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

Chaco National Historic Park

About 130 miles North of Bernalillo is Chaco National Historic Site, which is reachable by traveling on good four lane highway and about twenty miles of dirt road. Just getting there is a minor adventure. I am well aware there are three hundred sixty five days in a year and that this area only gets eight inches of average rainfall a year, so why does the area get over one inch of rainfall the one day we decide to visit. Fortunately, we were in and out before the worst hit, but we left as it was moving in.

Having driven the twenty dirt road miles and having crossed the water crossing with a sign warning to not cross if there was flowing water and knowing that is your way out puts some urgency into beating the rain.

Chaco is an awesome site with some truly remarkable geology and history of Native American culture. Everywhere you turn there is something fascinating to capture your imagination.

Of course there are flowers for some travelers.

The Native Americans living at Chaco from the 800s to the 1300s were outstanding craftsmen and stone masons. Where the buildings at Coronado State Monument had been built with clay and stram balled together, the substantial buildings at Chaco were built of flat stone and in some cases with and inner and outer veneer filled with rubble. It is amazing that some of these walls are still standing 100 years latter.

One of the most fascinating things is to see petroglyphs that were created centuries ago by an Indian scratching on rocks. The soft science of archaeology has no idea about the meaning of these things, but believe they are religious symbols. They can put a rough date on the drawings by the form of the symbols.

The Chaco craftspeople used ponderosa pine quite creatively over doors, along walls and as roof beams. In the Kuau culture at Coronado SHP the women built the houses and the men moved in with them. Sounds like a good system, but at Chaco the men participated. Note the pine lentel over the door. After a thousand years, the pine has a beautiful patina.

The hollow area along this wall is where a pine support rotted out.

Pine roof support which is still in place after a thousand years.

These pictures will give you an idea of how the rocks were stacked.

Living here had some interesting hazards like this cactus pin cushion.

Of course the scenery would make up for a few cactus pricks.

This is an artist rendering of the Bonito ruins which were active from the 850s-1250s.

An architectural Drawing of Bonito Pueblo.

Exterior view of the ruins after a thousand years.

Huge square shaped boulders collapsed on Bonito on 1941 and destroyed 30 rooms.

Window in the wall. Notice the wall right behind this window. There were few openings that went straight through to other rooms. Security?

Wonder if flowers like these grew along the walls a thousand years ago?

The round rooms called Kivas were used by the men for religious ceremonies and living quarters.

The rooms were small and many were did not have ventilation or places to build fires.

Pat gives you a feeling for the size of Bonito.

Friendly little fellow whose ancestors probably lived here.

The Chaco buildings were 3-5 stories high and are mind boggling in size. I wonder why we never learned about these people in school. Visiting here brings to mind all sorts of questions and many of them are not sympathetic to Spanish or European visitors.

It takes a guide to figure out the significance of what you are looking at in these ruins.

The ancients who built this place used only rudimentary tools and had no machinery. They built this awe inspiring place the hard way. These young people are building walkway using modern tools and the omnipresent "Bobcat". My how time has changed! Seeing modern construction in a place like this forces you to realize the effort the original builders had to put forth.