Edge Of The Cedars State Park and Hovenweep.

Yesterday we toured the Edge Of The Cedars Museum and Ruins in Blanding and then visited several sites in the Hovenweep National Monument, it was a long day and we drove about 270 miles during this 10 hour round of sightseeing. Jim wanted us to see the Museum at the Edge of the Cedars State Park because he has been told it will be closing so it would be a last chance for us to see the artifacts that have been collected.

Edge of the Cedars State Park is located in Blanding, the park contains the museum and the partially restored ruins of a Pueblo Indian Village. The cost to visit the park is $5 per person, we spent about two hours there but you could easily spend a day if you wanted to take a close look at all of the artifacts in the museum.

 

A few of the bowls at edge of the Cedars Museum.

 

Sandy liked this Olla.

 

There were also baskets on display.

 

This Macaw Feather Sash was recovered from a cave in 1955, it dates to A.D. 1150. The feathers are from a Scarlet Macaw which is found in Mexico, these Indians had a vast trading network..

 

 

We then drove to the Hovenweep National Monument where we visited the Cajon Unit, Little Ruin Canyon and the Holly Unit. Ancestors of today’s Pueblo Indians once lived in villages located at canyon heads that had access to water, the stone and mortar buildings they constructed included round, square and D-shaped towers. The buildings and towers were constructed in the late 1200s and there are a number of theories of why they were constructed. The Cajon and Holly Units are remote and there is a short drive on a relatively short unpaved and rough road to reach the each site, these two sites are small and only involve a short walk. Little Ruins Canyon is located at the  Visitor Center, the road here is paved and there is a two mile trail that visits all the major ruins at the site. 

 

These ruins are located just south of Blanding.

 

These are some of the ruins at the Cajon Unit. This was a farming community built at the head of a short canyon.

 

Our next stop was the Visitor Center at Little Ruin Canyon. We then walked the 2 mile trail which takes you around the head of the canyon and descends into the canyon at the other end and climbs up the other side. This is Tower Point, there are a number of alcoves just below the rims of the canyons where surplus crops were stored.

 

This looks at the head of the canyon. The square tower is located in the canyon and the ruins of what is called Hovenweep Castle are on the rim, there was no King or Queen as these people were farmers.

 

A closer look at the Castle which has two D-shaped towers, a piece of wood used in the construction dates the castle to A.D. 1277. Just beyond the tower at the head of the canyon there was a check dam across the streambed; there were a number of dams all over the mesa built by Hovenweep farmers for controlling water.

 

These are the Twin Towers, one is oval shaped and the other is d-shaped, there were 16 rooms in the towers.

 

Our last stop was at the Holly Unit, this is the Boulder House. The multi-story tower was built on top of this large boulder.

 

Boulder House appears to have been built without any exterior scaffolding.

 

This close-up shows the marks that were made on the stones as they were shaped into building blocks. The small stones and mortar used to stabilize and hold the stones together are also visible. 

 

This petroglyph is part of the Holly Solstice Panel. The solar symbols on the panel are touched by a beam of light passing between two boulders on the summer solstice.

 

 

After the tour we had the long drive home, it was after 8 pm when we got back to the mothership so we took the day off today but we did take KoKo over to Jim’s house for some ball chasing and agility work. Paul and Mary arrived at Portal today and will join us for dinner tonight, Jim was unable to join us as he was trying to finish some yard work before he returns to Aspen on Thursday. Jim will be able to take us on another adventure tomorrow, perhaps Paul and Mary will join us.