Canyon of the Ancients

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go for an impromptu camping trip.  It is a little early in the season, but the weather has been having warm spells lately, so I thought that I would brave one chilly night in the tent.  The destination was a place only a three hour drive from my house in the southwest corner of Colorado.  Canyon of the Ancients is a National Monument.  A very special place to be able to visit.  Scattered throughout the valley are the remains of a culture that mysteriously vanished 700 years ago.  There are stone buildings crumbling into the desert and broken pottery washing from the ancient landscape.  A truly magnificent place to explore.

Most of the buildings were scattered across the landscape and required a good hike to get to.  However, there was one area known as Hovenweep that was a collection of buildings that made up a town in a shallow valley.  I was excited to see this area because I had read about it many years ago and it's story was intriguing.

Many of the buildings rose straight from the edge of the rocks they perched on.  Many were built along the edge of broken cliff faces which makes me admire the agility of the people that used to inhabit this space.  As I walked among the ruins I tried to imagine what it might be like to share this valley with hundreds of people living in and around this town.  A different way of life indeed.  These people carved out a thriving community from a barren, arid landscape and then suddenly vanished, though there are only theories as to why.  

There are many other places that I would like to explore in this area, though I only had time for this tiny adventure over the weekend.  When I have another weekend to spare I will be heading back to explore other areas of this national monument.  The relics here are numerous and I have only begun to scratch the surface of what I could learn from this place.