Arizona and New Mexico
by Sharron Calvin
Imagine…..
Indians singing and dancing around a roaring camp fire or planting seeds by the light of a full moon. These visions and more were felt during my visit to Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, Canyon De Chelly (pronounced shay) National Monument and Casa Malpais Archaeological Park.
These established landmarks form a 700 mile triangle from northeastern Arizona into northwestern New Mexico and may have been part of a migration that has fascinated modern archaeologists for years. Presently, Canyon De Chelly is the only region where Native Americans still live and farm. Although, there are plenty of ruins still standing and a legacy of trails worth exploring in Chaco Canyon and Casa Malpais.
Chaco Canyon Holds Many Secrets to the Anasazi Culture
Chaco Canyon National Historical Park sits in Northwestern New Mexico and was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987. According to archeological studies, 4,000 to 6,000 Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo and other Indian tribes passed through this canyon. From 850 A.D. to 1150 A.D., the Anasazi lived within great houses often oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions. There seems to be an unending fascination about the Anasazi’s and their use of sophisticated astronomical markers, water control devices and Chacon “roads.” At the Chaco Canyon visitor center a video program is shown hourly about these ancient inhabitants as well as a small museum displaying artifacts, maps and a small outdoor observatory.
Self-guided tours are also available to the grand Pueblo Bonito, (Spanish for Beautiful Town) the largest Anasazi ruin, Casa Rinconado (Great Kiva) and Una Vida (another great house). For longer treks, there are at least a dozen trails leading to the top of the mesa for views of the entire Chaco Canyon network of ruins. Most are fairly easy with little elevation gain, the longest trail is a little over six miles. We chose the Pueblo Bonito Rim Overlook trail. After a steep one and a half mile climb the ruins of Pueblo Alto greeted us as a setting sun shadow danced across the canyon walls.
Canyon De Chelly National Monument
Shadows weren’t dancing across the canyon walls as my girlfriend and I hiked down the easy 1.5 mile trail to White House Ruin on the floor of Canyon de Chelly. This canyon remains green and fertile year round, which explains why it is one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America. Today, White House Ruin sits behind a chain link fence on the valley floor adjacent to the canyon walls. The valley floor was warm that day and cottonwood trees were just beginning to leaf out giving us a little reprieve from the sun. Indian vendors jumped back and forth across the narrow muddy river in hopes of selling their wares to incoming tourists.
Canyon De Chelly National Monument resides in Northeast Arizona and is west of Chaco Canyon. Numerous overlooks of the canyon are accessible by driving a two-lane road that meanders along the rim. My favorite overlook was Spider Rock. Today, only two tall spires of red sandstone stand alone in the middle of the valley floor depicting Spider Woman’s home where she helped her People move into the fourth world by hiding them in the reeds and then floating them down to dry land.
According to Hopi legends, many generations may have migrated through these areas in a succession of underworlds. This succession of underworlds according to Frank Waters, author of “The Hopi Way” lasted five worlds. The First World called “Endless Space” started out as a pure and happy time. Unfortunately, conflict surfaced because the People forgot who they were. Ultimately this world was destroyed by fire. The faithful were protected underground in kivas with the ant people. The kivas of today represent those anthills and were often located within the great plazas of the great houses of all these canyons. Kivas accommodated hundreds of people and served as ritual settings for entire communities. Often times while retreating in the kivas, communication between other worlds opened up for the People, according to Greg Braden, author of “Walking Between the Worlds.”
The Second World according to Waters was called “Dark Midnight” and was destroyed by cold and ice. Again, the kivas kept them warm and dry. Once the destruction stopped, they climbed up a ladder into another world. This was the Third World. Dissension broke out quickly among the People and this world was destroyed by flooding. However, this time an appointed caretaker named Spider Woman saved the ancients by hiding them in reeds and floating them to dry land into the Fourth World. The Fourth World, according to Waters, was called “World Complete.” This world was unlike the previous three, where the ancestors were provided for. The Fourth World had harsh deserts, never ending marshes and mountains of violent weather. This World was to be a time of awakening, realizing how we affect each other and that we are all one. Sounds like what might be happening now, doesn’t it? The Hopi say we are now living in the Fourth world which is ending and that the Fifth World is beginning.
Casa Malpais Archaeological Park
Further south of Canyon De Chelly lies Casa Malpais Archaeological Park. This National Historic Landmark also has evidence of underworld activity within the ruins. Intact pottery was discovered here as well as a 8 X 4 foot panel depicting human like figures with tails which may have represented ancestral beings before they emerged above ground to the fourth world. These petroglyphs offer an inkling about the Zuni and Hopi clans that lived and held ceremonies here six hundred years ago. Archeologists propose these drawings came from the Parrot Clans because there is a parrot spitting rainwater onto a corn plant. According to Hopi legends, this indicates that the Corn Clan and Parrot Clan went their separate ways.
Below the corn plant is another human like figure which represents a female because of the hair spools on each side of the head. According to legends, this means she is single and still waiting for her man. At the time of this drawing, 20,000 Hopi, Zuni, Navajo and Mogollon (pronounced muggy-own) traveled through this settlement. I hope she found her man! Even though large number of travelers passed through, the migration seems to have ended here. The Anasazi people appeared to be so in tune with their environment, yet they completely vanished. About a mile away in the town of Springerville, AZ, a small museum now houses many of the intact relics of pottery for display.
My girlfriend remarks quietly, “Looking up into the night sky of more than a thousand stars, it’s as if we are looking back in time.” I have to agree and wonder how it must have been for our ancestors. I have a feeling that even though it is many years later, some of the same questions may elude us. How to listen better with our hearts, balance our lives while still lending an ear to the sounds of ancient drumming or the distant howl of a coyote.
If You Go:
♦ Chaco Canyon National Historical Park- The best time to go is in the spring or fall unless you can tolerate temperature above 100 F in July and August. Chaco Canyon is located at the end of long unpaved bumpy dirt road in Northwestern New Mexico. Accessibility is best by car coming in from the north at the town of Nageezi, New Mexico via County Road 7900. From the south, you can also take County Road 7900, (turn north at the town of Pueblo Pintado). In either direction, you will come to the junction of County Road 7950, which will take you west into the canyon. Be aware that these roads can be inaccessible in inclement weather. For more info, call (505) 786-7014 or visit www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm.
♦ Canyon De Chelly National Monument – Located not far from the town of Chinle, Arizona. Camp sites are free and available on a first come first serve basis and the historic Thunderbird Lodge is also close by that offers a gift shop, restaurant and rug room. For more info call (928) 674-5500 or visit www.desertusa.com.
♦ Casa Malpais Archaeological Park- Open year round. Tours of the site leave from the museum located in Springerville, Arizona at 318 E. Main Street. For more info call (928) 333-5375 or visit
About the author:
Sharron Calvin grew up in Tucson, Arizona surrounded by mountain ranges which kindled and inspired her love for the outdoors. She claims the “West is the Best” and is always on the lookout for off-the- beaten-path excursions to explore and write about. You can read more of her adventures on www.fourcornering.com
All photos by Sharron Calvin.
Parking was almost impossible on Main Street, so my husband Kent and I circled around to one of the back streets. We found ourselves behind the Old Blacksmith Shop dating back to 1897. We began to explore.
Even older than the Dowling House is the 1820’s The Old Stockade at 208 Perry Street. Originally a log building, The Old Stockade was a result of preparing for an attack during the Blackhawk War of 1832.
On September 13, 1860, a crowd of over 15,000 rallied in front of the DeSoto in response to a “Grand Republican Mass Meeting” in support of Lincoln’s presidential bid.
A walk over the Galena River (it joins the Mississippi further downstream) brought us to General Grant’s House. A group of tourists were standing on the main porch awaiting the next tour. A Grant House guide in period costume came out to greet us. She conducted a narrative tour of the main floor with some interesting asides: Julia, Grant’s wife, was the FIRST “First Lady”, both of Grant’s parents were alive when he was president and, the silverware on the dining room table had also been used in the White House. The upstairs bedrooms are self-guided. Tours begin on the half-hour. What a living history experience of mid-19th century America!
“That was one of the best dives I’ve ever done,” Kathryn proclaimed after surfacing at Cozumel’s Tormentos Reef. Comprised of coral pinnacles towering approximately 20 to 30 feet high and interspersed with wide, sandy areas. The colorful coral heads are adorned with purple and orange sponges, brain and whip corals. Tormentos is a veritable ocean garden where the reef’s maze of twisting tunnels, overhangs and barrel sponges provide shelter for marine life. Teeming with shoals of bream fish, French grunts and yellow snappers, I lost count on the number of blue tangs, pork fish, trigger fish, black durgon, file fish, big eyed jacks and parrot fish we saw. Lurking within the ledges, nooks and crannies were Caribbean king crabs, spiny lobster, giant hermit crabs, juvenile spotted drums, spotted moray eels and delicate-looking arrow crabs. Grey and French angelfish seemed unwary of the divers in their midst as were the barracuda seen hovering over the patch reef on the hunt for their next meal.
While our dive at Tormentos Reef was quite literally off the scale, we equally enjoyed our dives at other well known Cozumel dive sites. Interestingly, we seemed to be seeing more large animals on every dive than I could recall ever seeing here over two previous trips. Nurse sharks, sea turtles, Southern stingrays all seemed to be in greater abundance. Our decision to bring our family to Cozumel for Christmas and New Years felt entirely right. This year, the gifts were indeed under the sea.
San Miguel’s quaint downtown zócalo (Plaza del Sol) extends for about eight blocks along the waterfront and for several blocks back from the water. The tiny municipality exudes a casual relaxed ambiance with excellent shopping, superb night life, an exceptional number of fine dining restaurants, more than 200 gift shops, souvenir stalls and jewelry outlets that sell everything from T-shirts to fine silver jewelry, pottery, wood carvings, leather goods and tourist kitsch. While prices tend to be fixed when cruise ships are in port, bartering is relished by shopkeepers on the side streets located as little as ½ block in from the water. In fact, the potential for striking a great bargain increases the further you stroll back from the waterfront.
On Christmas Eve our trip got off to a festive start with a delicious dinner at Pepe’s Grill, followed by bananas flambé for desert, which is simply to die for! After some shopping at some waterfront shops we attended Midnight Mass, which the Mexicans call “la Misa Del Gallo” or “the rooster’s mass,” at the beautiful Cathedral of Corpus Christi. One does not need to be religious to appreciate familiar Christmas carols or a church service performed entirely in Spanish. Curiously, we noticed several church patrons were carrying and hugging a baby Jesus doll. We soon learned the building of the “El Nacimiento” or “Nativity scene” is a seasonal tradition here. During the holiday season, most Mexican families construct a Nativity scene in their home. At midnight on Christmas Eve, a figure of baby Jesus is placed in the nacimientos to commemorate the Lord’s birth.
Another notable feature that sets Cozumel’s waters apart from other Caribbean dive destinations is the Yucatan current offers endless opportunities for drift diving. These continually flowing ocean currents are often less than half a knot and tend to flow in a south to north direction. Sometimes the current can be fairly strong, attaining velocities of two knots or more. Essentially, the dive plan for drift diving is simple. The dive tender drops you in the water and follows your bubble trail, standing by to pluck you from the water when you surface.
We are invited into one of the homes to warm ourselves in front of the fire. Wood stoves and fireplaces heat the houses and are used for cooking. Bread and pastries are baked in hornos, outdoor adobe ovens scattered around the site. We purchase delicious cookies and pies made in a horno, which warm us from the inside out. We also sample fry bread in another home, made in front of us and drizzled with honey. So tasty.
Many of the homes are inhabited by native artists who welcome visitors to enter, view their art work, chat and make purchases. We buy a number of handmade items to take home as gifts, and a couple of pieces for ourselves. At a shop called “Morning Talk”, I buy a fabulous piece of pottery for my potter daughter, knowing she will appreciate the work put into it. Everyone is so hospitable and willing to take time to talk to us. We soon forget about being cold.
We explore the modern day San Geronimo Church, built in 1850, a Registered National Historic Landmark and still used by the mostly Catholic inhabitants of Taos Pueblo. The thick adobe walls, keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.
And it is but a small part of the God’s carven world of the seven Canadian National and B. C. Provincial Parks hugging the Rocky Mountains’ Great Divide. So stunning the national parks; Kootenay, Banff, Yoho and Jasper along with the B.C. Provincial Parks Assiniboine, Hamber and Mount Robson were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984.
Our now grown children with children of their own were but pre-teens when we last drove the parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper and we were stunned to see how far the Athabasca Glacier, that long intrusive tongue of the massive Columbia Icefield, had retreated. Already in natural retreat there are signs acknowledging the decline that have been hastened by global warming. They spoke of the advancing flora chasing the fleeing glaciers and of the inherent change so bespoken for wildlife. Where once the icy tongue licked the opposite side of the valley, at its greatest extent in 1844, the long flight saw it now crawling into the very folds of the great icefield itself. Here, atop the World, the ice achieves depths of 100 to 365 metres; enough to engulf cities, skyline and all.
Turquoise hued Peyto Lake is a short uphill jaunt from the highway parking lot. Oft photographed and resident on many a calendar the lake is laid out resplendent, guarded by its mountains and replenished by thin cascades streaking across their faces. Named after historic early trader and guide, Bill Peyto, the lake is safely viewed from a guard-railed viewpoint.
The Johnston Canyon waters ran cold and clear through the narrow chasm carved over the millennia, spilling white fury in misty display as they pass. It is claimed almost one million people annually trod its tended pathways, bridges and ramparts which swing over the very turbulence itself. Despite crowds politeness prevailed as people quietly stopped to let others pass. Cameras, hung at the ready – necessarily so as you would just take one picture only to find another waiting around the corner. At the lower falls (30 minutes in) rock walls appeared to almost close and the waters pounded into a pool hidden within a a hollow accessible through a carved tunnel at the end of a bridge crossing the chasm. Spectacular in the extreme, people lined up to experience the pounding, misty cavern.
Our second site sat, a hidden Shangri-La, high above the opulence of Lake Louise with its glacial backdrop and turquoise waters. To reach Lake Agnes takes a bit of effort; wending the switch back trail to the rock outcrop upon which a log tea house sits and a thin cascade tumbles free to Mirror Lake far below.
A short distance west from Takkakaw is the turnoff for Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge. If it lacks the power of Takkakaw the Natural Bridge makes up for it in methodical carving of rock into forms as unique as a Henry Moore art piece. Where once a full natural bridge hung over the rage-whitened face of water but a vestige remains, itself a passing entity. Emerald Lake lies at the foot of the mountains, red canoes dotting its surface, even as the lodge recalls images of romance. At the parking lot a little ground squirrel community has entertained visitors for years. In the midst of wild beauty sits peace.
During those family days in Golden we would take the winter drive to Radium Hot Springs and the Sinclair Canyon jaunt into the park under the red-eyed gaze of the canyon cliffs to immerse ourselves in the inviting hot spring pools. The bracing cold did not encourage lingering in the hallway leading to the protected pool access but once within its warming confines soothing sensation embraced the entire body. In my bearded days both beard and hair would freeze in Santa Claus fullness to be melted away with a luxurious dip underwater. Mists covered the pool surface in eerie fullness parting occasionally to bear witness to mountain sheep cavorting on the rocks above. Lounging in the warmth of the pool, an experience even more appreciated with the aches of age, and gazing up to the surrounding mountains, is meditative and renewing.
