Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

Finally, I got out and about again today. Where’s the blog been, where have I been, why haven’t I posted anything interesting for folks to read? Starting Friday night I was not feeling super. Got worse through Sunday. Basically I slept all Sunday! It happens.

So, today I took a ride out to an area known as the Canyons of the Ancients. It’s the same area that Hovenweep is in (was there the other month). I’ll be returning to Hovenweep as well. If you want to know more about the area, check the BLM information site on this link. Why rewrite what’s already available at the BLM site?
Today’s little excursion led to several sites. The Lowry ruins, Painted Hand, and the Horseshoe / Hackberry sites near Hovenweep. Quite the little whirlwind tour. Actually, all the sites were pretty close to each other, and easy enough to find, even though the signs along the roads were hard to pick out at times.

The first stop was the Lowry site. A very interesting site indeed. This particular ruin had a lot of the building remaining. So, a roof was put on it, and it seemed the interior had been reinforced by modern day methods. Actually, it didn’t seem like it, it was reinforced. The big steel beams inside were a dead give away.

The main Lowry site

Visitors are actually allowed to get closer at this site. You can poke your head inside the main building as well. So, of course I did. You won’t see photos of that here, but you’ll see something on an upcoming podcast. Keep watching for it (going to take me a while to edit). I will let you see the “entrance” though……

Whacked my head good coming out of here….

The site also had a Kiva as well. That’s a big round area in the ground. That will be on the video too. Can only put so many pictures up at a time.

After leaving Lowry I pointed the truck toward Painted Hand. Along the way a hawk made an appearance on a telephone pole. Of course, when I pulled over to photograph it, the bird took off. So, didn’t get the pose I wanted…..

Stop number two on the tour was Painted Hand. This site had petroglyphs, although I couldn’t make out what was one and wasn’t. It was a short walk from the parking spot, just like Lowry, and a pretty area. One of the first things you’ll notice at the site it the “Tower”. Can’t miss it, even walking in.

While at the site, a really interesting lizard was pointed out. Wouldn’t have seen it at first. But definitely and interesting site too!

Finally, we moved on to Horseshoe and Hackberry sites. These sites are also along a very short walk from where you park. By the way, the roads aren’t the best getting to the sites, and there’s a good bit of off road style driving. So, make sure your car is up to it! Best suggestion, go out in a Nissan Titan.

The final two locations were pretty as well. Just check out the final photo. I took plenty of pictures of the ruins as well, but figured the photo of the view is also pleasant. Hard to tell one structure from another after seeing several of them!

Overall a decent day. Skipped Hovenweep, as lunch was required, and I’m still not running at 100% after this past weekend’s cold. As I improve again, I’ll check a few more places in there area. If you’re into archeology, this area is a must visit for sure!

Well, off to play with the video, and see if there’s a neat podcast in about 45 minutes of video…..

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 1st, 2006 at 5:00 pm and is filed under On the road.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.