National Park #345 - El Morro National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

You need water, lots of water, crossing the high deserts of NM. Water for you and your animals that keep you alive and tote your household goods, or soldiers, or freighters. That’s what brought the Indians here, the Spanish here, the settlers here, the miners here, the soldiers here and the railroad men here. And they left their mark on the high walls surrounding the fresh water spring that still flows. Indian petroglyphs, paragraphs in Spanish - including one from a future governor and names and dates scratched or painstakingly carved into the basalt. Over 2000 of them and many with stories researched and presented in a small booklet they loan you to use at the site. One 12 year old girl was wounded by an arrow in an Indian attack that left 9 others dead. She recovered, made the journey and became a schoolteacher in the gold fields. Super cool place.

The pool against the rock face

Spanish

Indian, some of the Indian date from about 700

Soldiers, the impossibly neat Mr Breckenridge was KIA in 1862.

Railroad survey team

National Park #344 - Yucca House National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

Your visit does not start well when the ranger at Mesa Verde (they are the admin for Yucca House) tells you it is “stupid” to go to the site. Yup. She mentioned that she is a trained archeologist and she hardly knows what she is looking at, so “what do you expect to see?” She said I should go to X site because at least there they have signs. I persisted and she just shrugged her shoulders and said there is no point in going, there is “nothing to see.”

We went anyway. But you knew that, right. It was a long drive and to get to the “park” you had to negotiate four miles of dirt road that wound through a rancher’s cattle pasture, park by his house and enter a gate like you would see on your grandmother’s garden. What did we see? Well, one partial wall, several mounds of broken rocks and dirt that clearly covered other rooms, the outline of at least two kivas, maybe three, and scores of pottery shards, decorative and utilitarian. All spread over three or four acres. A big site, protected since 1919 but never excavated. There are no signs to describe the setting but you still “know” that you are in a special place - untouched for 1000 years. You sense the atmosphere of how remote and isolated life would have been and how challenging just to survive. And you can pick up pottery pieces and hold the pot that hands had formed and decorated 900 to 1100 years ago. Magical.

Neither Cindy nor I have finished our degrees in archeology but we still appreciated our brief walks among the ruins and pot shards of Yucca House.

The Visitor Center, the Sign, the Trail and the Gate. NPS saved a few dollars here.

The entrance gate

The exposed wall

The land

National Park #343 - Aztec Ruins National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

A remarkable place that is not Aztec. The name came from some of the trade goods in the site from central Mexico found here. This is a very old dwelling with parts dating from 800-900. One of the most interesting features is a restored Kiva - one for clan use not just a family. It was restored by the original archeologist - who also used some of the site materials to build his house! The kiva was magnificent and it was impressive to see what a finished kiva may have looked like. Very different than the raw stones when the white plaster and polished wood is intact. We also were able to enter several sections of the site that were unchanged - original roof and walls unchanged for 1000 years.

Kiva exterior

Kiva interior windows are ground level

original unchanged room near back of the complex

Overview, Kiva on right, family kiva is the circle of stone left of the Grand Kiva.

Great signage. VC was the archeologist’s house built in 1919

We Interrupt This Blog for a Special Weather Alert /  by Dave Hileman

Well, it’s over now. But on Thursday near to Oklahoma City it was a different matter. We were in the city visiting a museum and the National Memorial. On our way back to the Harvest Host, an old horse farm, we got a weather alert on our phone, Tornado Watch. We got back, opened the trailer a bit to cool down, it was not raining yet. Then our host, Colette, came to the trailer. We needed to take this seriously and she offered to see if her neighbor who has a shelter would allow us to come to it. They did and we did. It looked like an old fashioned cellar door, the slanty kind. It hinged open as we gathered. Colette, two other RVers, the husband and wife who owned the home, their granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law. Plus dog! It was a tight fit The calm demeanor of all the “experienced” people and the baby and the dog put us at ease. They watched weather, patterns, reported positions of spotted and potential tornados and some did touch down pretty close. Maybe not for Oklahoma folks but for Raleigh people a mile or two scores in horseshoes.

I never felt threatened or anxious it was a surreal event. The sky was alternately dark and foreboding then an eerie kind of green tint. The sun as it set was a hazy yellow tennis ball in the sky, barely alit. Lightning flashed across the sky and we waited about 2.5 hours then we were given the all clear and returned to our unharmed trailer. And, against all odds slept well.

We met several folks in Oklahoma City who went our of their way for us. None more so than our hosts, for the night and for the shelter. So kind of them and how generous with their time and effort. Everyone went well past the expected assistance and we are very appreciative of their hospitality.

Cindy got into conversations about Disney so even underground in unsettled weather there is Disney.

As the storm arrives

National Park #342 - Hovenweep National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

Another “you only get here if it is intentional” park on the Utah/ Colorado border. We walked the 2.4 mile trail around and into a canyon that had several home and watch tower sites. The construction of these were more “finished” than most we have seen. They were not cliff dwellings but were on the very edge of the canyon, with a couple of towers in the canyon. It was a different type of housing than the pueblo or the cliff dwelling. The round and square towers are not unique to Hovenweep but the number is unusual and the placement across the canyon evokes lots of speculation as to the purposes. Most leaning toward defense or communication between small housing units.

National Park #341 - Natural Bridges National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

This park is in a very remote part of Utah. We drove 100 miles south of Moab and got a site in a RV park for a night in a nice small town and then drove 48 miles west past no towns, no buildings of any kind to the park. Natural Bridges has three large stone bridges in two canyons. It is possible to walk down to them, we did not. We did the 9 mile loop road and several overlooks and a few short walks to viewpoints. These differ from an arch because they are formed by rushing water and are over water or what once was water, the arches are formed by wind and rain erosion and do not span a stream. The bridges were a bit indistinct and hard to see as they blend so well into the rock they were formed from and the angle from the rim had all of us on the overlooks asking each other if we saw the bridge.

Can you quickly spot the bridge?

National Park #340 - Pipe Spring National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

This is an unsettling park because of the dark history with both the original occupants and the Mormon settlers. There is a wonderful spring that runs year round and provided water for the Paiutes and the wildlife - still gushing today. Then the Mormons arrived and built a fort over the spring cutting off water for the tribe. They also put up a telegraph line that ran to Salt Lake so the Mormon leadership could monitor the ranch. This was a “tithe ranch” where cattle were sent to pay a tithe to the church, cowboys served time here to pay their tithe and the church used “second” wives quartered here to make cheese and butter - pounds and pounds per day - to send to a settlement where a temple was being built. These “second” wives (or third or fourth) were here to hide from the federal marshals. In their bid for statehood the Mormons officially changed their doctrine of polygamy but it continues today underground in some communities. We spent a night at a Harvest Host where there were huge but not fancy houses nearby that were recently used for multiple wife communities.

The tithe ranch was sold to private investors in the late 1800’s. The construction of the fort is unique and the hike over the ridge behind the complex was pretty.

The fort. Not the gate for the wagons of cheese and butter

Manager family lived on this floor, kitchen and work rooms beflow, guest quarters, storage and other workers across the courtyard.

Part of the original telegraph

Hiking behind the fort, great views.

May 8, 1971 /  by Dave Hileman

Here we are 52 years later and I know she did not expect to ever wear hiking boots, carry a hiking stick, live in a small white pill and climb mountains. But she does and does it all well. Plus looks great doing it. On this trip we have done scores of hikes from 1/2 mile to 4+ miles. A couple of them rather flat most lots of up and down, fording a stream or two, clambering up rocks and easing along ledges. She does not like ledges. It was often cold, always windy, very dusty and she is the one who says we go to the end.

You make many decisions when you are young - I made a few that I wish I had not. Not this one. Cindy is the best person in my life, my best friend and she makes the journey a joy. 52 years and still the one I love everyday. Happy Anniversary.

She does get to ride once in a while:)

Monument Valley, the Navajo’s National Park for the Navajo Nation /  by Dave Hileman

We drove to Monument Valley from our campground at Navajo National Monument. It took about an hour and was itself a scenic treat. We had a jeep tour scheduled for 4:00 that afternoon so we spent some time exploring the hotel, grounds, overlooks and gift shop. No place to get a cup of coffee! Our tour driver, Elvis, a Navajo with 18 years of back country driving experience was a gem. We were able to see some amazing natural arches as well as toured an authentic hogan that is still used in traditional ways by Navajo that eschew all modern ways, living deep in the valley, drawing water from wells, no electricity or modern equipment other than cars and trucks. The kids get up at 4:30 to help with the animals before going to school 9 miles away and often walking the distance and always a portion of the trek. We also viewed many of the famous landmarks from films and commercials, like the totem and the mittens. Elvis also shared with us some of the customs of the Navajo, pointed out sacred spots and was invested in us getting good photos, even showing spots where others used a tree or rock to help frame a shot. We arrived back at the drop off 3.5 hours after we left just as the sun was setting. Cindy and I also enjoyed the Lam family who were with us on the tour, nice folks and meeting them made the tour even better.

Just a taste of the day.

The classic view

The Mittens - John Wayne stood in front of the left one in his first John Ford western in the valley, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”

The Navajo are open for business

National Park #339 - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area /  by Dave Hileman

My ambivalence about National Recreation Areas continues as we crossed into the Glen Canyon at Page, Arizona. There we wee able to take a short but somewhat treacherous hike to an overlook of the river and the dam. The VC was closed for renovations but we did stop in the lot for a closer look at the dam. It too was closed to all tours. The water level in the lake is very low. We drove a few miles of a byway with two overlooks. Because of the low water the path of the river was easy to follow. Pretty view points but that is all we did here. We hoped to take a boat to the Rainbow Bridge a National Park unit but the boats cannot get you near it so all trips are canceled. There is a 12 mile hike possible over Navajo land you can take, Cindy was all for the overnight in the desert but I like the comfort of the trailer. First Park of the trip we missed but it won’t be the last one.

National Park #338 - Navajo National Monument /  by Dave Hileman

We crossed the Navajo Reservation to a park that unlike Canyon de Chelly is totally under the National Park Service. It was atop a mountain with some pretty special scenery. The campground, Sunset View, was very nice and completely free. We had a miles long view from our site. The park including some hikes but not all were open because of snow and ice on the trail. We did get to the main portion of the park, a 1.3 mile walk into the canyon edge to view the extensive cliff dwellings below us at Betatakin Overlook. There are only a few days per year that the rangers do tours to the ruins and they are very popular and go quick when announced. They were not taking tours this time of year. We also managed a nice rim hike on Canyon View Trail and then got to a closed camp area and had a long walk back on a road.

Sunset from our trailer.

National Park #337 - Canyon de Chelly /  by Dave Hileman

Canyon de Chelly is a unique place in the National Park system because it is located on Navajo Reservation in Northeast Arizona. It is also different because it is mostly tribal land and it is still farmed in the valley by Navajo as they have for generations. The National Park service is a partner here but the only access you have today is the south or north rim drives and very short walks from a few of those overlooks. To enter the canyon you must hire a Navajo guide and, since many points are sacred to the Navajo tribe you must stay within the parameters of the tour with limited photography and out-of-the-jeep walks. We did not do this for two reasons, first we were committed to a tour in Monument Valley so we did not want a second expense and, two, because the river was high some of the jeeps were stuck or the tour shortened. We originally planned two nights here but in one afternoon and the next morning we were able to view all the points on the two drives we were allowed. The scenery in the canyon is exceptional and the farms we could see added interest to the landscape. We did camp in the local campground with no services for $20.

Can it be? Oh, Joy, another Bird Saturday. /  by Dave Hileman

This is a California Condor one of about 70 wild birds in the US. It is in Zion National Park and the bird was flying at least 1000 feet from me. Am I proud I got this shot. Yes.

Female Black-chinned Hummingbird. Slightly different than the Condor. The Condor has a 9.5 feet wing span the hummer is 3.25 inches at best.

“Who you looking at?”

No, no, no. Just because that steer tried to horn in on bird saturday is no excuse. You must exit up the rocks. Don’t be gruff, just hoof it.