Springerville | Arizona

These cute little vintage trailers were found in a small town in Eastern Arizona.  I was staying in St Johns but took a day trip down to Springerville where they have a little antique flea market.

This next picture shows a cooler in the shape of an old Airstream.

The town had a little museum of old homes and buildings that have been reconstructed.

Nearby was an area called Casa Malpais, which means home in the badlands.  It was an area that had volcanic activity centuries ago and was used by Pueblo people.  A tour guide gave a history of the area and the people who lived and farmed here.  Remains of their homes are spread out in the field.  Some areas have not been excavated, since the archaeologists found enough to tell them about the area.

Since the area is locked and admittance is by tour only, they have left pottery sherds.  Complete and partially reconstructed pots could be seen in the museum.

There are petroglyphs in the area and this one shows the summer solstice. At high noon the shadow would cut straight through that large middle petroglyph that looks like curlicues.

The town where I was camped is called St Johns.  It was a small town and the grocery store and Ace Hardware were in the same building.  I thought it was interesting that they put lawn mowers and other equipment right in the aisle to get to the food.  It was a good place to stay for a long holiday weekend, no crowds!  As a bonus, I did lots of cleaning on the truck and the RV, and now I feel lots better about everything!

Wupatki National Monument, Arizona

 

Remains of pueblos in this area date back to about 1000.  By the time the volcanos in the area stopped erupting, these people had moved on to another region.  During the time they inhabited this area, they built pueblos to live in, using the red rock that is found in this area. 

 

 

The construction of these pueblos is impressive, some were three stories tall.  Large boulders were incorporated into walls, depending on the terrain.  After all these years, with weather and vandalism, there is quite a bit left of these structures.

 



 

 

The photo below shows a large area that has been reconstructed, probably a meeting area for the community. 

 

One of the pueblos included a large open area that had remnants of walls that were rounded in shape, to enclose the open area.   It is thought that this area was for socializing and working on projects, such as pottery making.

 

 

This little guy was sitting in the middle of the trail when I was leaving.  He let me take a few pictures of him and then I got this shot from the other side.  Colorful little guy, and seemingly unafraid, he probably knows he can outrun me.

 

 

Some of the pueblos were miles away from this main area, and built on the edges of a small canyon, which was probably a water source at the time.

 

 

 

Hovenweep National Monument

The name Hovenweep is a Ute Indian word meaning "deserted valley", which it now is. This area of puebloan ruins is way out in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything but farmland. The trip was through rollling fields of crops growing and other crops being harvested, not to mention some really rough cattle guards - rough enough to require warning signs.

During the 2 mile hike to see the ruins, I went down into the canyon to the other side and around the rim where I could view numerous buildings that had made up the village.

The ruins of this area are mostly built around the rim of a canyon, with some inside the canyon. For some reason, these people built towers, both square and round, with multiple stories. These towers have multiple little square openings, smaller than windows, as if they were lookouts for invaders. It is not really known what these openings were used for, but they do look over a large empty stretch of land on each side.

 

The square tower is about two stories and was constructed down in the canyon.  It has the same small holes, but if they were used for lookouts for enemies, they wouldn't see much inside the canyon.

 

Other structures include larger openings, obviously windows and doors.

The twin towers have one flat wall, the rest of the structures are round shaped. There were 16 rooms in the two towers and they are known to be the most carefully constructed structures in the area that includes many pueblos.

 

It is amazing how many of these areas are still standing and I'm sure that some ruins that were on the neighboring farmland have been cleared away during the centuries after the puebloan people left.

 

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

 

Today I took a tour to see Cliff Palace, puebloan ruins that were built in an alcove sheltered by a large cliff in a canyon.

These were built around 1200 using local sandstone, a mix of mud and water between the blocks and local wood.

Evidence shows that they traded with neighbors and people from other villages. Seashells from the Pacific has been found here, as well as items from what is now New Mexico and other places.

These residents farmed corn, squash and beans, as well as hunting deer and small mammals.

The exit from this little community was fun - steps carved in a rock canyon, with 3 ladders to make it to the top, all shown in the photos below.
 

 

 

Taos Pueblo, New Mexico

 



 This Pueblo is inhabited by the Red Willow Indians and is known as the Taos Pueblo.



 



 

This is only a portion of the main northern structure, which has been inhabited continuously for over 1,000 years.  Some of the homes have been converted into shops for tourist trade while others are still used as homes.  There is a restriction on electricity or running water within the village.  Homes have little fireplaces and some have wood stoves for heating or cooking.  The walls are at least a foot thick and keep the inside cool in summer and warmer in winter.  A large quantity of homes are in this complex - homes are built side by side, sharing common walls, ceilings, etc.  Individual homes are anywhere from 1 to 3 rooms.

 

The construction is adobe brick, which consists of dirt, straw and water formed into bricks.  They are dried and then stacked with more adobe mixture between them.  The structure is then plastered with more adobe mixture.  As it ages, the straw shows through.

The majority of the population is Catholic, but the native culture and way of life is evident in the total population. 

 

The photo below is a shot of a couple Kivas, which are their sacred religious shrines.  This area is off limits to visitors, and they are underground, with sticks marking the entrance.

 

 

The photo below shows a typical house with the ladder to get to the roof and a bunch of dried chiles hanging on it.  Entrances were through a hole in the roof in the early days and ladders were needed to get inside.  In order to help protect themselves from invasion, they would just pull the ladder up on the roof.  



Most of the homes have only one oven, this one has two.  An oven is called horno and they are still used, especially for large quantities of food.  Wood is used to warm up the oven, then the food is put in.  The pieces of board in this photo just cover the opening.

The cemetery is sacred and no one is allowed to enter unless there is a funeral.  This is why it looks unkempt, they do not maintain it because they would have to enter it.  The ruins within the walls of the cemetery are the church that was damaged by US troops in the 1800s

 

This area was fascinating and I walked through the area at least twice.  They have several shops that open during the morning, with all sorts of goods for sale, including beautiful native pottery, jewelry, paintings.  There are also baked goods for sale, including fry bread, oven bread and cookies.  I had to try the fry bread, which was pretty good with cinnamon and sugar on it.