(Sorry that it's been a while since the last update but we've been on the go pretty much all day, every day and I haven't had the time or the drive the last few nights to work on the blog. I'll try to make up for it tonight!)
After Santa Fe, we decided to head north to see Mesa Verde National Park outside Cortez, CO. But on the way we made an (almost) obligatory stop at the
Four Corners Monument at Teec Nos Pos, NM. For those of you who might not know, this is the ONLY place in the US where four states meet at a single spot. The four states are New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. The site itself is a private site administered by the Navajo Nation even though the boundary is shared with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Four different surveyors set the marks at four different times between 1868 and 1901.
Our next stop was Cortez, CO. The
Mesa Verde National Park lies about 7 miles east of Cortez. The park was once home to Ancestral Pueblo Indians who lived in the area between about 600 AD to 1300 AD. These Ancestral Puebloans were non-nomadic. They farmed corn, beans, and squash in the fertile soil found atop the mesas here. The Indians first lived in pithouses, partially dug into the ground but with timbered walls and thatched roofs. They later began to construct houses and pueblos (Spanish word for villages) built of stone. About 1200 AD, for a reason the experts don't really know, they moved from the tops of the mesas to building villages along the side of cliffs , typically under protective ledges. There was a building frenzy fro about 75 years but for some (again) unknown reason the Puebloans abruptly abandoned the area around 1300 AD. They theorize it was a severe and lingering drought that drove them out of the area.
 |
| Mesa Verde |
 |
| Mesa Verde View |
 |
| Spruce Tree House |
 |
| Cliff Palace |
 |
| New Fire House |
 |
| Pithouse circa 575 AD |
 |
| Kiva circa 600 AD |
 |
| Far View Community |
 |
| Far View Community Kiva |
 |
| Far View Community |
Next up: Arches National Park in Moab, UT
Oh, yeah - before I forget, we saw a sign for a little town just a 10 miles up the road from Cortez that we just HAD to take a drive through: Dolores, CO!! It seemed like most of the places with names were "Dolores
something" - even the Dolores River!!. I wasn't sure for a minute if MY Dolores was going to stay or continue on the trip with me. Lucky me, she made the trip to Moab, UT with me!
That's all for now ..... Dan
Need to get that picture framed! Too bad you'll miss the BIG snow storm on Tuesday. Keep having fun.
ReplyDeleteCurtis