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)