Water Makes History in Cortez, Colorado

I'm working on a historic building survey in the town of Cortez.  Located in the arid southwestern corner of Colorado, Cortez relied on water piped into the Montezuma Valley from the nearby Dolores River drainage.  The town has a wonderful collection of bungalows reflecting prosperity in the late teens and the twenties. Many of these snug homes have been remodelled over time, requiring  a little imagination and help from the historical photographs in the Montezuma County Assessor's Office files.  A little research reveals some important unknown surprises---such as this house, which was constructed of ornamental concrete block but is now covered with wood siding. The Assessor's card in the photo above is a glimpse into the home's past.

Off the Beaten Track at Mesa Verde National Park

A tour of Mug House

First of all, the wildfires in Southwestern Colorado have not travelled to Mesa Verde, thank goodness. The Weber Fire is located more than 15 miles away, just south and mostly east of Mancos, and south of Highway 160.  It is dry and hot here.  It seems the archaeological sites are very vulnerable. Yesterday a fire exploded near the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area but was contained within 24 hours.   Before the fires started, we had a fantastic opportunity to veer from the main track at Mesa Verde on a guided tour of Mug House. Limited to 10 people and led by a National Park Service intepreter, the Mug House tour was the best Mesa Verde experience I've had in over 40 years of visiting the Park. The tours are offered three times a week at the cost of $25 a person--well worth it if you ask me. You meet on Wetherill Mesa, take a quick twenty minute walk along the Park road, and scramble down a trail to this lovely place.  Mug House was named for the ancient ceramic mugs that modern explorers found hanging on a cord when they "re-discovered" the site.

Modern Ancestral Puebloans

I've had some great working opportunities lately, which keeps me too busy to post on the blog.  The City of Cortez, Colorado, wants to know more about their history so they have hired me to conduct a survey of the historic houses located on Montezuma Avenue. Cortez is in the heartland of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the area up into the 1300's.  Mesa Verde National Park is just down the road, and that may be why the town has some really cool houses built in what is called the "Pueblo Revival" style, a design that sort of mimics the flat roofed homes of pueblo people.  Another absolutely stunning and humongous version of the Pueblo Revival was built in Santa Fe in 1939 by the National Park Service.  It was painstakingly constructed of hand made adobe bricks  I was lucky and got the job of documenting the history of this amazing building which is still a Park Service administrative building.

Tottering Railroad Remnants

This remarkable surviving remnant from days long ago is a water tank on a branch of the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad that connected Durango and Farmington, New Mexico. Initially known as the "Red Apple Flyer" for the delicious cargo it carried, the line acutally survived into the 1950s because it carried pipe and supplies for the burgeoning gas fields in the San Juan Basin. The current owner is trying hard to find resources to preserve it and has nominated the property to Colorado's Endangered Places list in hopes of raising awareness and assistance. More power to him!

Summer Fun With Ravens and Arborglyphs

Sometimes it's the little things. This hungry raven joined our camp on the San Juan River one evening, keeping a close watch on our food.  

Meanwhile, up among the columbines near Lime Creek, I happened on some script carved into this aspen in 1938.  The  cut stump next to it is intriguing.  Somebody was marking the way along this historic route.  Tree carvings are called arborglyphs--in case you didn't know. They are everywhere but you have to train yourself to look for them.

Lingering in the Lupines

June in the San Juan Mountains brings the lupines.  My friend and I took a tour through fields of these beautiful flowers.  Our walk included some beautiful public land that will soon be lost to private development, thanks to the San Juan National Forest decision to swap this land for other properties. We better get out and enjoy it while we are still allowed to access it.

New Southern Ute Museum in Ignacio

The Southern Utes opened their new museum in Ignacio this weekend with a two-day open house. We made the drive from Durango through the farms and ranches of La Plata County and arrived to be spell bound for hours by the new building and the collections it houses. This is a very sophisticated museum that still relates to you, the visitor, on a very personal level. Lovely. The exhibits tell many stories about the multi-faceted Ute culture. I liked that both the past and the present are included in the exhibits. It gives a strong message about how knowing where you come from strenghtens you on your journey to the future.