Have YOU Ever Stood in Four States at the Same Time??

There is SO much to do in this area - so much history, history that we are never taught in our schools. History that happened before we, the white man, came out here and began to take over. I know, I know. I make it sound like we are the bad guys. But, sometimes I think we were. At least where the Indian land is concerned. But, enough of that.

After dropping off prescriptions at WalMart for refills, we headed to our first stop of the day - Four Corners National Monument. Located in the Navajo Indian Reservation, the monument is the only place in the United States where you can stand in four states at one time. It is the site where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet.

Also onsite are many booths in which Navajo craftsmen sell their wares. It is not overstating it when I say how amazed I was at the skill and talent of the artistry of these people. The pottery is all handmade and hand drawn, each piece is unique. The jewelery is gorgeous. I could have bought something from each booth. I am truly in awe of them.

Leaving Four Corners, we headed for the Anasazi Heritage Center. Because their website explains so much better than I can, I quote it: The Anasazi Heritage Center (AHC) an archaeological museum that displays and preserves artifacts and records from excavations on public lands in the Four Corners area, one of the richest archaeological regions in the United States as stated on their website. "Anasazi" is the Navajo name for the people who lived in the Four Corners between AD 1 and AD 1300. The population size varied over time, but at its peak many thousands of families occupied the southwest corner of Colorado. Their modern descendants, the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, prefer the term Ancestral Pueblo rather than "Anasazi." "Pueblo" also refers to their apartment-house style of traditional village architecture which survives today.

The artifacts and records found at the center are phenomenal. There was even a Pitstructure from AD860 to 910 reconstructed in the museum. It is an actual Pitstructure that was excavated in 1980. These structures are dug into the soil then given walls and a roof then finished off with a hearth and partitions. It is thought that several families would live in one structure.

Outside of the museum you can find two pueblos. The one closest to the museum is a four room structure built about AD1123. A family of four to six people probably lived here.

Located a half mile from the center is another pueblo that is much larger and built around AD1129. Because it was well past lunch time and I had a mean headache, we didn't walk up to that site. I'm hoping maybe we'll do it before we leave.

We took a break, went back to the rig to get some lunch and take Blackie out for a walk. After that, we took a drive up to Mesa Verde National Park. It's literally across the highway from our park. We are going there tomorrow with Russ & Pat, but thought we take an early peek. The park is huge. The visitor center is 15 miles from the entrance to the park and takes 30 to 40 minutes to get to. We drove up to the Visitor Center and came back home. I got a few gorgeous scenic pictures on the way up. Can't wait to see the rest tomorrow.


Until the next time . . .