Another Son, Same Jeep

As he gets closer to getting his license, Danny gets more and more anxious about fixing the jeep up a bit. It hasn't been driven much lately, and certainly not out in the sticks and the creek like the older boys used to do, but I have a feeling that that's about to change!

Iron Rails and Anasazi Trails (Anasazi Part)

After the train ride to Silverton we went for a little change of pace and visited Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde is west of Durango and up on a series of mesas. There are about 600 identified cliff dwellings and several times that many located sites on the mesa tops themselves.

This is the view from the top of the Mesa looking back toward the northeast. From here it is still another 15 miles or so to the Farview visitor center. It is mostly pinon-juniper forest, except for the thousands of acres blackened by uncontrolled forest fires in the past decade.

Side trail: Whether it's the result of a controlled burn run amok or letting a lightning started fire do its thing, this policy of letting fires burn uncontrolled has resulted in a lot of destruction and unsightly vistas. I know that forests have to rejuvenate and all that, but a little better management (including selected harvesting) is in order.

Side side trail: Is "controlled burn" an oxymoron or what? Pardon the pun, but that's like "playing with fire."

Looking out over the Mancos Valley.

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace is the largest of the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. What a beehive of activity this must have been during its heyday. It's amazing some of the places that they were able to build. I wonder how many people fell trying to get and from their homes. Why did they build under these overhangs anyway? Their farming was done on top, as well as their hunting. Was is for defense? Religion? Just a fad? Nobody really knows for sure. Maybe they were what we would call a gated community today. Anyway, archeologists tell us that Cliff Palace was built and abandoned within 100 years. That's just a fraction of the time that the Ancestral Puebloans occupied the area.

Side trail: Ancestral Puebloan? Huh? Where did that term come from? The last time we visited the park we were told it was inhabited by the Anasazi Indians. When did the Ancestral Puebloans of Ancestral Pueblo Peoples move in? It turns out that Anasazi is a Navajo word meaing Ancient Ones or Ancient Enemy. Modern day descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans are scattered among 20 or so tribes and cultures in the area, including Hope, Zuni, Taos, and Acoma. They have had a hard time with using a Navajo (relative latecomers to the area) word to describe their ancestors and an even harder time coming up with another word that's acceptable to all of them. They have settled on Ancestral Puebloans, at least for now. If we visit the park again in 20 years they might have decided on something else!

Side side trail: The Navajo Nation does not officially recognize the Ancestral Puebloan label and continues to prefer Anasazi.

Restored Kiva

The kiva is the ceremonial center of the cliff dwellings. Originally covered with a thick roof, they are thought to be the site of religious and communal activities. The hole in the floor on the left side in the picture above is the sipapu, representing the opening whereby man came into the world. The low wall to the side of the fire pit and in front of the air vent in the wall deflected incoming air away from the fire. The smoke exited the roof through the same opening that was used enter or leave the kiva. Talk about that campfire smell!

Dan checking out his new room







Peg contemplating the hike to Cliff Palace

There is really a lot to see at Mesa Verde. We just did the major cliff dwellings and skipped the mesa sites this time. There's a whole other section of ruins on Weatherill Mesa that we missed.

On the way back we traveled through Monument Valley. There was a lot of dust in the air so my pictures came out hazy.

Peggy checking out the deals at another Indian jewelry stand.

How many more necklaces do we have to look at?

Sorry about the angle on this. Still new to all this stuff. Here's Peg showing she still has it!!

Iron Rails and Anasazi Trails

Last week we finally made it to Durango to ride the famed Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad (referred to hereafter as the DSNG). This quest really began some twenty years ago after I saw some video that a local couple had taken during their trip. At that time I thought that would be a neat family vacation and so I got everyone (this was before Matt and Danny) excited about it and took them to Durango during spring break. To get to the point, the train was not running because of the snow still on the tracks. We managed to save some of the vacation by driving to Silverton one day and visiting Mesa Verde the next. I meant to return but one thing or another kept getting in the way.

Heading out across the rez.

One strike against Durango is its location. It's just not in our DNA. With kids back east and up north that's generally the way we head when we get a little time to go somewhere.

Peg and Danny visiting four states in 2 seconds or less.


The drive across the reservation is a long one, but one I've always enjoyed doing. Our route took us through Page to Kaibeto, Teec Nos Pos and Four Corners.

Side note: This is the first big trip in a long, long time that involved NO freeways. Even a trip to St. George includes a short leg on I-15.

The Four Corners marker is completely on Indian land. The Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico corners are in the Navajo Reservation and the Colorado corner belongs to the Ute Mountain Tribe. We had to pay $3 a head to enter (which was not the case twenty years ago). Once there there's really not much to do except get your picture taken and say you've been there. There are quite a few stalls set up where Indian jewelry is sold.

All Aboard!!!

#630 was our car. It is enclosed and pretty nice, but I think next time (and I hope it doesn't take another 20 years!) I'll go for the open cars. The view is better. But only if the weather cooperates!

Choo-choo Danny checking out the scenery

Heading up the canyon of the Animas River

The DSNG railroad clings to the edge of the cliff above the Animas River in several places. The railroad was built to haul the ore out of the mines around Silverton. Before the railroad was built it could take the heavy-laden freight wagons as much as a week to make the trip. The railroad greatly reduced the time and expense of hauling ore and supplies and people up and down the canyon. It took us three and a half hours.

Side trail #2 (or maybe I should say railroad spur#2). The NG in DSNG stands for Narrow Gauge. The standard width of railroad tracks in America is 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches (don't ask me why) but the narrow gauge is only 3 feet. This allowed a railroad to be built quicker, cheaper, and negotiate mountainous terrain better.

Riding in style!

Here Peg and Danny enjoy the comforts of our car. Notice the complimentary cups. I'm sure they weren't complementary, the price of the tickets more than covered them!

Another view of the train and the Animas River

Gotta get that perfect shot!

Almost to Silverton

As the train nears Silverton, the valley floor starts to widen. Visible reminders of its mining history start to appear and soon the train pulls into Silverton. Without the train or tourism there wouldn't really be very much there today.

Peggy, Danny, and 482

Next up: Mesa Verde

Peekaboo

One of the nice things about living here is that in just a few minutes you can be out of town on your four-wheeler adding your fair share of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. A couple of nights ago Dan and a few friends decided to go to Peekaboo. I don't think any of them really knew how to get there (especially at night) because about 10pm we got a call informing us that they were stuck.

Side trail: (Take off on "Tales from the Trail," get it?) Peg and I were not too alarmed that they were stuck out in the sticks. This has been a common occurence with the older boys, particularly Jared and Andy. And I have to admit, they inherited the "get stuck" gene from their father.

Anyway, they eventually got out. The point of this little intro is that this is what led Danny and I to hitch up the Rhino and go to Peekaboo today. Danny wanted to know how to get there and so this morning off we went.

Here Danny is backing the trusty Rhino off the trailer. The road to Peekaboo is quite sandy in places and especially so after a prolonged dry spell. I've been there in the jeep and even the truck, but with the kind of sandy conditions we have had lately the Rhino is a safer bet. (Besides, the jeep has no seats. But that's another story.)

Another side trail: While I admit we did pollute the atmosphere with carbon emissions in the Rhino, I will say it has a 4-stroke engine while the Polarises have 2-strokes (which are dirtier engines) and so I humbly submit I was being ecologically responsible. At least for today.

On the way to Peekaboo the road skirts some sand dunes. These dunes are not as big or as well known as the Coral Pink Sand Dunes some 15 miles to the southwest. The great thing about them is you are almost guaranteed to have them to yourselves, with maybe the occasional local passing through. One of the neatest things about them are the stands of Ponderosa Pines scattered throughout the shifting sands. Great places to have a picnic while you're playing around in the sand.

Here we are at the entrance to Peekaboo, a red slot canyon running east from below Diana's Throne. Less than a mile from where it widens the wash ends in Kanab Creek.

Yet another side trail: Where did Peekaboo get it's name? I don't know. For that matter, who named Crocodile (the area just to the west of Peekaboo) and why did they name it Crocodile? I doubt very much anyone ever saw a crocodile there.

Partway in the narrows we saw these small pockmarks on the south side leading up to a couple of overhangs. I don't think these are naturally occuring indentations. I wonder if at one time the prior residents of the area had a little safe haven up there.

Coming up from the bottom this is as far as you can go unless you have some serious rock climbing skills. We don't so we left it at that. I've always meant to come down from the top but still never have.

Fun with Lawson

Sarah and Lawson came down for a week. We had a lot of fun with them and it was good just to hang around with them.

Danny and Lawson checking out the water feature at the park.

Some intense action goin' on here.

Staying cool on a hot day.

Lawson and I even took a trip to the new city pool.

Oh, Sarah was here too, did I mention that? Somehow grandkids seem to get all the attention!

Sorry, sis. See you at Peach Days!