Day 23-24 ~ Cortez, Colorado & Monument Valley, Utah

At one o'clock Wednesday, we boarded a rather old bus. I think it may have been a school bus at one point in time but the seats were a little nicer. It brought to mind our raft trip earlier on this trip. We traveled to the river in a Barney-purple school bus. The driver informed us that the life of a bus goes from school to church to prison to tours. In any case, we were all happy to be on our way back to Mesa Verde National Park. On the long uphill drive we were served a delicious box lunch from the park's cafeteria. Our tour guide was very good and we made many stops throughout the park. Mesa Verde, and most of the four corners region, was originally populated by a group called the Anasazi from 1 to 1200 A.D. Current terminology refers to the group as Ancestral Puebloans. After 1200 A.D. the area was abandoned. The cause is still unknown but many suspect it was due to a severe drought lasting for years. While living in the area, natural cliff alcoves were used as a protected location for homes. The alcoves were reached by using a series of finger and toe holds in the cliff face and ladders within the alcove.

Most of the vegetation in the area was similar to what is there now, Utah Juniper, Pinon Pine and the Yucca plant. The trees were used for wood but all parts of the tree were used in some way.

Turkeys were treated as domestic pets and their feathers were used for bedding. Only during droughts is there evidence that the turkeys became a food source. Our first stop was to view a pithouse (575 A.D.) Part of the dwelling is below ground level. Wood poles where then driven into the ground and additional wood formed a frame which was then covered with mud or dirt.

Our second stop was to view a kiva (900 A.D.) The underground portion is deeper. They were often used for ceremonies.

Although we could not take the guided tour of the Cliff Palace, we were able to see it across the canyon. It is another example of an alcove dwelling. The black streaks are called desert varnish which we have seen throughout the Southwest. It is caused by iron oxide.

We stopped at the largest cliff community, Spruce Tree House. Here there was a 1/4 mile paved path to the cliff dwellings.

Yesterday was a travel day. Enroute we traveled onto the Navajo Reservation where we stopped at four corners.

In this picture Dawn is in Arizona, Chig is in Utah, Curt is in New Mexico and I am in Colorado. I then had to "be" in all four states at the same time. Not the easiest position.

Our trip continued through Navajo land to Mexican Hat Rock. It is viewed as an upside down sombrero. See what you think. The small town of Mexican Hat is just a few miles down the road.

We are staying at Goulding's RV Park, Monument Valley, Utah, on the Navajo Reservation. This was originally the location of the ranch of Harry and Leone "Mike" Goulding. They arrived in the 1920s and made a living amongst the Navajo as sheep traders. During the Great Depression, Harry brought famous movie maker John Ford to the area where he made the first area film, "Stagecoach", with John Wayne. The film industry brought employment to many on the reservation. Nearly all 44 RVers went to the lodge for dinner. Many of us had the Navajo Taco which was served on fry bread. After dinner we went to a small theater and watched the John Wayne movie, "The Searchers", which was filmed in this area.