Winding Down

Travel can be hard work with the busy agendas we try to keep. After a couple of weeks we will both admit to wearing down, moving slower and accomplishing less each day. We have explored:

• 6 National Parks

• 7 National Monuments

• 1 National Recreation Area

• 1 Tribal Park

• 1 State Park

In addition to numerous trails, backroads, museums, restaurants and trading posts.

Today’s itinerary included two National Monuments. Our first stop was Hovenweep NM on the Utah/Colorado border, the site of six pre-historic villages perched on canyon rims or balanced on massive boulders. I’ve always been fascinated with the intricate masonry.

We also visited Canyons of the Ancients National Monument which encompasses a large area in the southwestern corner of Colorado. Located within the monument are literally thousands of archeological sites. Most have not been excavated and appear only as rubble heaps. The most accessible of the sites is Lowry Pueblo housing 8 kivas (circular ceremonial rooms), 40 rooms and a Great Kiva.

The Anasazi Heritage Center, 10 miles north of Cortez, is the best place to start a Canyons of the Ancients visit. The AHC contains interactive exhibits, artifacts from excavations, galleries for temporary exhibits, a theatre showing two introductory films, and a gift shop. We found detailed information on sites to visit within the monument including a one-mile interpretive trail to Escalante Pueblo.