Mesa Verde trip, June 12, 2013

Our host, Harris, prepared us an earlier breakfast, for which we were eternally grateful. We had oatmeal, cinnamon raisin toast, fruit, and the usual libations. A stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast that prepared us well for the day ahead. Then we proceeded down Hwy. 166 towards Cortez, about 16 miles to the south, and then to the Ute Tribal Park, another 20 miles to the south? The land there is barren and dry, with just a sprinkling of native shrubs and bushes. We parked at the visitor center, where two other women, Diana and Seton (grandmother and granddaughter) joined us. Then our guide, Rick Hayes, joined us as well. He is a Ute and a tall man with the darkest hair I had ever seen, plaited in two braids down either side of his neck. Dark complected, he was tall and not at all as the typical Ute had been described--stocky. Lean and powerfully built, he was quite an awesome presence. A Shishonean people, the Utes were first described by Europeans in the diary of Father Silvestre de Escalante, when he crossed into Utah on an exploratory mission in 1776. By the early 19th century, the Utes had acquired horses and became known as expert horsemen, hunters, and raiders of livestock. Historically, they moved their camps into the high country for summer hunting, but retreated to lower elevations to wait out winters. The Utes "knew" the bear and how to coax him from hibernation with the Bear Dance that signaled the beginning of spring. The Sun Dance, initiated in the summer, was to insure good hunting. The Utes were known as a playful people, and many of their dances--the Circle Dance, Coyote Dance and Tea Dance, were strictly social in nature. Social, but more serious were the melodies form handmade flutes that a man used to court his true love. And the Utes were and still are known for their beadwork, valued for its intricacy, exceptional use of color, and refinement. Our guide interpreted Ute Indian history, Ute pictographs, geological land formations and Ancestral Pueblo petroglyphs, artifacts and dwellings. We could not enter or explore the area on our own. Our full day excursion included a long drive in a van on gravel and dirt roads from the Tribal Park Visitor Center to several remains of cliff dwellings. Walking involved three miles of unpaved trails and a climb on five ladders to visit four well-preserved canyon cliff dwellings in Lion Canyon. Before descending into the trail area, we all sat down in an arbor and had the various elements of lunch we had cobbled together--Greek yoghurt, hummus, flatbread, and grapes for Ann and me, for instance. Temperatures, once we started on our exploration of the four sites in Lion Canyon, were quite warm, especially standing in the sun. Although the efforts were a lot more strenuous than our hikes at Mesa Verde, we learned so much about the history and customs of the Utes, the Navajo, and the Hopis, among other tribes. We finished the tour by 4:30 and were back at the Visitor Center by about 5:00 p.m. Driving back towards Cortez and Mancos, we passed by the town of Towaoc, the most substantial town on the reservation. We stopped in at a pottery showroom, where I ended up buying a beautiful, unglazed red / black bowl which kept calling my name, although an unglazed bear, a buffalo, and a glazed black / white bowl with an orange band were heavy contenders as well. After that, we proceeded to Cortez, where Ann wanted to eat at the Pepperhead once again. She had another mango margarita, and we both shared huevos rancheros and a sopapilla for dessert. We drove back to our B & B at dusk, and took several pictures along the way of the valleys and buttes of the area. We reached home, had cherries and talked on our balcony, discussing which route might be efficacious to get back to Leadville tomorrow. Another fine day today, although I am exhausted. And so goodnight!