The area in Southwest Colorado and Southeast Utah is rich in history of the ancient Pueblo people and amazing natural beauty. I hope by sharing thee glimpses that more people will come to respect and protect these lands held sacred by people who came before the Europeans.
Purshia mexican (cliffrose) is part of the rosaceae (rose) family
This ancestral Pueblo village was built on and under the canyon rim north of the San Juan River. These ruins have survived for over 700 years. The pioneering photographer William Henry Jackson first used the name of Hovenweep in 1874. In Ute/Paiute Hovenweep means deserted valley.
This collared lizard has a beautiful palette of colors that blends in with the plants and the surrounding rocks and stones
This sculpture welcomes visitors to the Anasazi Heritage Center. The word Anasazi means the ancients in Navajo, but because the ancients are ancestors of Pueblo people, Navahos, and other tribes, the name is not used as often as Ancient Pueblo people
The Great Kiva foundation at the Lowry Pueblo within the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument resembles the kivas at Chaco in New Mexico and nearby Mesa Verde.
The wind and rain have sculpted the orange and cream-colored rock into forms that I associate with ice cream and frosting with clouds as whipped cream
A closer view of the giant sundae
Water has sculpted natural bridges in the canyon
Near the natural bridges are remnants of those who made their homes under the ledges
The water that runs through the canyon supports these trees. The contrast of colors, textures and sculpted forms intrigue me.
This natural bridge is in its mature stage as noted by its relative thinness and some day the bridge will collapse