| Submitted by: Evelyn C. LeeperUnited States |
| Submission Date: 15 February 2005 |
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The most confusing part was near to cowboy cave,
where the cave was blocked off with barbed wire which seemed to extend past
it across where the trail should have been. On closer inspection, however,
it turned out that there was an opening in the wire, but only if you walked
in a S-shape around the end of one fence and then the other.
We also stopped at Roadside Ruin which was more a nature trail than a
very interesting ruin. (It was a granary in a corner of an alcove.)
At 7:00 PM we left and drove to Monticello for the night. Again, we
had some trouble finding a room: there are only about four motels and the
cheap one was full. There was another relatively cheap one (Canyonlands,
$37.40 with tax) which claimed to be AAA approved, although it's not listed
in the latest book, and seems to have a more slovenly attitude than AAA
usually endorses. Still, it was only for one night.
Our choices for dinner were even more limited, as the restaurant
recommended in HIDDEN SOUTHWEST seems to have died. We had undistinguished
Mexican food at La Casita.
Minimum elevation: 4000 ft (1219 m).
Maximum elevation: 6240 ft (1902 m).
Distance driven: 181 miles (291 kilometers).
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Breakfast was at a place called Hoagie's, but we had
ordinary breakfast food instead.
The drive to Cortez took about an hour. We could have gone there the
night before, I suppose, but since we were staying in Cortez three nights,
this way we had time to find something more comfortable rather than taking
whatever was left over late at night. Arriving at 9:15 AM gives you a
bigger choice, especially if you don't want to occupy the room immediately.
We got a room at the Arrow National 9 (a chain, but with separate names
for each of the motels) (US$41.23 with tax). But we didn't unload the car.
Instead we went directly to the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores.
The Anasazi Heritage Center, with its associated Dominguez and
Escalante Ruins is not a National Park, or a National Monument, or even run
by the National Park Service. It was built and is run by the Bureau of Land
Management (and is free). Apparently when the McPhee Reservoir was built,
something needed to be done to appease the people who thought that burying
Anasazi sites under hundreds of feet of water was a bad idea. So this
museum was financed. This should not detract from the fact that it is a
very good museum, using computers, microscopes, and holograms to tell the
story of the Anasazi in this region. It was not very crowded (not much is
about now) though there were the inevitable German tourists. Everywhere we
went there were German tourists--it must be the strong Deutschmark or
something. And it's certainly a function of the German interest in travel
and archaeology. When we were in Mexico, we went to Tula, a set of ruins
about an hour's drive outside Mexico City. As we approached, we saw one
group of tourists ahead, and our guide immediately say they were Germans.
'How can you tell from this distance?' we asked. 'Because only Germans come
here. Americans go to the pyramids [right outside Mexico City], the
bullfight, and on to Acapulco.' and he was right--they were Germans.
We talked a bit to the woman at the desk, who was telling us about
someone's theory that the Zun from Liberia. (I think she said his name was
Barry Fell, but I could be wrong.)
We spent two hours at the Center, brushing up on the Anasazi since we
had forgotten a fair amount since our last trip. (With all the resource
material we brought, the one thing we didn't bring was our logs.) The
Center claims, 'We know the Anasazi only by what they left behind,' but I
got the impression elsewhere that it is believed the Hopi are the
descendants of the Anasazi and much of what is believed about their society
is extrapolated from Hopi practice. ('Anasazi' is Navajo for ancient ones,
so the Hopi's ancestors are known by a Navajo word.) Just to give you a
general idea, the Anasazi lived in this region from about 1100 to the late
1200s.
The Center divides the inhabitants of the area into paleo-Indians,
archaic (who used the atlatl), and basketmakers (the earliest of Anasazi,
who raised corn and later beans and used the bow and arrow). This was
followed by the Pueblo Period, when the Anasazi branched into three main
types: Northern San Juan, Chaco, and Kayenta. By this time, the pit houses
had been discarded, with their only legacy the kivas. From the descriptions
of activities in the kivas, they sound more like synagogues than churches,
being used for meetings, conversations, and social activities as well as
religious ceremonies.
The Center also had a section talking about the ecology of the area.
As one sign said, 'As they [the Anasazi] grew, they changed the land.' Was
this a subtle attempt to say that the McPhee Reservoir was no different than
what had been done for centuries before?
There was also a section called 'Seeds of Change,' talking about the
five things that made major changes in the contact between the New World and
the Old: corn, potato, sugar, the horse, and disease. Regarding sugar, for
example, the growing of sugar in the New World was what prompted the slave
trade, and the Center included the following description: 'At last, when
the ship had all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and we
were all put under deck. The closeness of the place ... being so crowded
that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us ... the
air soon became unfit for respiration.... This deplorable situation was
again aggravated by the galling of chains .... The shrieks of the women,
and the groans of the dying, rendered it a scene of horror almost
inconceivable' (Olaudah Equiano). (It's not entirely clear that this had
much to do with the Anasazi.)
The following poem from the Nahuatl language was at least more relevant
to the people of the area:
'Broken spears lie in the roads;
We have torn our hair in our grief.
The houses are roofless now, and their walls
Are red with blood.
Worms are swarming in the streets and plazas
And the walls are spattered with gore.
The water has turned red, as if it were dyed,
And when we drink it, it has the taste of brine.
We have pounded our hands in despair
Against the adobe walls,
For our inheritance, our city, is lost and dead.
The shields of our warriors were its defense,
But they could not save it.'
This section concluded with a plea for environmentalism, including such
quotes as, 'It is not given to man to create wilderness. But he can make
deserts and has' (Wallace Stegner) and, 'Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only
thing that ever has' (Margaret Mead).
There was also a film called 'Green Gold' about three New World plants
have had enormous influence around the world: corn, potatoes, and chili
peppers. There are 20,000 usable plants in the world, of which only 100
have been domesticated. Of these, only 20 are major crops. This finished
with a section telling us how we are narrowing plant diversity and what a
bad thing this is. Now, I am all for environmental consciousness, but I
find myself asking why we put the earlier peoples on a pedestal regarding
the environment? They did what they could to change things. It's just that
we're more successful. Did someone say to the first planter of crops, 'No,
you should let the plants grow wild'? Or to the first domesticator of
animals, 'No, you'll change the species too much'?
After finishing seeing the Center, we walked up to see the Escalante
Ruins, the Dominguez Ruins being right in front of the Center. Then we
drove to Hovenweep National Monument (no admission charge). This is not
very well visited, probably because you have to drive 25 miles (40
kilometers) over gravel and dirt roads. And true to form, as soon as we got
there (about 2:00 PM), it started to rain. We waited in the car to see if
it would let up, and after a bit it did. We saw the closest ruins and then
it started to rain again. We headed back to the car. It stopped. We
turned around and began walking back to the ruin. It started again. We
gave up, since we had seen almost everything we could without a long hike.
On the way back we saw a sign for Lowry Ruin, and I had seen this
mentioned somewhere, so we decided to see it as well. (By now the sky had
cleared somewhat--of course.) This was another location managed by the
Bureau of Land Management, and has been designated a National Historic
Landmark. (I know that a National Park is designated by Congress, and a
National Monument by the President. I have no idea who designates a
National Historic Landmark.) While no one is on duty here, there is a quite
good walking tour brochure available for loan or for US$0.25 from a box at
the entrance. You can even enter the painted kiva here. (Obviously, no
admission charge.)
I would strongly advise people going to Hovenweep (or even Lowry) to
note which county roads they travel on (they are all clearly marked 'RD
{number}') and which way they turn. While the route *to* the ruins is
clearly signposted, the return to the main highway is not. As I noted,
Hovenweep is 25 miles (40 kilometers) over bad roads, while Lowry is only 9
miles (14 kilometers), and for what you can see without a long hike, I
would say Lowry is better.
We returned to Cortez by 5:15 PM and dropped off a roll of film at a
one-hour developing place (though at this time it was more an overnight
one). Mark had a new camera and it seemed to be deciding when to flash
somewhat arbitrarily, so we wanted to make sure it was working properly.
Then we had a very good Mexican dinner at Francisca's. Out here they serve
tamales, a dish that for some reason is hard to find in New Jersey. We
followed this by seeing CRIMSON TIDE--we have to keep up with the movies,
even on vacation.
Minimum elevation: 6198 ft (1889 m).
Maximum elevation: 7050 ft (2149 m).
Distance driven: 193 miles (311 kilometers).
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Today is Mark's birthday. No fair asking which one.
Breakfast was at 6:15 AM at the M&M Truck Stop: nothing fancy, but
good, inexpensive food, plus it's one of the few places open at that hour.
We started toward Mesa Verde National Park (a World Heritage Cultural
Site) and it was chilly, but not exceptionally so, and we had figured it
would warm up. (It was 37 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3 degrees Centigrade.)
However, as soon as we got to the Park (usual admission is US$5 per car) and
started up the road to the top of the mesa, we found ourselves in fog
(clouds, really). Then we started seeing snow by the side of the road.
Then it started snowing. By the time we got to the Visitors Center, it was
clear that it was not going to be very warm, not to mention that the 360-
degree panorama view from Park Point consisted of 360 degrees of fog.
('From Park Point at 8,751 feet, you can see over 100 miles into Colorado,
Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.' We could see 20 feet of fog. |
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| Copyright © - "Evelyn C. Leeper" |
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