2013 Airstream Trip West: Day 23

We've spent nearly two weeks wandering around in the Colorado mountains. The mornings have been clear and bright. Clouds form during the day and showers or thunderstorms arrive in the late afternoon. Daily temperatures reach highs in the low 80s and lows in the 40s. It's been delightful.

The move to Cortez brings us into a new environment. We're still at over 6,000 feet, but now we're in the high desert. The temperatures seem to run about 10 degrees higher than in the mountains. We're in a good place to see surrounding attractions. It's comfortable here.

It looks like this may not be a good time to wander very far south. The temperature in Phoenix is 109°F today with a low of 87°F. Tucson is only a few degrees cooler. Yuk!

Today's Exploration:
We drove to the Anasazi Heritage Center to learn more about the Canyons of the Ancients, then went to see the Lowry Pueblo and finished the day at Mesa Verde.

Anasazi Heritage Center:
The museum is dedicated to the ancestral Puebloan people and to the studies that have revealed their history. It's about 5 miles north of Cortez.

The museum is attractive, well staffed
and a great source for learning

It showed us how the trail of the ancient
civilizations connects with dwelling finds

Carol learns how the Anasazi wove cloth

The scene from the front entrance gives a
"big sky and big desert" view

Canyons of the Ancients:
This National Monument is a huge tract that protects about 6,000 ruins and archaeological sites in southwestern Colorado. It includes Lowry Pueblo, Painted Hand Pueblo, Sand Canyon Pueblo and Sand Canyon Trail. We went to Lowry Pueblo.

Lowry Pueblo:
The pueblo is about 20 miles from the Anasazi Heritage Center.

The road leading to the pueblo was unassuming.
The last 5 miles were gravel.

Carol is going inside to see a kiva

Wow! These folks were short.

The Great Kiva was separated from the living
structure. Three others kivas were inside.

McPhee Reservoir:
We passed the entrance to McPhee Reservoir on the way to the Lowry Pueblo. The reservoir was created to provide irrigation for Montezuma and Dolores counties and for the Ute Indian Reservation. We were quite surprised when we stopped to take a look.

This is how it's supposed to look

This channel directs what water there is
to the base of the dam

And there isn't much water here

Mesa Verde:
The approach to Mesa Verde is nearly as dramatic as the cliff dwellings. The entrance road twists and climbs 20 miles up and around a number of mesas to reach the dwellings.