Visiting the Past

Inquisitive. On this summer's desert adventure I spent a lot of time among ancient Puebloan ruins, remnants of a past culture that survived and thrived in the desert canyons of south western Colorado and southern Utah. Every time I came upon one of these archaeological sites, I stopped and spent some time exploring. Some sites let you actually walk among the ruins. Others had barriers. All of them preserved an amazing chapter in this continent's history. With red rock and scrub brush spread around you as far as you could see, it was difficult to imagine a civilization actually surviving in the desert; then you see their homes, their buildings and their paths, and they become very real. In some of the ruins, they might have just left yesterday.

My first stop was a recently named National Monument, Chimney Rock, located in southern Colorado. Even from the interstate, the "chimney" was obvious: a bright whitish rock just over the surrounding trees and bushes, prominent even from a distance. As I turned off the highway and onto the gravel road that led me into the park, I lost sight of the chimney. I wound my way part way up a short mesa before I finally reached the parking lot and small cabin that housed the park's visitor center. I signed up for the guided tour, then followed the convoy of cars up the mesa to our meeting point. Our tour guide took us through the juniper forest along a well marked trail, pointing out pit houses, grinding stones and rudimentary tools as we follwed behind him. Then we started to climb. Up and up, almost all the way to the park's namesake and right into the middle of a mid-sized ruin, complete with several kivas and a turkey run. We stopped to take in the view: the chimney, the river far below, and other ruin sites that were evident from the hilltop. Honestly, it wasn't the best tour I've ever had. The guide tried too hard to be funny, and there were too many small children who could have easily fallen off the cliff edges, but the history of the area and being in the ruins made my trip worthwhile.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument was another stop along my journey. This out-of-the-way monument isn't easy to reach, as the dirt roads aren't well marked and would be nearly impassable if it were to rain. Once there, no visitors center or amenities greet you. A short dirt pathway leads you from the parking lot straight to a large, multi-level ruin with a tin roof over it to protect it from the elements. The area is very much self-guided, and there were only two other people when I visited. I circled the compound twice, reading every word on the information signs posted throughout the area. You were even allowed to crawl through a small door and enter the ruin! A kiva was placed just outside of the main complex, though it was roped off to prevent people from climbing into it. After taking my fair share of pictures, and with the threat of an approaching rain shower, I headed back toward the highway, and continued my journey into the desert.

After spending several days in Moab, UT with my family, my sister and I headed off on our own to check out a few other parks before we too headed our separate ways. We stopped at Hovenweep National Monument, which I'll write about later, then headed to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Alisha stayed the night with me in the park, then headed home while I continued my exploration of the desert. One of the areas I checked out while in the park was Spruce Tree House, a ruin that was semi-open to the public, though of course a ranger was on hand to prevent any damage to the artifacts. Spruce Tree House is set in a small alcove just above a cool canyon wash, which provided the ancient settlement with water and some shade. There are multiple kivas throughout the alcove, and the park service even reconstructed one so that the public could experience the cool darkness the kivas provided. The kiva, which means "meeting place," is a circular pit, lined with stones and typically a fireplace with a vent to the outside world. The pit was roofed over, and a ladder was used to climb down into the kiva whenever it was occupied. The real purpose of a kiva is the point of some debate, though a general consensus of using the kiva as a social area seems to be accepted. Whatever the reason, kivas are pretty neat, especially when you remember they were dug and constructed by hand. Seriously.

The Step House, also in Mesa Verde, was the last set of ruins I visited while I was in the desert. Also established in an alcove, Step House was home to some amazing petroglyphs, and even had some soot "paintings" of the ancient's hands against the red rock walls. I spent a long time there, talking to the ranger and wandering along the front of the buildings. The ranger pointed out several drawings that I never would have seen on my own; it pays to take some time and talk to the locals! You do learn new things! After I had explored to my satisfaction, I hiked out of the canyon and back to my car, not quite ready to finish my desert adventure. Luckily, I still had a couple of days to spare!