Just a couple more posts of pics. One of the truly astounding things we saw was impressive ancient Puebloan construction skills. This room, in Aztec, New Mexico, was one of many we saw at Aztec Ruins National Monument and Chaco Culture Historic Park with beautiful brick walls. The ceiling is original, 900 years old. The ancient Puebloans created huge brick pueblos with many kivas (circular ceremonial partially subterranean chambers) with intricate brickwork in different patterns. Some of these pueblos had 500 rooms while other communities were much smaller. The orientation of the buildings was symbolic, being aligned with movements of the stars and helping note the equinoxes and solstices.
Sightseeing without wearing sunscreen will make for very pink faces!
In Durango, besides visiting the Durango & Silverton Train Museum (free!) we ambled into an antique shop. I could hardly pull the kids out of there. Liam found a pair of replica goggles he liked.
This next spot is pretty self-explanatory. The plaza is ringed by permanent vendor stalls. This is pretty much all there is to see out here, so we took the time to visit with some of the Native American vendors. Evidently Four Corners Monument is on Navajo Nation territory so there are only Native American vendors allowed permits. We did have an interesting experience here. People would take turns taking pictures of themselves on this spot. The spot where Bronwyn is standing is supposed to mark the actual intersection of four state boundaries. The person taking her turn right before us was not taking pictures, however. She looked to be in her late 50's with a long blond ponytail on the left side of her head. She wore a white tee shirt with a small American flag on the chest and purple sweatpants. She was holding a small wooden cross in one hand while clutching a cane to her body with her arm and reading passages out of very small white booklet. The words sounded like passages from the book of Revelation, stuff about sealing up 12,000 from the tribe of Dan and 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali. There was something about sealing up the Statue of Liberty next. She turned herself around and around in a circle on the center spot, with her free hand raised in the air like a "heil Hitler" salute. She didn't seem to be with anyone. At one point she called on God to stop the wind so she could read. He didn't.
Finally she left the center spot and as the kids walked to where you see them she informed me that Atlantis died for us and that we are all Atlantis . Okaaaaaaay. I smiled pleasantly and turned back to take pictures of the kids.
Glen Canyon Dam, from the inside looking out the face of the dam. This was an impressive piece of architecture. There are inspection tunnels running the length of the dam on many levels. Thanks to a chance encounter with a woman I knew only by face from my weights class back home, we got a special tour of the dam. It was so amazing! By the time we were through with the tour her father, who works at the dam, gave us we were much better friends. My mysterious weightlifting classmate now has a name: Bobbi.
There are rain tunnels that run deep into the rock walls on either side of the dam. There is a concrete channel on the floor that runs along one side of the walkway allowing for water seepage to have a safe place to go.
Me and my new buddy Bobbi. She is so interesting and fun. Thank you for including us in the group!
I have just one more day of pictures to share. I wish we could have spent more time exploring the Four Corners area. The scenery is so beautiful, with so many colors. The rock formations are sometimes startling, and it is no wonder the ancient native peoples created interesting stories to explain the landscape. Coming up next, a Western shootout and Bryce Canyon.
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