On Sunday morning we’re off to Symphony Drive in the middle of what is otherwise the “spice” neighborhood of Prescott (Coriander Court, Cayenne Lane, Allspice Way…) to see John and Barbara Gross. John is my second cousin, his grandmother Ida Gutmann was the sister of my father’s father Hermann. His family survive the war living in Germany, and he and his siblings have shared some fascinating and frightening stories from that time. All of them had lived in California for most of the past thirty years, but we’ve unfortunately managed to see them only sporadically until fairly recently, and he and Barbara have lived in Prescott for the past several years. We find our way to their house, and that evening have the pleasure of meeting Barbara’s son Ted and his buddy Thomas who arrive for a visit in full leathers on their Harleys.
Thomas, Ted, Barbara & John
At Montezuma Castle
The next day John and Barbara take us to see more of the sights of the Prescott area, and we visit Montezuma Castle, a remarkable nine hundred-year old, 20-room apartment complex built into the limestone cliffs. The name is a fantasy, this place was built and occupied by the Sinagua people a few centuries before Montezuma’s time, and so far as anyone knows he never came anywhere near here. The ancient stone walls ring a familiar bell in my mind, they’re not that much older than the walls which still stand at the perimeter of my home town, Domme, in the south of France.
Not far from here is Montezuma Well, a huge sinkhole filled by a continuous flow of water from two underground springs. There are more cliff dwellings carved into the cliff faces above the lake, and this water continues to be used for irrigation, running through a man-made ditch which dates back a thousand years.
Montezuma Well
John has developed a serious interest and expertise in our family’s genealogy, and I’m grateful to share in his extensive trove of information. His proficiency in German made it possible for him to gather data on several of his visits to Bavaria which would have been impossible for me do.
It’s been a delightful and informative visit, but the next day we’re on the road again.
Saguaros (Cereus giganteus)
We head southwest on Route 60 then west on I-10, through the western range of the saguaro cactus, a universal presence in most old cowboy movies. We enter California and stop for lunch as recommended by Barbara and John, at Chiriaco Summit, a cafe that’s been there since 1935. We drive through towns which are sounding increasingly familiar, Indio, Palm Springs, Riverside. Then we’re on Route 91 and 55, known sporadically as the Costa Mesa Freeway. We pick up the keys for our temporary digs in UCI’s Gabrielino apartments and after 12,500 miles our cross-country trip is over.