Day 24--Hovenweep National Monument

Navajo storytelling bracelet

Before we talk about our experience in Hovenweep National Monument, I want to tell you about the bracelet I purchased yesterday in Canyon de Chelly. As we drove the South Rim Trail, at almost every overlook, Navajo craftsmen and artists had displays set up and items for sale. Smoky and I found a number of items we really liked. One of them was a story-telling bracelet made in a cuff style. The top layer, which is brass, is carved to tell the story of the canyon, and the silver under layer provides the background for the story. The bracelet on display was too large for my small wrist, but the artist's wife said her husband could make me one to size and deliver it by this morning! 

We were packing the car when A.C. Henry and his wife Geraldine arrived with my bracelet. It fit perfectly. I had been looking at Navajo bracelets for a while and this was the one for me. I'm posting a photo I shot with my phone, which will do until Smoky has time to photograph it properly. At that time, I'll explain what each part is. If you like A.C.'s work, you can reach him at 505-593-0187 or aroy_henry@yahoo.com.

Ruin in Square Tower Unit, Hovenweep

Hovenweep Castle

Hovenweep Twin Towers

We left Canyon de Chelly after breakfast (blue cornmeal pancakes) in the lodge cafeteria. We drove for miles through dry, desert country, where only scattered small plants were growing and homes were few and far between. The land was flat; occasionally a large rock tower protruded out of the ground. We pondered what it would be like to ride a horse over this country, carrying a flask or two of water and having little hope of finding more. 

As the road turned to the right, mountains came into view and the land up to them plunged and rolled. We were getting close to Hovenweep, which is in a relatively remote area in Utah and Colorado. It was not very busy with visitors--just our kind of place! According to posters in the visitors center, this area was made a national monument in 1923. The whole area covers a 20-mile stretch of Mesa tops and canyons, but access to most of that is difficult. However, one group of ruins is easily accessible from the visitors center via a 2 mile loop trail that goes along the top of the canyon and then drops down to the canyon floor and back up the other side. 

These ruins are said to be the best example of ancestral Puebloan masonry in the world. The stone work of these ruins was remarkable!

Because there were not many people on the trail today, we were able to stop and quietly imagine what life in this area was like in the thirteenth century.

Hovenweep ruins

That's Smoky's spoon on the
left; he couldn't wait till I
made the photo!

Not much left of that
apple crisp!

From Hovenweep, Cortez, Colorado was a fairly short drive. We arrived late afternoon, in time to check in to our motel, unpack a little, and choose a place for dinner. By luck, we settled on Nero's Italian Restaurant on West Main Street. This turned out to be a great choice. I had the best eggplant parmesan I have ever eaten! For dessert we had one of their two nightly specials. Tonight's choices were strawberry shortcake and apple crisp with cinnamon gelato! We shared the crisp, and it was yummy!

Soon I'm hoping to have time to have a blog about the different meals we've had on this trip! 

Tomorrow is Mesa Verde.


--Shann