, but there are also standalone items and diorama type scenes. I always find myself drawn to tiny food pieces.

After my museum visit, I got a much-needed car wash and had lunch at a road trip favorite, Culver's...frozen custard! I then traveled north to the town of Camp Verde, the location of Montezuma's Castle National Monument. Now, this park has nothing to do with the Aztec ruler, Montezuma...the ruins were named by European-Americans back in the 1860s. They are really the ancient cliff dwellings of the Sinagua and Hohokam cultures. Some Hopi and Yavapai tribal clans are ancestors of those early peoples. Due to its location in the cliffs, the "castle" was basically inaccessible to the curious and thus, fairly well preserved. 

There was also another cliff dwelling adjacent to the Montezuma's Castle, mostly in ruins now known as Castle A. As you can see it was a beautiful day at the park and the temperature was also more favorable than it had been...mid-70s! I didn't take any animal photos today, but I did get flowers!

Tomorrow, the temperatures will continue to drop to more my style...40s and 50s! I'll be visiting a couple more outdoor sights and maybe see animals! Five more road trip days to go...