Our Trip Out West, Day 6: Mittens, Vulcans, and the Two Towers

Anywho, on Monday we headed off toward Monument Valley. Unlike the day before, when the spectacular cliffs kind of shrank into the earth until they were just impressive bluffs, today the cliffs started breaking off, standing on their own—forming mesas and, eventually, buttes. (Alas, I had forgotten the difference and had to look it up.)

Before we got even that far, though, we had to pull over on a random turnout on the side of the road for…the eclipse! At first we were worried that we’d miss the whole thing because of cloud cover, but just as the eclipse was starting the clouds cleared right up for us. We whipped out the eclipse glasses we’d brought, leaned against the car and lay on the asphalt, and watched the wonder. The moon covered about 70-80% of the sun where we were, and we saw almost the whole thing.

Back on the road, we made it out to Monument Valley to eat our lunch while overlooking some of the most spectacular buttes in the west.

I couldn't bear to crop this one because of that beautiful sky.

Mittens! 

We’d have loved to get a tour of the back country, but had to press on across those wide open spaces. We saw a ton of “watch for cattle” signs but very few cattle, and land became flatter and flatter as we took turns onto smaller and smaller roads.

When we were keeping an eye out for Mexican Hat, 

I was expecting it to look like a right-side-up hat, 

not too different from the other buttes we'd seen. Instead...

And here's a close-up since it's a bit hard to see in that picture.

I also found a butte that looked like the Vulcan salute

(my thumb is pointing at it),

so I did the polite thing and gave it back. 

Live long and prosper, Monument Valley!

(Bonus: the oft-seen open-range cattle warning.)

Our destination required some light off-roading but was really in the middle of nowhere: Hovenweep National Monument. Amazingly, the site hasn’t had much archaeological investigation (perhaps because it’s so far out from anything), but that’s probably a good thing given how close you can get to the ruins—which was pretty darn cool.

These are "the two towers." It was a pretty geeky day, wasn't it?

Being so close to the buildings was awesome.

The ruins at Hovenweep were mesa-top pueblo structures, unlike the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, with one exception: A boulder fallen halfway down the shallow valley had eroded into a “C” shape, and some enterprising member(s) of the tribe had built a pueblo into the missing section. Hey, it’s totally what I would have done!

The boulder with the building in it is in the top middle third--

--though it's hard to see the stones in this picture, I'm afraid.

This is a view up one branch of the Y-shaped canyon. 

There are at least four in tact ruins in here--can you spot them all?

(You'll need to enlarge the picture, obviously!)

Finally we worked our way out of nowhere into a beautiful, winding river valley and to our stop for the night: Kelly Place.

Oh my gosh, you guys. If you’re looking for a place to stay near Mesa Verde, look no further! This awesome retreat was like summer camp for grown-ups—a bit rustic, but plenty of charm. It’s an active archaeological site that frequently hosts activities to teach people about the life of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived at Mesa Verde: blanket and basket weaving, pottery making. Areg and I stayed at the same time as a group of grandparents and grandchildren, and we got to sneak into a presentation about the geography of the area, which came in super handy the next day. The only thing missing was, well, actual American Indians to offer their perspectives and ensure that everything was handled with respect. That fact was a bit uncomfortable for me.

To my extreme regret, I was so busy being impressed by Kelly Place that I completely forgot to take pictures of the compound. Grr… At least you can check it out on their website, if you’re interested.

Take a look at Areg's Facebook page for even more photos.