Friday Photos: Montezuma Castle National Monument, AZ

Montezuma Castle National Monument 

Montezuma Castle National Monument is located in Arizona, approximately 140 km (87 mi) north of Phoenix, and about 80 km (50 mi) south of Flagstaff. I wrote more about my visit to the monument here, so for my Friday Photos feature today I thought I would post some more images from that amazing site.

Click images to view full sized

 ...

The Native Community

Numerous information panels provide interesting historical and cultural facts about the cliff-dwellings, and the surrounding landscape.

Mysterious Departures

The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contained 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people.

View of brickwork and roof supports

Neither part of the monument's name is correct. More like a prehistoric high rise apartment complex than a castle, the site was abandoned by the Sinagua 100 years before Montezuma was born.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

No access to the ruins themselves has been allowed since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling, and the unstable nature of the limestone cliff face.

Diorama of cliff dwellings

This architecturally correct diorama gives visitors an idea of the internal layout of cliff-dwellings.

Diorama of cliff dwellings

Montezuma Castle National Monument was one of four original sites designated National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt in December 1906. The Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October, 1966.

Spectacular Cliff Dwellings in the Southwest 

Click images to view full sized.

More Information

Montezuma Castle on Wikipedia...

US National Park Service...

Apple’s for Adelaide. Better Late Than Never?

A wall of glass greets the faithful to the Adelaide Apple Store

How many years has it been since Apple Inc began setting up their Apple Stores around the world? According to Wikipedia: “On May 19, 2001, Apple opened the first official Apple Retail Stores in Virginia and California. As of November 2012, Apple maintains 394 retail stores in fourteen countries as well as the online Apple Store and iTunes Store.”

To answer my own question then, it has been 12 years since Apple opened their first store. And make that figure 395 retail stores and counting. I mention this because a few weeks ago (May 25, 2013) Apple Inc opened its first Adelaide store in the heart of the city in Rundle Mall. I wish the venture every success, but I can’t help wondering if it may be arriving a little too late. I mean, it is not as if Apple products are impossible to find here. Not when pretty much every telecoms shop, Harvey Norman, JB-HiFi, and Dick Smith store sell Apple products. And let’s not forget every major department store, and a host of other outlets. Oh, and of course, there are the stores that specialize exclusively in Apple products such as Next Byte and others.

And just to show how my timing is off―as usual―the Adelaide Apple store opened less than a month after I traded in my old iPhone 3GS for the latest Galaxy S4. Oh, well. Better late than never, I guess. Good luck Apple. It is good to see you here, at last.

TED on Tuesday: Janine Shepherd: From Paraplegic to Pilot

Australian speakers seem to be few and far between on TED, so I was particularly pleased to watch this talk by the former cross-country skier, Janine Shepherd.

Janine was aiming for an Olympic medal―until she was hit by a truck during a training bike ride through the Blue Mountains (60-90 minutes from Sydney). Shephard’s doctors did not expect her to survive, and when she did, they warned her that she would never walk again. But she not only learned to walk again―she learned to fly.

Janine focused intently for years on healing both her broken body and crushed morale. A turning point came watching small planes flying overhead. She decided: “If I can’t walk, I’ll fly.” While still in a full body cast, Janine was lifted into an aircraft for her first flight. Within a year she had her private pilot’s license. Later, she earned her commercial pilots license and instructor’s rating. Janine recently served on the board of Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and became its youngest­―and only―female director.

Despite being a walking paraplegic, Janine Shepherd is also a pilot and aerobatics instructor, as well as a powerful motivational speaker and author. In this TED talk she shares her inspirational story about the human potential for recovery. Her message: you are not your body, and giving up old dreams can allow new ones to soar.

Today, Janine is the patron of the Australasian Spinal Research Trust and is committed to helping find a cure for spinal cord injury in the near future. In the meantime, she seeks to inspire those coping with physical disability. She is the author of five books, including Never Tell Me Never. And while doctors told her after her accident that she would never have children, she now is a mother of three.

This 19 minute TED talk was first posted in November 2012.

“It [doesn't matter] what you look like, where you come from, or what you do for a living. All that matters is that we continue to fan the flame of humanity by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression of who we really are.” ~ Janine Shepherd

More Information

Janine Shepherd’s Website and Blog…