On Tuesday, Oct. 15th, we took a nice long walk on the City of Durango's "Riverwalk" along the Animas River in the center of the city. The walk parallels the railroad and the river for several miles without the harsh sounds of the city in the background, making it a peaceful place to enjoy the beauties of nature. The leaves were turning with a profusion of colors which added to the ambiance of the paved trail as it followed the river through this busy city in the southwest portion of Colorado.
We left Durango and drove 60 miles to Cortez, CO. where we found a nice hiking trail at the edge of the city that was recommended by the local visitor's center. The "Carpenter Nature Trail" took us through semi-desert terrain from one end of town, past some cliffs, to another side of the city, terminating at the local Hospital complex.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16th, we drove 60 miles out into the desert to Hovenweep National Monument, near Blanding, Utah, which is where we will be staying for the next week.
Hovenweep Canyon and the mesa country north of the San Juan River holds many archeological sites where ancestors of the Pueblo Indian tribes lived. Once-thriving communities existed here for centuries until they were abandoned 700 years ago. No one has been able to ascertain exactly why they were abandoned.
Many structures stood right on the rim of a canyon, usually near a spring or canyon seep near canyon heads. The locations of the remaining ruins suggest the Pueblo people were protecting something, if not themselves, then perhaps the water sources. Climate change is one hypothesis as to why these people left the area to relocate to better growing conditions, but no one knows for sure what caused the sudden departure. What was left behind is still inspiring today.
Stronghold House is built right on the edge of the canyon, 100 feet above the canyon floor. The only disappointment that day was that Dad couldn't get his National Parks Passport stamped because the park office was closed that day and we were not going to coming back this way later.
Hovenweep Castle (notice the peepholes in the towers), also built right on the edge of the canyon.
Square Tower is near the end of the canyon where the water source was.
Hovenweep House is on the other side of the canyon near the water source end.
Twin Towers are located directly across the canyon from the Stronghold House.
This rocky, rugged, open country was once home to many people. It is believed that for thousands of years, people hunted animals, planted, and harvested crops in these canyon lands, before moving on to present-day New Mexico, and Arizona, where their descendants still live.
Tomorrow we will explore some more of the area around south-eastern Utah😄.
No comments:
Post a Comment