AirstreamTour: Traveling with Daddy to explore all things Cowboy and Indian!

After three months in Grand Junction Colorado, it was time for Daddy to return home to Louisiana. We had the unenviable job of prying him away from the Mesa View Retirement Community, and his girlfriend Miriam – who was not too pleased when we arrived because it meant his imminent departure.

In addition, with his infectious enthusiasm, Daddy had become a fixture at Mesa View, and more than one resident let us know that we should leave him in Colorado and… for us to just head on down the road… without him.

But after three months away, Daddy was ready to head home while seeing some sights along the way. We had planned two weeks to take him back the 1,400+ miles to Shreveport.

Our first stop was Arches National Park, a spot Daddy had never seen, but always wanted to. The park is located just outside of Moab, Utah and at 76,679 acres is small for a western national park. It was originally created as a National Monument in 1929 to preserve over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. It was rededicated as a national park in 1971 – there are currently slightly over 90 arches.

The park lies above a salt bed thousands of feet thick in places - deposited 300 million years ago when a sea covered the Colorado Plateau. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris and Navajo and Entrada sandstone layers above. The weight of this cover caused the salt bed to liquefy and push up layers of rock into salt domes. In addition whole sections of rock developed faults that allowed water to seep into the salt layer causing fractures and uplifts. In some areas the rocks turned almost 90 degrees on edge.

As the subsurface movement of salt shaped the landscape, erosion removed the younger rock layers from the surface. Most of the formations in the park today are the salmon colored Entrada sandstone, which form the majority of the arches, and the buff colored Navajo sandstone. These are visible in layer cake fashion throughout the park.

Entrada and Navajo sandstone layers along the Colorado River.

Balanced Rock formation. The rock is Entrada sandstone with the buff colored layer beneath made of the softer (and more easily erodible) Navajo sandstone.

Being game for travel and enjoying the idea of seeing new things, Daddy was up for hiking out to the arches. Heinz and I put our foot down on the longer hikes, no way were we going to try helping a 92 year old man across three miles of slickrock to see the Delicate Arch up close, but we did agree to the 1/2 mile round-trip hike out to the Double Arches. The larger arch has a span of 144 feet and a height of 112 feet. This is the third longest span and the tallest height for any arch in the park.

The goal - Double Arches.

Heinz and Daddy taking a break on the trail to the Double Arches.

Daddy and me in front of the Double Arches.

Delicate Arch from the lower viewpoint trail.

As we drove around the park, we stopped at every scenic overlook that we could find, and even a few times at just wide spots on the side of the road so Daddy could “ooh and ahh” over the sights, while snapping pictures on his new digital camera (a birthday gift from friends in Colorado). He now goes nowhere without that camera in his pocket.

Daddy checking out the view.

Petrified sand dunes.

More spires and arches along the road.

Along the way we stopped to watch a climber going up one of the spires. It’s interesting to watch, but not a sport for me. As clumsy as I am, I’d fall off by the time I got 10 feet up the wall!

Hmmm, this shot puts it a bit more into perspective.

After two nights in Moab, it was off to Monument Valley. Daddy had been to the Valley years ago on a bus tour, but only stayed one night and didn’t remember doing much other than going to a BBQ and driving through the area. We got in much more than a quick drive. On our first day we headed out on a four-hour jeep tour of the Navajo Tribal Park – the tour was offered by the Goulding Lodge.

The Lodge itself, begun as a trading post in 1923 by Harry and Leona Goulding, eventually morphed into a hotel, restaurant, museum, gas station, convenience store, RV park and grocery store. During the Great Depression the Navajo people were desperately poor and no jobs were to be had in the area. Harry Goulding traveled to Hollywood and convinced John Ford that Monument Valley would be a perfect setting for western films. John Ford agreed and traveled to the valley to film “Stagecoach” starring a new, unknown actor by the name of… what was it… oh yeah, John Wayne. Films have continued to be filmed in the valley ever since.

Daddy doing his best John Wayne impression in front of a cabin built for the movie “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon”, filmed by John Ford in 1949.

Arriving at the Tribal Park.

The Navajo Tribal Park is located in Monument Valley, on the border of Arizona and Utah within the 16 million acre Navajo Reservation. Our tour took us along the 17-mile dirt road past many of the valley’s best-known buttes and spires. We were traveling during the southwestern desert’s monsoon season. The week before we arrived in Monument Valley, the Tribal Park had had flash flooding that washed out large parts of the road. Being a dirt road, the local population had simply driven around the washed out areas and so the road was not the smoothest we’ve ever ridden on.

West and East Mitten Buttes.

Looking over the valley from John Ford’s Point towards Merrick Butte on the right and Sentinel Mesa on the left.

Sky Arch.

The Totem Pole Spire.

We popped up early on our second day to drive over to Hovenweep National Monument. Daddy loves Indian ruins, but he had never heard of this location. After a day exploring here, he’s been telling everyone, “You’ve got to go to Hovenweep!” In 1874, pioneering photographer William Henry Jackson named the ruins “Hovenweep” - which is “deserted valley” in the Ute/Paiute language. In 1923, President Warren Harding proclaimed Hovenweep a national monument.

Today tall towers, outlines of multi-room pueblos, tumbled piles of shaped stone, small cliff dwellings, pottery sherds, and rock art lie scattered across the canyon landscape north of the San Juan River. Despite the weathering of seven centuries, many large structures and tall towers still stand. It is easy to wander along the slickrock trail and imagine what these communities must have been like when hundreds of people lived along the mesa.

At the beginning of our exploration, with the Twin Towers in the background.

The Twin Towers, circa 1050. Each tower is built on a block of rock without any access at the ground level. Archeologists estimate that these towers were 4-5 stories tall.

Heinz helping Daddy up the slickrock trail. Lots of stops to rest or chat about the buildings we were seeing, the local geology, the local flora and fauna, the weather, etc. and we made it 0.8 miles around the ruins in 90+ temperatures. Man, I want that kind of energy when I get to be 92 (or even next week!).

In front of “Hovenweep Castle”, believed to have been used for astronomical observations. Openings admit shafts of light during solstices and equinoxes. By tracking the light, the people could have used the towers as “calendars” to indicate planting and harvest times.

Picnic lunch after exploring the ruins.

We took another day trip from Monument Valley, and headed south to Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de Shay) National Monument outside Chinle, Arizona. Archeological evidence shows that people have lived longer in this area than anywhere else on the Colorado Plateau. The first residents arrived nearly 5,000 years ago. They did not build permanent homes, but remains of their campsites and pictographs remain. Later, people archeologists call Basketmaker built household compounds and storage facilities high on ledges on the canyon walls. They lived in small groups, hunted game, and grew corn and beans. Besides the ruins of their homes, these peoples also left behind pictographs on the canyon walls.

Pictographs attributed to the Basketmaker people.

The “Junction Ruins” located at the junction of Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto, attributed to Basketmaker people.

The Anasazi (also call Ancestral Puebloan people) followed. These Puebloan people built the multi-storied villages, small household compounds, and kivas that dot the canyon alcoves and talus slopes. These people stayed until around 700 years ago, then left for unknown reasons.

Anasazi ruins in Canyon del Muerto.

Pictographs of antelope, big horned sheep, and turkeys.

The “White House” ruins in Canyon de Chelly. These were named for white paint found on the inner walls of the buildings. Archeologists believe that the lower buildings were originally tall enough to reach the upper buildings.

As the majority of the Anasazi moved away, some remained in the area spending summers here, hunting and farming. Later, migrating Hopi Indians arrived for a time. Finally, the Navajo arrived and settled in the area in the early 1700’s and remain the dominant group to this day.

Canyon de Chelly from the rim. Local Navajo residents still farm the canyon floor.

Leaving Monument Valley we pointed the rig southeast and drove for New Mexico. It rained all morning as we rode, but Daddy and I had complete confidence in Heinz and we both drifted off and napped most of the way. Poor Heinz was left trying to figure out how to stay awake, so he pulled out his earphones and rocked out to some music. We stopped off in Aztec, NM for two nights at the Ruins Road RV Park. As we pulled in it stopped raining and Daddy was raring to go see the Aztec Ruins National Monument.

The Aztec Ruins are elaborate stone structures built by the Ancestral Puebloan People between 1000 and 1300 AD. Within miles of these ruins are scores of other structures, indicating an extensive, planned community. Aztec’s West Ruin is regarded as a “Great House” and is the largest known outside of Chaco Canyon. Great Houses are large, typically multi-storied stone buildings with core-and-veneer walls, large rooms, plazas, and usually one or more Great Kivas. The structures were used as gathering places, ceremonial centers, trade centers, work areas, and storage. The construction of Aztec’s West Ruin was episodic and rapid. The majority of the building was completed in only 30 years. In comparison, Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon took almost 300 years to complete.

Aztec West. There is another, larger building called Aztec East that has not been excavated completely.

Archeologists have identified two distinct masonry styles at Aztec West: Chaco masonry and Mesa Verde masonry. Chaco masonry developed in Chaco Canyon during the 9^th-11^th centuries. It is characterized by organized, meticulous rock layering, chinking, and core-and-veneer masonry, which used a central core of mud and stones covered by outer facing of stones in mud mortar. Mesa Verde masonry, named for its prominence in the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, is a style characterized by larger, rounder stones with less emphasis on layering and chinking.

Decorative and perhaps symbolic elements like the green layer in the wall above are commonly found here. Many speculate that masons may have been mimicking the local geologic features.

Exploring the ruins.

Great Kiva in the plaza.

The back walls are Chaco masonry, while the front walls were added later in Mesa Verde masonry.

After spending an afternoon exploring Aztec Ruins, Daddy was pumped to be going to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Chaco Canyon the next day. Beginning in the mid-800’s Chaco Canyon became a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create this ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since.

Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. As with other Indian sites we have visited, historians still do not know the reason behind the abandonment of these sites.

Chaco Canyon, Aztec Ruins, and several other Ancestral Puebloan sites are now designated U.S. World Heritage Sites.

After hearing Daddy’s age, a Park Service ranger recommended we explore Pueblo de Arroyo as it was the smallest and most accessible of the pueblo open for public viewing. Daddy however had read about Pueblo Bonito for years, and was determined to see it. So off we went, hiking up the trail and over to the pueblo.

Heading up to Pueblo Bonito.

The site covers almost two acres and incorporates at least 650 rooms, with some estimates raising the room count to 800. In parts of the village, the tiered structure was four and five stories high. During later construction, lower level rooms were filled with debris to better support the weight of the upper levels. The use of core-and-veneer architecture and multi-story construction produced massive masonry walls as much as three feet thick. Population estimates have varied with recent analysis lowering the number from several thousand to less than 800 and maybe as few of 100, based on the small number of usable hearths in the ruins. It is now believed that Pueblo Bonito was a ceremonial center used for religious rites. The solar and lunar cycles are marked in the petroglyphs of the surrounding cliff area as well as in the architecture of the Pueblo itself.

Panorama of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon. The rocks in the foreground of this photo fell from the cliff face in 1941, crushing over 30 rooms. The Ancestral Puebloans had built a retaining wall around this section of rock approximately 800 years ago. In 1940, structural engineers with the Civilian Conservation Corps decided that the retaining wall was useless and had it removed. A year later the rock wall fell. Go figure!

The middle wall (separating the east and west portions of Pueblo Bonito) runs exactly north-south and tracks the sun on the days of the equinoxes. The front wall (running exactly east-west) tracks the moon’s movements over time.

One of 40 kivas found within Pueblo Bonito. Archeologists estimate that this one could have accommodated 250-300 worshipers.

Determined to see everything he could, Daddy decided that some of the doorways were too low to stoop over in order to get through. His solution…crawl through! As he said, “You don’t wait 30+ years to see Chaco and then skip parts!”

Our next stop was Albuquerque, NM and a day of rest. We’re not sure Daddy appreciated having a down day, but Heinz and I were exhausted! We did take him out to eat, but I think if he could have found some Indian ruins he would have walked over to see them.

After leaving Albuquerque, we stopped for a night in Amarillo, TX and met up with my cousin Harold, his wife Donna, and son Noah. They treated us to a great dinner at the Saltgrass Restaurant. We finally left after 2+ hours of chatting, laughing, and catching up. The next morning we saw one of the most fabulous sunrises I’ve seen.

Sunrise in Amarillo, TX.

Then it was off to Oklahoma City, OK and a day spent at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum - what a place! When I say a day at the museum, I’m not kidding - we got there around 10:30 am and pulled out of the parking lot around 4:00 pm.

The museum has more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts with approximately 15% on display at any given time. Do the math, that’s around 4,200 items. The next major factor is that my dad believes in seeing everything and reading every label, hence a 6-hour visit to the museum. But no complaints for us, it’s a fascinating place. I mean really - who knew there’s over 200 designs of barbed wire?!

In addition there are over 2,000 works of western art; landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and sculptures. The historical galleries include the American Cowboy Gallery, a look at the life and traditions of the working cowboy; the American Rodeo Gallery, fashioned after a 1950s rodeo arena; the Native American Gallery, focusing on the embellishments that Western tribes made to their everyday objects; and the Gallery of Fine American Firearms, housing over a hundred examples of firearms.

The museum also houses Prosperity Junction, a 14,000-square-foot authentic turn-of-the-century Western prairie town. You can stroll the streets, peek in some of the store windows, and walk into some of the fully furnished buildings.

Once you’ve finished wandering the museum don’t forget to go outside to the sculpture garden and rodeo animal cemetery.

Hmm, wonder what they’d say if I climbed on??

Bellying up to the bar in the Prosperity Junction saloon.

Final resting place of Tornado, considered one of the best bucking bulls ever. No one successfully rode him in 6 rodeo seasons, bucking off 220 competitors.

Posing in front of Remington's "Coming Through the Rye".

After two weeks on the road, we have returned Daddy to his home in Shreveport, LA. He’s taking his time unpacking, while we are kicking back, licking our wounds, and visiting family members, before heading west again.

Here’s your friends of the week: