Canyonland National Park

It was a short drive from Cortez to Moab Utah, but like all of our rides, here in the West, the trip was beautiful and awe inspiring.

Just inside Canyonland is a sign that would have caused the ole sphincter to pucker a bit, if we had been in the RV. Eight per cent grades with twenty mph curves at the bottom are not a great deal of fun.


Approaching Moab, Pat sighted an interesting monolith that unfortunaely was in an area where we couldn't pull over.

Busy taking photos on the run, Pat noticed an opening which looked like a cave and zoomed in for a closeup. We were going back to check on this place but somehow never got back to this interesting bit of geology. We would like to know if it was naturally occuring, perhaps a mine shaft or a dug out Indian dwelling, or just an indentation in the rock wall with good shadow detail.

At times like this, I really admire the skill of photographers like Ansel Adams who toured the West with large view cameras and took outstanding photos which capture the majesty of the Western mountains. Seeing a monolith like the one below and being able to appreciate it's size and total awesomeness is one thing, but capturing it in a photo is something else entirely. Take my word for it. This Mountain standing alone, in the distance, was huge and dominated the space we were viewing. The size, the colors, the depth, the hypnotizing magic of holding the viewers attention made one feel insignificant. It wasn't just us, but every car that rounded the curve and saw this ... this...place!

Just as you get accustomed to one showy natural feature, a pair get your attention.

This place with it's mountains and valleys just will not give up. As an alive being would do, it captures your attention and then makes you wonder about all of the forces that are shaping this land. The carving of rock over millions of years with water, wind and quake has made a truly unique environment which again reminds us how insignificant and weak man is.

As we were getting accustomed to the shapes, size and colors of these rocks our minds shifted to a much more fun game. Like kids laying on a blanket, looking up at the sky and making images out of clouds, our minds shifted into the same gear. Were these carved by some ancient Greek or Roman or by the forces of nature?

Mother Nature wasn't finished with us yet. How about some scallops carved by a curvaceous river?

Just as you have adapted to the mountains, up jumps some knarled old trees which just beg to be photographed since they to are part of this mysterious land.

The chipmunks here are different in coloration than the ones at home, but their antics are pretty much the same.

I just can't get away from sixth graders!









Around every corner awaits another awe inspiring site. Whether looking up from the bottom or looking down from the top, the scale of this place is just mind boggling.

Man's effort to make a guardrail out of stacked timbers is insignificant albeit thrifty.

The final question left unanswered at Canyonland is how can these huge rocks remain balanced? How can they be carved out by wind and water yet stay in equilibrium with the forces of gravity.

The Telluride to Durango to Cortez Ride

The first day in Cortez, CO, we met a delightful lady at the dog park, and she told us about a scenic drive up to Telluride Colorado which was only about seventy five miles.

You may recall that, while in Mesa Verde, we were flirting with the Ute God who stored rain clouds in his pocket and many of those clouds were escaping. On the way out of Mesa Verde it began to rain, then hail and then snow with an ice sheet across the wind shield which the wipers easily wiped off. Once out of the park, we didn't think much of the event because though everything was wet, there was no frozen stuff on the ground. We chalked it up to a freak mixed precipitation event due to altitude.

I took a picture of the Monolith across the way because it looked so neat.

Since the precipitation had stopped and the sky looked promising, we headed into town to pick up
some quick supplies and then head for Telluride. We made a quick stop at Wal Mart and headed back the way we had come when we were slightly taken aback by snow on a distant mountain range.

Here are some of the pictures we took on this almost six hour scenic trip. Colorado is one beautiful state. Counting both Mesa Verde and our side trip to Telluride and Durango, we took almost 700 pictures this day (night). We all, boys included had burgers for dinner. One lesson we learned (should have already known) was to not drive in strange mountains on strange roads after dark.

Here are the pictures without narrative.

Mesa Verde National Park.

OMG !! Mesa Verde is one of the truly most magical and thought provoking sites we have ever visited. Writing about about Mesa Verde is akin to thinking in poetic, song writing terms.

Arriving at A&A RV Park, which is near the entry road to Mesa Verde is a visual experience in itself. The campsites are comfortable, level and have dependable water and electric. The site we were in had a wonderful view of a rugged but very neat monolith.

The scenic views of the San Juan mountains are a fitting start to a day in Mesa Verde. Names like Montezuma valley and Sleeping UTE Mountain set the scene for the day that follows.

Surrounding the park on three sides is the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation and this day we would be caught up in a Ute legend. A disgruntled God gathers up all of the clouds and then puts them in his pocket and then lays down to sleep. If you look closely, you can make out the sleeping god on top of Sleeping Ute Mountain. The Utes believe that when the clouds are hanging in storm formations that they are escaping from the God's pocket.We were able to see a large number of angry clouds escaping from the God's pockets this day. Fortunately the bad part didn't come until we were finished touring Mesa Verde. I wonder if this means the God's were smiling on us?

Mesa Verde's geologic features are primarily sandstone which is a porous, relatively easy stone to break. Rain and melting snow seep through the sandstone and eventually come to the surface as a spring. The Anasazi people built their buildings and farm fields near these springs. These springs furnished water for the populace and good growing conditions for wild and cultivated plants.

Interesting plants which were used for food, medicine or ceremonial rite are abundant in the areas near the springs. This is prime Pinion Pine territory and the pine nuts were a staple in the Anasazi diet.

The other dominant tree species is the juniper. The berries from the Juniper were used as seasoning in food and for medicinal purposes. The bark of the Juniper was used to diaper babies.

Yuccas were used to make baskets, sandals, mats and clothing. The cucumber looking fruit of the Yucca is starchy sweet with a flavor similar to bananas and was used dried or eaten as a fruit or to flavor meals.

The Utah Serviceberry has berries which were eaten raw or preserved for future use as a flavoring.The Gambel Oak provided acorns which were dried or roasted before being eaten.

The Spruce Tree House Pueblo was built between 1200 and 1276 and had 114 rooms and 8 kivas. A kiva is a round ceremonial room used for religious purposes and common rooms.

This settlement was built in a natural cave, and the evidence of many fires is evident on the cave ceiling.

The typical room was 6 X 8 X5.5 feet and housed one or two people. The rooms were primarily used as bedrooms. There is evidence that fires were burned in some rooms, but they had to be very smokey since there was no ventilation to exhaust the smoke.

Much of the work, in fair weather, was done in the courtyard. However, in poor weather the work moved inside.

The Kivas had the only efficient fireplace. There was a ventilation shaft which allowed air to come down into the Kiva where it was deflected to the sides by a large slab of rock. This air then combined with the smoke and exhausted through the hole on the ceiling which served as an entrance way. My guess is that once you were in the Kiva and the fire was lit, you stayed in the Kiva or were cooked on the way out.

The Anasazi people's creation myth was that man came from the underworld to the surface of the Earth. For that reason the Kivas had a small hole, called a Sipapu, in the floor. There was also small holes in the walls for ceremonial items or offerings.

Somewhere in the mid 700s the nomadic Anasazi People started to settle in one area. No-one understands why the nomad would settle down. Perhaps it was because they had been introduced to farming and food storage by other Indians. How's that for a guess? The early settlement were in pit houses which were roofed with wood and thatch.

The reason I put the building of the pit houses out of historical sequence is because it was interesting they used the same ventilation system that would only be used in the Kivas during latter construction.

The pit house changes, over many years,went from simple dug outs covered with a roof of natural
materials, to a more complex dug out lined with stone and covered with the same materials.

Early pit house