It's About the (RV) Journey....: Hovenweep.......

Though we are in Southeast Utah, this area is known as the 4-corners area of the southwest, as it borders 4 states (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico). Our explorations in this area are mostly the Utah portion of the Trail of the Ancients, rich with the history of the southwestern Native American people. For more information, click here.

We traveled about an hour to Hovenweep National Monument in Colorado, the site of ancestral Puebloan ruins. For more information, click here. The drive over to Hovenweep from Bluff was fairly remote....I'll tell ya....you need to be self sufficient out here with water, food, and enough gas in your car to get you from point A to point B. Just sayin'. We did pass some horses and cows, but not much else.

cowboys at work

woah...look out little guy..you are about to get lassoed.

hey guys...aren't you on the wrong side of the fence?

a few cows near the road entering Hovenweep

These are ruins from the ancient Puebloans, who left the area 700 years ago. At Hovenweep, there are six different sites to visit, within a 20-mile area. We visited what is known as "Square Tower" site. It is located at the Visitor Center,where there is a paved road and parking lot there. The other sites are not accessible by a paved road, so we opted not to explore them. All of the following pictures are from the Square Tower Trail.

here we are

Ready to explore?

there is a nice walk around the canyon...until you have to cross it at the end by going down and then back up the canyon

The trail around the canyon is flat and easy, though in full sun the entire time. Oh, and at the end, you need to drop down a steep rocky path 80 feet to cross over the canyon, and then climb up 80 feet on the other side. Its not too bad. What's really great is that the Puebloan ruins can be see from both sides of the canyon, since the canyon is not that wide. What's different about these ancient ruins is that they are built on the side of a cliff, on the rock edge, and they are built up. They are not in rock alcoves like many of the other Puebloan ruins.

the ruins are amazing....over700 years old

built on the edge of cliffs

look across the canyon as well...they are on the edge

staying on the trail

local wildlife

very well built!

check that out! This was on the side of the canyon

estimated that there were many "homes" on the sides of the canyons as well as the top

the path...hard to get lost!

right on the edge!

another view

more views

just amazing...

really enjoying learning about these Puebloan ruins...

info along the way

the portals aligned sunlight each seasonal solstice and equinox...they were big farmers so it was important

right on the cliff edge!

truly amazing for being 700 years old or older

this 3-story "Square Tower" structure may have guarded the spring...the water source was very important here in the desert

Rockies in the background (I think!)

wildlife

another visitor

there were many structures here, as well as other more remote locations on dirt roads in this park

uh, boys...pay attention please!

the valley of the canyon was used for farming, and there were structures there at one time as well

archaeologists really don't know the whole story here

more views as we walked around the canyon

very precisely built

ah...a little break in the shade before going down and back up the canyon...hey...I even have 4G!

fueling up for a hike down into the canyon with ~~the ball and chain~~ Susie:)

ready? here we go!

ok...I'm forewarned

ugh...

this is pretty steep and winds the whole way down

view from the bottom of the canyon

heading back up the other side...see the folks across the way coming down?

going up is much better for me!

I'm leading us up :)

really???? Did it have to be a snake?? (Ok...no laughing...its really small, but still startled me)

it is a pretty steep climb

We really enjoyed discovering and exploring in this ancient Puebloan ruin. The movie at the Visitor Center was pretty good as well. It is estimated that 2500 Puebloans lived here back in the day, and they lived off the land by farming it. The farming was done then as it is today, storing extra water for irrigation and saving the runoff soil, of course not using machinery though. It is not known why they left the area, though there are several different theories. There is still so much not known about the "ancients".