Day Eight

On our last official day of the trip we took a scenic tour back into Phoenix. We stopped at Fort Apache, which was established to help the White Mountain Apache Tribe peaceful protect their lands. 

 As we continued along the White Mountains we stopped to admire the view of the Salt River Canyon.

We stopped at an over look and Manny found a very cooperative butterfly,

 and Kathy found an interesting shadow.

  
We ended our trip for the day in the Sonora Desert. How amazing it was to see all the colors. The desert was just starting to bloom and everywhere we looked there was color. 

I never knew the desert could be so beautiful. I always thought it was dusty and dirty lacking any color but brown and green. Boy was I wrong!

Day Seven

To day we headed out to the "Sky City" at Acoma Pueblo. What amazing view we were able to see. 

view from the top of "Sky City"

"Gary" our guide showed us all the different aspects of this community. There is no running water or electricity. That is the way they choose to live. 

Gary explaining how the Acoma people live.

These are how many people get into their homes. Every house is occupied by a family. 

There were things for sale around every corner. The Acama people are known for their skills in pottery. BTW this is the Christmas ornament I bought.

We worked our way around the settlement and ended up at an old Spanish Mission which was built in 1629.

Because there is no running water up here there are water basins, which are used to catch and hold the rain water. This water is not drank, but is used for cleaning.

One of three water basin

After our visit to Acoma we went to visit the Zuni. The Zuni people have their own language and culture that is different from the other Native American's in the area. They are very protective of their culture and religion. Our guide who was a female could not give us much information about the religious customs and traditions because in their culture women were not invited into the religion. Like many other Native American's in the region, the Zuni used Kiva's for their center of religion, their meeting place or church.

I do have pictures of my visit to this area, but I had to purchase a Photo Permit to take the pictures. I agreed with the terms of the permit which included not publishing any photographs without permission from the Zuni Tribe.  I will update this page when I acquire the permission.  

Day Six

Today was to be a very full day of exploring. To start the day out we visited the Aztec ruins in New Mexico. The purpose of this visit was to see the larges reconstructed Kiva.

Although the Aztec occupied this area after those from Chaco Canyon disappeared they used many of the same ideas and concepts started by the earlier settlement.

The walls of this great Kiva were made up of alternating masonry and horizontal poles.

Which were then placed on top of these stone discs which were about 355 pounds each.

In the afternoon we drove over to Chaco Canyon. Chaco was the center of culture during this time. There were extensive road systems made. Roads that were engineered and planned, providing access between the various civilizations which promoted trade.

The first great house we visited was Pueblo Bonito.

Pueblo Bonito is the most investigated and visited site in Chaco Canyon. It is believed that this was a planned construction that occurred in stages between 850 and 1150 AD. These structures were made in the core-and-veneer style. The core were pieces of sandstone rocks laid in a mud mortar, while the veneer were carefully selected and shaped rocks used to finish both sides of the core.

This is one of only 7 known corner doors. They are believed to function as sun markers.

Pueblo del Arroyo is home to the only "tri-wall' structure at Chaco.

The "tri-wall" is a triple wall structure which archaeologist are unsure of its purpose and use.

Pueblo del Arroyo also offers one of the best views of the south gap. This is the place where the roads entered the canyon.

Casa Rinconada is home to the largest excavated great kiva in Chaco.

There are a total of 34 wall niches, 28 of them are uniform in size and evenly distributed along the north-south axis. The other 6 do not show any obvious patterns and are believed to be astronomical markers of some kind.

Day Five

What a change from yesterday! Sand whipping around, very warm to SNOW!  Today was my first chance to get up close to some cliff dwellings!  Though Cliff Palace was not open (weather) we were allowed to go up into Spruce Tree House.  How amazing! 

view driving up to Mesa Verde

Once we got to the top of the Mesa we had an opportunity to visit the sights on the Mesa Top Loop.

The first stop was a look at a pithouse. It comprises of a large space for living with a fire pit in the center for heating and cooking and an antechamber which was used for storage.

These structures would have had four main poles that held up a wooden roof. Most were covered with mud to keep the heat in and the cold out. It is believed that as these people advanced they moved away from these types of structures because of their tendency to burn down.

As time went on the depth of these "houses" became larger and deeper. When something happened to these structures it was common practice to build another building right one on top of they were replacing.

When the time came we had to gather by the rangers station for our tour of Spruce Tree House.

A look down into Spruce Tree House from the opposite canyon wall.

Spruce Tree House is the third largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde.

It contains over 100 room and has 8 kivas.

looking up to higher levels

Kathy and I standing in front of Spruce Tree House

Looking down into Spruce Tree House

Looking down onto Square Tower House from a scenic over view.

looking down into Cliff Palace

Sun Temple is a D shaped structure which is believed to have been constructed as a place of worship. There are at least 30 rooms none, of which had a roof constructed over it. It has been speculated that this structure was never finished.

 

 

 

 Almost all of the stones on this site were shaped into smooth sided bricks. A lot of care went into their formation and placement. It is clear to see that this was a place of great importance to these people.

The day ended as it started, with a trip back down off the mesa through some of the most beautiful landscapes around.