Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

National Parks and Monuments aren’t normally our first choice, mainly because of the crowds. We prefer the smaller, out of the way places, where one can sit and really absorb in relative peace.

While visiting the small park at Hovenweep, we encountered an older woman who at first, to be honest, was quite loud and annoying, just the type of people we try to avoid. She was spouting to anyone within hearing distance how much she knew about the southwest and ancient ruins…we gave her a wide berth only to run smack into her!! Darrin, being nicer and more social, answered her call to engage in conversation. Much to our chagrin, she turned out to be a very nice woman who actually was a wealth of information. She and her husband had not only worked at Mesa Verde, but had written books for several parks in the area. The old “don’t judge a book by its cover” smacked us in the butt.

What is the point of all this rambling?

During our conversation with her, she told us the best part of Mesa Verde was the Mesa Top Loop…and she was right. This loop takes you from early Pithouses constructed as far back as 600 A.D. to the above ground Pueblos and Cliff Dwellings dating to the 1300’s. It was an incredibly fascinating loop through history. I don’t know her name to thank her for the advice, perhaps the universe will make her ears burn every time someone reads this.

We enjoyed our visit to Mesa Verde, but as usual we prefer the smaller parks. If we were to visit again, we would come about a month earlier so we could tour one of the cliff dwellings. We were too late in the season.

The original pithouses were shallow, 2 rooms consisting of the living area and storage area and were covered with wood and thatch. They were cool in the summer and warm in the winter with a central fire and rooftop ladder. Made of mud plaster and wood, they needed constant repair.
The next version of the pithouse is deeper, has some rocks added for structure and a fresh feed vent hole in the back.
This dig site shows 3 stages of building evolution: an original foundation of mud plaster (front), a foundation with a single rock wall (far back), and the newer double wall construction (middle).
Diorama constructed by the CCC in the museum shows the transition from pithouses (tranformed into kivas) to above ground pueblos.
And the final move to cliff dwellings.
Another diorama showing a cliff dwelling. I love these little miniatures, reminds me of the movie Night at the Museum!

Ghost Berries in the Canyon of the Ancients

Found a sweet little spot above the Lowery Pueblo in the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument on BLM land and decided to lay over for a rest day. The hammocks went up, we hiked the rim of the canyon, and ghost berries were processed! Someone made a fort!

These little cacti were everywhere and stuck to clothes and shoes. Darrin accidentally sat on one😖
Juniper or Ghost berry pits/seeds are used to create jewelry. We were told they are collected in the spring after the squirrels have eaten the berry flesh. We decided not to wait for spring and the squirrels and opened a few up.
Nice and cozy. We are still on the border of cold weather.
We have got to stop finding cool places and get south!
Our own canyon rim view 25 ft from our camping spot.
With a gorgeous sunset!!
Lowry Pueblo was a small ruin built on the top of the mesa instead of in a canyon. Like the other ruins in the area, it was abandoned around 1300.
Remains of a large kiva which would have been used for community activities and important ceremonies. The stone platforms inside are thought to represent summer people and winter people and contained holes for four wooden beams which supported the ceiling..
A long reach down inside the kiva to show the amazing stone work.
From a sign at Lowry Pueblo.

Strawberry Hill

Tide pools are fascinating! We spent another day wandering around, peeking under rocks, peering into little pools and gawking at the amazing scenery. This time we were at Strawberry Hill, a little pull-off on Hwy 101. You can barely fit maybe 10 cars into this little lot, so we went early and enjoyed a picnic lunch and a thermos of coffee while we waited for the tide to ease on out. Our hunt was happily rewarded with some more pictures of the abundant life that lives at the edge of the rocks and the oceans, what a hardy bunch of little critters.

Purple Sea Urchin
Spiny Chiton
Northern Striped Dogwinkle
Sea Star, Giant Green Anemone, and Goose Barnacles
There were about 30 Sea Lions lounging on the rocks of their own little island. They were soaking up the sun on this beautiful day.
This little one kept an eye on me. I think he was worried I might dive into the ocean and swim over for a visit.
Now this is a rare species for Oregon, Hominum Scotus, from the northwestern edge of Scotland. I wonder how he ended up on the Pacific coast?

Tidbit: There is a very different type of pool in Colorado called Strawbery Bank Hot Spring. We highly recommend it if you ever get out that way.