Monday, July 31, 2017

Afternoon Swimming & Relaxing

It was time to take a little break after our trip to Yucca House and I took the kids to Cortez Municipal Outdoor Pool while Scott worked. 
It was right across the street from our RV Park, right behind the Colorado Welcome Center.  We could have walked, but I was too pooped to lug towels, books, and cell phones over there, so we drove over. Thee were only about 20 kids total in the whole pool!  That's my kind of public swimming!  That's 1 lifeguard for every 3 kids!
A great pool with only a few people!
They have a small water slide
Shaded area for parents and grandparents with chaise lounges and chairs
The water was a gorgeous blue and plenty of lifeguards!
The afternoon clouds are starting to roll in.
Pool hours are from 1-4 pm for community swim due to swimming lessons in the morning, etc.  We were able to hang out for only a couple of hours but had to leave early due to another afternoon storm that was coming in.  Once they spot lightening, everyone has to exit the pool for 30 minutes.  I had been watching the storm cloud gather while the kids were playing so I knew we wouldn't be there long. I think the kids really enjoyed themselves cooling off and needed a break from all the hiking.

Pool costs are $2.50 per child and $5.00 per swimming adult.  Free if you're observing. They had lap lanes, diving area, water slide area and a splash pad.  The majority of the pool is 3-4 feet deep so you can relax with the youngsters.

Cierra toweling off during a break...
...and Hunter, too.
The kids are really starting to get a tan!
The diving board was the highlight of the day!
Hunter looks pretty good here!
Bathing Beauty!
Now, to just relax and unwind.  Hopefully, we'll get the truck back today and can start on our way to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe National Park tomorrow.  It's an 8 hour drive, so the majority of the day will be traveling.

I finally got caught up on the blog and plopped myself down in a recliner in thecoach and there was Cierra curled up on the dog beg in the dog crate watching a movie.  Silly child.

Then, I look over and Hunter is chowing down on a banana in his bear hat I bought him this morning while we was sleeping and watching his iPad.
After dinner, we were in the RV listening to these goofy kids argue and laugh every other sentence.  Such funny kids!
Laughing it up good!
Turning goofy on me!
We'll be watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 tonight.  We've been doing a Harry Potter marathon the last week. Hopefully, we'll be on the road in the morning but the Ram truck isn't done yet and they haven't called...stay tuned.

Yucca House National Monument

This morning Cierra notified us that we still hadn't done Yucca House National Monument.  We asked her is she's watch Hunter, who was still sleeping, while first we took the truck into the Dodge dealership to be looked over for our braking issues with the trailer.

While driving there, we decided to get a little compact rental car from Enterprise.  The first white car we were going to get smelled so much like weed, that the gal from Enterprise took us to a silver Chevy Cruze.  Despite that it only has 18,000 miles on it, I soon discovered that the A/C doesn't work and the back in was cracked from other drivers.  Oh well, at least it's transportation.  Then, I met Scott at the Dodge dealership - and it was so small, that I missed it on the road and went 2 miles farther than I should have.  I got directions from a guy at an antique store and finally found it.  The place was sooo small, that there was nowhere for me to even park but Scott came out just in time and hopped into the car.

Our rental car for the day.
We returned back to the RV in time for Hunter to be awake, the kids eating breakfast and we got ready to leave for Yucca House.  Soon, we were on the way to find Yucca House.  The directions are hilarious. You'd almost be afraid to go since it's on private property, but we decided to give a shot anyway.  Here's a highlight from some of my favorite part:

Take the next dirt road on the right before the farmhouse on the left. (As you make this turn, you will cross a yellow cattle guard and pass a Box Bar Ranch - NO TRESPASSING sign.  The  "No Trespassing" sign does not apply to the county road).

Well, we arrived in good time - it only takes about 15 minutes to get there from Cortez. You really have to watch the signs from the directions as the monument is not marked from the main road.  The streets heading south are alphabetical and the main street have a green sign post while the 1/10 markers are red markers. I've never seen anything quite like it.  We followed the directions, which were amazingly accurate despite how silly they seemed and arrived at the farm with the white house with the red roof.  Off to the left was the sign for Yucca House.I will say that there was one error, or should I say omission from the directions. One #4, there will be a fork on the road and you should veer toward the left.  You'll see the white house with the red roof, but if in doubt, turn left here.

White House with the Red Roof at the end of the drive.
The White House with Red Roof Farm
Right off the road is this sign:
And then you'll see a boardwalk right by this sign, which you follow to a metal gate.
Follow the board walk to the gate.
Then, you'll come to yet another gate and you'll enter through this gate. Remember to close all the gates behind you.
From here just follow the path and Yucca House will be on the left.  There's really not much to see.  It looks like it was erected into the side of a hill.  In the following photos it's just under the tree.

According to the National Park Service on Yucca House, the original name of "Aztec Springs" was given to the site in the late 19th century, and was based on the spring that is still there today.  At that time, archaeologists believed these ancient sites were built by the Aztec people of Mexico.  The name "Yucca House" was selected for the monument because of the Ute Indiana called Sleeping Ute Mountain by a name meaning yucca, for there is an abundance of the yucca plant growing nearby.

Yucca House is one of the largest archaeological sites in southwest Colorado, and acted as an important community center for the Ancestral Puebloan people (Anasazi) from 1150-1300 AD. On July 2, 1919, Henry Van Kleeck deeded 9.6 acres of land,including most of Yucca House to the federal government. Due to it's significance as an excellent example of a valley pueblo, Woodrow Wilson made Yucca House a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on December 19,1919 (

There is a visitors guide you can use when touring Yucca House.  Also, be aware that are no services available at Yucca House as this is on private property.
Cierra was a lot freaked out by the large amount of big grasshoppers, ants and bees, so we only stayed a few minutes so she could get back to the car.  She's not that adventuresome.  This hike was so easy that we also did it in flip flops and sandals so no worries there.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Hovenweep & Canyon of the Ancients National Monuments

After leaving Four Corners in New Mexico and driving back into Colorado, we crossed yet another state border back into Utah in order to drive to Hovenweep National Monument. The interesting thing about this monument is that the National Parks Service lists Hovenweep in Colorado, but technically the monument Visitors Center and the majority of the hikes are in Utah.  Hmmm. Utah got the shaft on that one.

On the road we saw wild horses - some right up next to the road.  The kids LOVED seeing them and asked about the horse we bought for their mother many years ago.
Black and White Pinto
Brown Quarter Horse with Star and White One

Hovenweep National Monument was once home to over 2,500 people that included six prehistoric villages between 1200-1300 A.D.
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep's Visitor's Center is absolutely one of the nicest ones I've ever seen.  It is neat and tidy with very little clutter making it a pleasure to learn in.  Even the exterior was simple and extremely clean.  I was impressed!
Hovenweep Visitor's Center
Very tidy desk with a friendly ranger.  Hunter is working on his Junior Ranger booklet.
The shop section is very neat and tidy with just the right amount of things to purchase.
Displays were simple and concise.  A great center to easily learn about the monument.
After entering the Visitor's Center we found out that there was a Junior Ranger program here!  The ranger at the desk gave the kids each a book.  Hunter and I worked on his section and Scott helped Cierra.  This was the easiest book we've ever done!  There were only 3 activities for each of the kids and then they had to go on a hike.
Hunter is filling out his word search puzzle on Hovenweep.
Grandpa Scott and Cierra are working on her portion of the Junior Ranger booklet.
Soon, the booklets were completed and one of the requirements was for the children to go on a hike of Hovenweep using the trail guide to see one of the ruins on the Little Ruin Trail.  We chose to hike to Hovenweep Castle, the one ruin that Hovenweep is famous for. On our hike, we passed by the Unit Type House, Tower Point, and Hovenweep Castle.  Across from Unit Type House, you could view Eroded Boulder House, Twin Towers and Rim Rock House across the canyon.

The towers of Hovenweep were built by the ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi), a farming people that occupied the Four Corners area from 500-1300 AD.  The structures are very similar to those of Mesa Verde.  These people farmed similarly to that of farmers today by using catch basins, dams and granaries for their corn, beans and squash.

Most of the structures at Hovenweep were built between 1200-1300 AD with a variety of sizes and shapes.  Some were circular and others square. Other shapes were D-shaped and they also had kivas, a place were families lived and worshiped.

By 1300 AD, many factors are thought to contribute to their removal from the area: drought, warfare, and resource depletion.  When the Anasazi or Ancestral Pueblo, as they are now called, left the area, they migrated to what is now the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico and the Little Colorado Basin in Arizona.  The Pueblo, Zuni and Hopi tribes are the descendants from this culture.

The leader of a Mormon expedition, W. D. Huntington, led a group of men into southeast Utah in 1854 and first discovered Hovenweep. The name "Hovenweep"is a Paiute/Ute word meaning "Deserted Valley" which was adopted by pioneer photographer, William Henry Jackson in 1874.
William Henry Jackson
In 1917-1918, J.W. Fewkes of the Smithsonian Institution surveyed the area and recommended these structures be perserved.  President Warren G. Harding proclaimed Hovenweep a National Monument in 1923.  See more info on the history of Hovenweep here.
Hiking the trail. Twin Towers is across the canyon here.
Hunter at Tower Point.
Hunter spotted a lizard! Typical boy!

Cierra, Hunter and Grandpa Scott resting.  It was a HOT day!
Cierra resting at Tower Point.
Kids at the back side of Hovenweep Castle.
Side of Hovenweep Castle
More Hovenweep Castle
Best view in Hovenweep Castle
All of  the Hovenweep Castle group
Me at Hovenweep Castle.
As you can tell by the photos, it was VERY HOT today.  And, in reality, it was a cool day because of the late afternoon storms - a common occurrence in this part of southeastern Utah. It was even a bit humid and we all finished an entire bottle of water each for just a 1 mile hike.  Here are a few more photos of the monument.
Unit Type House
Across the gorge viewing Twin Towers (L), Eroded Boulder House (C), and Rim Rock House (R)
View of the trail with desert foliage.  Junipers on the left and Mormon Tea plant on the right.
Square Tower
Afternoon Storm coming in.  View of Sleeping Ute Mountain. I LOVE how green the foliage is for July 30th!
Foliage of Green Ephedra (Mormon Tea).  Height 1-5’ (Bright green plant)
Ephedras are related to pines and junipers.  
Instead of flowers, plants have tiny cones that produce spores in male plants or seed in female plants. 
Early Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) boiled stems for tea, as have native tribes for centuries.
I love that the rock crevices hold water after the storms. Unique to a desert landscape.
Twin Towers, Eroded Boulder House, Rim Rock House across the gorge with Unit House in the foreground.
Utah Juniper Trees.
Utah Junipers adds interest to the desert landscape.
Utah Juniper (Juniperusosteosperma)  Height 10- 20’
This common evergreen tree has scale-like leaves and fleshy blue cones, commonly called berries.
Dead branches may not indicate a dying tree; the tree can “self-prune” by cutting off water
to branches during sever drought, allowing the rest of the tree to live.
Strong Hold House
After we finished with his monument, we decided to go home via Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. This is also another monument, but it's actually a huge canyon where there are 3 more ruin hikes that are available.  We didn't have time to do any of these hikes on this trip, but there is the Lowry Pueblo, Hand Painted Pueblo and Sand Canyon Pueblo to visit. This is actually part of BLM lands of Colorado consisting of 178,000 acres!  It's large but doable in a day. It was proclaimed a National Monument by President Bill Clinton on June 9, 2000.
Canyon of the Ancients Ariel View (Online photo)