We were
driving home from a family reunion, when we saw the turnoff for
Hovenweep. It was about time to stretch our legs, so one hard left
later, we were headed through cornfields to the middle of nowhere.
The pavement ends pretty fast, which only adds to the mystery of a
different time and place. After parking in front of an empty
visitor's center, you start the loop around a mesa with a crack right
through the middle of it.
And for some reason that is unfathomable to
me, these hot cliffs are where the Anasazi liked to build their communities.
Every time you turn a corner, there is another rock house blending
into the background. Hovenweep means “deserted valley” in Ute.
They thought it was haunted. If so, the ghosts will probably always have it to themselves.Do you think anything will remain of us 700 years after we are gone?
Edit: I forgot to tell you how to get there. You take highway 191 south of Moab. Pass Monitcello, pass Blanding, turn left at road 262. Keep turning left (or going straight) until you see the sign and the visitor's center.
Wow, that's just amazing. I wish I could go back in time and see it all whole. Do you think the rocks were cut, or just found and fit together that neatly?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. One thing I read said the earlier the community, the more likely they were found that way and fitted. But they eventually figured out how to shape stone. I can't imagine how much work that would take though.
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