We're Off Part 2.... AZ-WY-MT-SD-AZ

[canyonslicker]

How's this:

Burrito....awesome!

Poutine....???

Is that better? ?

PERFECT!!!!

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[canyonslicker]

PERFECT!!!!

The only thing is it seems almost like north and south border wars. But hey at least we’re somewhere in between..

 

[Russd]

We went to a really great Mexican restaurant tonight. Russ @Russd suggested it in my Pagosa Springs thread the other day and he was dead on, this place was great! It's a little place in a strip mall, nothing fancy (those are usually the best ones) but the food was great and the people were all great too. Prices were very reasonable (especially for PS) with the Burritos with rice and beans only $10.50.

https://chavolospagosasprings.com

 

[AzScorpion]

We went to Chimney Rock National Monument. I honestly didn't think it was going to be that interesting but it turned out it really was and we had a great time there. There's several park rangers at the visitors center, at the parking lot and at the top with all sorts of info. Here's more background on it for anyone who want s to read up more on it.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sanjuan/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5390324

At Chimney Rock you can imagine the landscape as it was a thousand years ago, with cultivated fields and settlements extending from the valley floors to the mesa tops. Chimney Rock represents one of the largest Pueblo II (900-1150 AD) communities in southwestern Colorado and is considered a Chacoan cultural “outlier.” The Chaco phenomenon was a complex system of dispersed communities bound by economic, political and religious interdependence centered in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

The area continues to hold special significance for today’s Native American peoples. More than 150 documented archaeological resources grouped into eight clusters at Chimney Rock date back to the Pueblo II period. Architectural structures include pit houses, great kivas, and great houses.

The pinnacles that give Chimney Rock its name frame multiple astronomical alignments. The Ancestral Puebloans incorporated their knowledge of astronomy into the design of their community. Today Chimney Rock is one of the best recognized archaeo-astronomical resources in North America, with alignments with the northern lunar standstill, summer solstice, equinoxes and Crab Nebula.

There's a lower trail which is a paved walkway 1/4 mile long with several plaques telling you about the area. There were also two remnants there one Pit house and one Kiva. A Pit house is where they lived and a Kiva is a ceremonial place like a church.

Here's a model of a Pit house and the ranger station at the upper parking lot.

 

[AzScorpion]

As you walk the lower path theses are all over giving you the history of the area.

 

[AzScorpion]

I thought these next pics were really cool. To see where/how they lived thousands of years ago. When I get to the upper pics these will look small as the Pit house and Kiva were larger up there.

 

[AzScorpion]

My pictures were way out of order because we did the upper (harder for Annie) trail first. So when you first come in there's the visitors center and a short 9 minute video where they tell you the whole history of the area and well worth watching. Also these plaques are scattered around the outside and here is where you'll get your first full view of the monument.

 

[AzScorpion]

The park ranger will give you a map which tells you what you're looking at as you do both of these trails.

Once you do the lower trail you walk up past the upper parking lot to the upper trail. These are at the start of the upper trail.

There's a Ridge house right at the start of the trail.

 

[AzScorpion]

Like most of Colorado there's some great views all around you!

If you look back at the map it tells you this circular depression was a Pit house.

After yesterdays hike Annie was in no mood to see these.

I guess even out here you can't assume everyone has common sense. ?‍

Your view where the sign is.

 

[NeilP]

Another hail storm predicted. possible 80 mph winds with it.

It is a tight fit, but they are all inside!

 

[AzScorpion]

This was a guard house and there's more info on the map in post #773

At the top you walk by the base of a large Kiva.

They have signs with arrows where you need to stay on the path. Once you go by the base you finally arrive at the top and can see the monument. There's no way to get all the way over to it but it's impressive non the less.

This is a very large Kiva and the park ranger tells a story about it and the surrounding area and what was once there.

This was for ventilation. You can see another square in the center of the Kiva where it would circulate.

 

[AzScorpion]

These are storage areas where they stored food and grains.

This is another Pit house off to the side of the Kiva.

The ranger said these were made for insulation for the Kiva.

More storage areas.

A shot of most of the area up top. The Pit house is stepped down at the far end.

Two more closer views of the monuments.

 

[AzScorpion]

Another hail storm predicted. possible 80 mph winds with it.

It is a tight fit, but they are all inside!

Safe and sound is all that matters! Heck I'd climb out the windows if I had to just to get them in there. lol You're getting some really nasty weather there this summer. Hope you get a break and can at least enjoy some of it before it turns cold again.

 

[canyonslicker]

These are storage areas where they stored food and grains.

This is another Pit house off to the side of the Kiva.

The ranger said these were made for insulation for the Kiva.

More storage areas.

A shot of most of the area up top. The Pit house is stepped down at the far end.

Two more closer views of the monuments.

Great pic’s again, with all of that hiking you must be hungry.. The poutine is almost ready ?

 

[AzScorpion]

Great pic’s again, with all of that hiking you must be hungry.. The poutine is almost ready ?

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