Cliffs And Mysteries

By Neala McCarten

August 2015

The Four Corners region of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado is a landscape often seared and dried by the sun. Today it’s hard to imagine the area filled with families growing crops of corn, squash, and beans; chatting and weaving baskets; and conducting a lively trade with other communities stretching across what is now the southwestern United States. And yet at one time, this area was home to a culture called the Anasazi, now often known as the Ancestral Puebloans. Its people settled in the area in approximately A.D. 700, where they flourished. Then some say they disappeared into the desert by around A.D. 1300.

But the people didn’t completely disappear. Their descendants are the Hopi and Zuni, as well as the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. The remnants of their communities stretch across national parks and monuments in the Four Corners states, including the remains of villages of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and the enigmatic stone towers of Hovenweep National Monument in Colorado and Utah.

Both sites attract and puzzle visitors today. Sometimes, especially at Hovenweep, it’s not clear what a building’s purpose was. And at both places, we wonder: Why did the inhabitants leave?

The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde are often considered some of the best sites for exploring the history (and mystery) of the people who built them. Mesa Verde is not only spectacular but highly accessible, with an estimated 600 remarkably preserved cliff dwellings.

The best place to learn about the history at Mesa Verde National Park is at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, 20 miles from the park entrance. It provides a sense of how these people lived, through an orientation film, exhibits of artifacts, and dioramas. Then, walk a few feet from the museum to the paved path down to Spruce Tree House to see some of their actual living quarters. It’s a half-mile round trip, and the well-paved path is a bit steep, but benches provide respite. This is the third-largest community in Mesa Verde, and the best preserved. It’s also the most easily accessed. Built between A.D. 1211 and A.D. 1278, it was home to 60 to 80 people.

The people of Mesa Verde also lived in housing atop the mesas. The Far View Sites, composed of five villages, are easily reached by vehicle and can be explored by foot. In all, an estimated 50 villages cover a 1/2-square-mile area of mesa top. You can walk around the ruins and peer into the former kivas.

To get a sense of the number of ancient communities and their size, drive along the Mesa Top Loop Road. It is only about six miles long, but the time it takes to travel depends on how often you stop for hiking trails and scenic overlooks; you could spend up to a few hours exploring. And this is only a small section of their far-flung society.

Finally, if you have the time, and feel comfortable climbing ladders, take one of the guided tours of Cliff Palace. Tucked into a sheltering cliff, the sprawling development is one of the park’s most popular sites. Tickets must be purchased in advance for a specific tour and can be obtained at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez; the national park’s new Visitor and Research Center, located near the entrance; Morefield Ranger Station; or Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.

The Cliff Palace tour is short — about 1/4 mile — but exiting Cliff Palace requires climbing five ladders, each 8 feet to 10 feet in height. Cliff Palace is open only between mid-May and early November, although much of the rest of the park remains open throughout the winter.

Other cliff dwellings — Balcony House, Spruce Tree House, Long House, and Step House — also are explorable. Be sure to check the physical requirements of each tour before you go.

P.O. Box 8

Mesa Verde, CO 81330-0008

(970) 529-4465

If Mesa Verde is a famous tourist magnet, Hovenweep is isolated and undeservedly unknown. Hovenweep’s 20-mile expanse of mesa tops and canyons is home to six ancient villages. But it lies along the Utah-Colorado border, truly in the middle of nowhere. In fact, the name “Hovenweep” is a Paiute/Ute word meaning “Deserted Valley.”

Make the journey anyway. It offers structures not found at other parks and Ancestral Puebloan sites — beautifully constructed stone towers.

Hovenweep was one of the linked communities that stretched across what is now called the Four Corners region. Most of the buildings were constructed between A.D. 1230 and A.D. 1275, at the height of the Ancestral Puebloan culture; it’s estimated that more than 2,500 residents here were contemporaries of the cliff dwellers at Mesa Verde. But in addition to cliff dwellings, the people of Hovenweep also constructed stone towers. Although they stand like the remains of sentinels, no one really knows their original function. Some experts have guessed these were observatories, defensive structures, or storage facilities.

Hovenweep is composed of several clusters of stone towers, but the Square Tower Group, steps away from the visitors center, is the easiest to reach and perhaps the most striking.

A two-mile self-guided trail around Little Ruin Canyon offers panoramic views as well as close-ups of several towers that reveal their sophisticated construction. Some are actually double-walled structures. A paved path leads to the overlook; from then on, the path is unpaved, but generally level.

At the visitors center, you can pick up a map and directions to the other sites, but reaching them involves either several-mile hikes from the visitors center or driving along unimproved dirt roads.

Hovenweep is approximately 50 miles from the nearest towns (Blanding, Utah, and Cortez, Colorado). Make sure you have enough water and fuel for the round trip.  Hovenweep is open year-round.

McElmo Route

Cortez, CO 81321

(970) 562-4282, ext. 10

The town nearest Mesa Verde National Park is Cortez, which makes a great home base with its dining options and attractions.

You can try local wine, as a surprising variety of grapes are successfully grown in the Cortez area. The tasting room at Sutcliffe Vineyards (970-565-0825; www.sutcliffewines.com) is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Guy Drew Vineyards (970-565-4958; www.guydrewvineyards.com) has tasting rooms in two locations.

For local Indian crafts and culture, visit the Notah Dineh Trading Company and Museum. Its collection of artisan work includes a 12-foot-by-18-foot wool Navajo rug created in the Two Grey Hills style; it is the largest such rug known. Even more art can be seen at the Cortez Cultural Center (970-565-1151; www.cortezculturalcenter.org). The center has an art gallery and special events that range from educational talks to Indian dance performances. The center boasts a beautifully executed outside wall mural that depicts a pueblo scene with perfect perspective.

A nice day trip from Cortez is the easy 40-mile drive to the famed Four Corners Monument. This is the only spot in the United States where four states meet. Stand on it, sit on it, and have a blast with the idea of being in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona simultaneously. The Four Corners Monument is on Navajo land, with a $5 per-person admission charge (cash only; children 6 and under free). For more information, call (928) 206-2540 or visit www.navajonationparks.org.

It took plenty of time for the Ancestral Puebloans to settle in this land, so make sure you allow at least a few days to explore it. Sometimes, it seems, the biggest mystery is time itself.

(970) 565-8227

Visit this website to learn about area commercial campgrounds not mentioned below, or check your campground directory and the RV Marketplace, found at FMCA.com and in the June and January issues of FMC magazine.

Mesa Verde National Park offers Morefield Campground, located four miles south of the park entrance. In 2015 it is open April 30 through October 18. See www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/camping2.htm for details. Fifteen sites have full hookups, and more than 250 sites are primitive (no hookups). Reservations are required for full-hookup sites. Call ARAMARK Mesa Verde toll-free at (800) 449-2288 for current reservation and rate information or visit www.visitmesaverde.com to make online reservations.

Hovenweep has seven RV-only no-hookup sites with a maximum length of 36 feet. Sites are first come, first served. The campground has a rest room, but no showers, and water is provided on a limited basis. It’s best to visit Hovenweep as a day trip from Cortez, Colorado.