We’re heading to Blanding, Utah for a five night - four day stop. We got off to a slow start with rainy and windy weather on the first two days of the trip. We took the opportunity to do some laundry, go grocery shopping and visit Edge of the Cedars Utah State Park.
Double click any photo for bigger version:
When I first visited Mesa Verde 20 year ago, the people who lived there were named the Anasazi. They lived in southern Colorado, Utah, northern Arizona, and New Mexico at Chaco Canyon, Initially at Mesa Verde they lived on top of the mesas surviving mostly on corn, beans and squash that all had come up from Mexico. When you visit Mesa Verde you will find ruins both on top of the mesa and well as under the cliffs. The story is they went to live under the cliffs for protection against their enemies. Moving there was a last ditch effort but they only lived under the cliffs for about 200 years before eventually moving on. When we first visited 20 years ago they were not sure why these people left or where they went but the popular thought now is they left to form the pueblos of northern New Mexico. The original name of Anasazi comes from the Navajo people but out of repect for them they have changed that to ancestoral Puebloans.
Day two, we went on a day hike in Mule Canyon which has the House on Fire ruin. At one point everyday, the sun hits the top ceiling of this ruin and it looks like flames of fire. This is the best I could get but if you go online you can find some photographers that know what they are doing. We got caught in the rain as we were hiking out of the canyon. The weather forecast didn’t call for rain.
Day three, we headed to Natural Bridges National Monument to do some small hikes that we missed the last time we were here. We hiked to the overlook of two ruins that are across the canyon, named, Horse Collar Ruin. This ruin is one of the best preserved ancestral ruins in the area. The site was named after two structures with doorways that resemble horse collars. It is believed that the people left the area over 700 years ago and the site’s remarkable state of preservation is due to the isolation of Natural Bridges. Because few visitors make their way down the canyon, Horse Collar Ruin’s kiva with it’s original roof and interior, were not disturbed.
Day four, we headed to Bluff, Utah to view some petroglyphs. The Sand Island Campground is wedged between the San Juan River and sandstone cliffs. The cliffs have a petroglyph panel with hundreds of petroglyphs of pecked and carved images. These images are estimated to be between 300 and 3,000 years old. This rock art site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a place of ancestral importance to Native Americans.
We ate lunch near the San Juan river while listening to some crime podcasts. Tomorrow we are off to Stop Three - Torrey UT.
