Days 5 - 10 of my trip diary and additional photos......
Posted by
MojaveMeg (aka Mojave)
Aug 20 '09, 22:24
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Day 5. Sunday, August 9
On the road early to join up with a field trip in Farmington, New Mexico, by 10:00 am. The field trip was originally planned to include two sites, one of which is not open to the public. The landowners hadn�t responded to the request for access so we had to be satisfied with just the one site. Flora Vista is a ruin overlooking the Animas River near Farmington. Part of the site belonged to a local landowner who�s donated it to the Archaeological Conservancy, and the bulk of it belongs to a developer who is negotiating with the Conservancy to donate the balance of the site. There are houses already built around the edge of the property, and while it�s upsetting to see the site disturbed by construction, it also offers some protection to the remaining area.
On to Bloomfield, stock up with groceries and gas for 3 days in Chaco�head for the Chaco entrance�WTF??? �Campground Closed�!! Call the visitor�s center; message says �campground will be closing for septic system repairs on June 15th for approximately 3 weeks.� June 15, 22, 29, July 6th � um, this is August 9th�again I say, WTF!! We drive on in (over 16 miles of gravel washboard and sand�wheee!) and get the full story (God bless governmental contract administration). The project was scheduled for March, April, May�and finally started on June 15th, the week before summer solstice, the busiest week on the Chaco calendar. The actual campground work went off without incident, but grading work in the maintenance yard for pump house improvements revealed traces of a pithouse site�Ooops, shut down the equipment and call the archaeologists!! They have until the 21st to get it excavated and mitigated before it�s ploughed under. Meanwhile the rangers suggest we camp at a Navajo farmhouse about 10 miles away � back over the dirt roads, naturally :) It�s either that or about 50 miles in either direction to a motel � we head to the farm. The farm is dry, dusty, and remote, but Matthew is welcoming and there�s a porta-potty and shaded picnic tables � what more could you want? We set up camp. There�s a hogan in front of the house and it looks like the family�s been holding a ceremony there. The women are in traditional dress and carrying pans of leftovers back to the house. We�re dying to ask questions but resist. We set up camp then head a couple of miles back down the road to visit a small ruin. We�re in the middle of Navajo country, and hope they�re not watching up traipse around on their property but it�s a neat ruin with lots of pottery. On the way out we�re chased by a couple of dogs that are watching over a flock of goats � on the way back they�re shepherding the goats across the road. I think they were upset before because we were between the flock and the way home. There were 3 dogs in complete charge of the flock. Burgers for dinner and our first night of camping, the stars are bright and the moon is brighter � life is good.
Day 6. Monday, August 10
Broke camp and headed back to the Chaco visitors� center. Hiked up to the closest ruin, Una Vida, then drove around the canyon and visited Pueblo Bonito. Because we weren�t able to make an early start we didn�t make the hike to Pueblo Alto I�d been looking forward to. The south road out of Chaco was in about the best shape we�d ever seen, but it�s still almost 20 miles of rough and rocky road. Our plan to spend Monday night at Red Rock campground in Gallup was changed when we heard the Gallup Ceremonial was starting this week, and the campground is headquarters for all the participants, so becomes very crowded and more than a little rowdy. We chose to head for El Malpais National Monument instead and spent the night in a new, and very nice, BLM campground.
Day 7. Tuesday, August 11
This area has special meaning for me, as the pottery I studied for my Masters project came from here. My friends recognized the volunteer on duty as someone who�d taught them at an archaeological field school years ago. She was excited to hear about my thesis, and that there are whole pottery vessels from that area � all they ever see now are potsherds. She�s looking forward to receiving a copy of my catalog. Leaving the visitors� center I check the information board � weather, fire danger, date�date?? Huh, today is my 65th birthday�Happy Birthday me!! The rest of the group hiked out to Candelaria Ruin while I sat under a large pine tree and finished Fluke. I wimped out on the hike as it involved negotiating a barbed wire fence which takes a couple of people to hold the strands up and down. I was afraid I�d want to come back ahead of the group and be trapped by the fence�I have to get over this. Onward to a quick stop at the Ice Caves which is still owned by the family that used to own the adjoining area around Candelaria Ruin, and where they still have an extensive collection of pottery from the area. El Morrow NP campground has space available so we�re set for another night. Took the short hike to Inscription Rock, which has prehistoric Indian petroglyphs, and inscriptions by passers by from the Spanish in the 1600s to American immigrants, troops, and surveyors through the late 1800s. Early dinner at a wonderful little local caf� down the road. I love places like this where the guests are mostly locals and there is a dynamic that, as an anthropologist, you�d love to question but can�t. Starry moonlit night #3 � happy campers.
Day 8. Wednesday, August 12
I�m so happy my new tent is a pop-up. This business of one-night stops would be a pain otherwise. We�re on time � actually way early � for the first tour at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary just down the road. Two hours in the blazing sun went by very quickly and the wolves are just wonderful. Zuni Pueblo was closed for ceremonials (we�re sensing a theme by now) so we stopped briefly at the Information Center and then onward north and west to Homolovi State Park just out of Winslow, AZ. Hot, windy, and trying to rain�did we expect anything else at Homolovi. But they do have the best showers we�ve ever found in a Four Corners campground, and we haven�t had a shower since Sunday morning�good thing we�re really good friends :) Dinner at the Casa Blanca, one of the best southwestern family restaurants around � again, one of those places full of locals so you know it�s good. The Earthwatch crew introduced me to it when I worked on the Homolovi Pueblo project back in the mid-90s. If you�re ever in Winslow, and who isn�t, don�t be put off by the appearance of the building.
Day 9. Thursday, August 13
A quick walk around Homolovi I Pueblo where I worked with Earthwatch two different years. Two of the friends with me also participated the second year, but I don�t think they have such fond memories as me :) The excavation is back-filled but there are still walls visible and lots of pottery on the ground. North now to the Hopi mesas. Surprise, Walpi Pueblo is open for tours! Founded after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, Walpi is one of the two oldest villages in the area. Situated high on a narrow mesa it was easily defended, but a long walk down to the flatlands for water and agriculture. The Hopi maintain a strong cultural identity and accept visitors under very strict conditions. No photography, recording, sketching, or note taking. With the advent of camera-phones they�re also banning cell phones. Next stop is a native gift shop with an unpronounceable name, which we just refer to as Joe and Janice Day�s place. Home of the �Don�t Worry, Be Hopi� T-shirt, this is the place I head for silver and turquoise jewelry and katchinas. Joe is an Anglo so Janice owns the business (as she probably would anyway as this is a matriarchal society). They�re always ready to talk about local goings on and the state of the union in general. I couldn�t find anything that I needed on this trip, but they�ve had plenty of my money in the past. A stop at the Hopi Cultural Center and very much tempted by some of the crafts available for sale in the parking lot but still resisting, even when shown a crudely painted cradle doll and being told it was the artist�s son�s first katchina. I knew if I asked the price I�d be hooked, so didn�t. A short stop at old Oraibi (the other candidate for oldest village) which is looking more depressed and abandoned every year L and south by west to Flagstaff and an actual motel for our last night out. Big comfortable room at a Travelodge, so much nicer than the Day�s Inn in Cortez�and cheaper!! Dinner at the adjoining restaurant (Hogs) - discovered the $1 margaritas are now $2. I had a beer :)
Day 10, Friday August 14
On the road at 8:00am. Breakfast at Denny�s in Williams at 8:30. I�m quite impressed with Denny�s menu options. Lots of healthy options available. Gas stops in Seligman & Kingman, and lunch in Needles. Hey, it�s cooler in the Colorado River Valley today � only 108 compared to the 112 on the way out :) I think it topped at 109 across the lava fields of the California desert.
We were home a day sooner than expected, but my friends had been out a few more days than I, and we�d all had pretty much all the fun we could handle. Sometimes your own bed just seems better than anything else. I didn�t see much that I hadn�t seen before, but there�s always something new to learn. If you�ve read this far I commend you, and hope you get to take your own pilgrimages.
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