Saturday, February 28, 2015


Welcome !  If you have found this site from the link on the old website, we are glad you are here.  Cultural Resource Planning is alive and well and going strong and will be posting on this website.

My current projects include historic research on some spectacular buildings at the Grand Canyon National Park.  Did you know that this tower, called the Watchtower, was designed by Mary Colter based on her extensive research of Hopi culture and construction traditions?  It's quite a place.  Here's a photograph of the interior...


I'm also continuing the historic building surveys in Cortez, Colorado, an interesting small town in southwest Colorado, located just a few miles from Mesa Verde National Park and the lands of the  Ute Mountain Utes. This town has everything from cute little bungalows to the mid-century modern office buildings.  I really like the one below.


In addition to fascinating archaeology and fun mountain biking, Cortez and Montezuma County are welcoming new kind of agriculture that emphasizes the small farm and the farm to table movement. Cortez residents are also looking into establishing a historic district along Montezuma Avenue, and I'm helping with that. 

Here's another unique and special place. The Animas City Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in La Plata County. It's tucked onto bench on the steep slopes below Fort Lewis College.





The cemetery is home to the graves of famous outlaws, early homesteaders, Civil War veterans and, sadly, the many children who died very young. Although the property has been owned by the City of Durango since 1985, they have done nothing to preserve the headstones or care for the land. A support group--The Friends of the Animas City-- has been working to conduct research and work with the City to develop a maintenance plan and repair the most damaged headstones. For more information, check out the great website with information about the Cemetery and the people buried there at  http://www.animascitycemetery.org/