Stan's Travels: Dolores, CO (10/3/2017)

Well folks, I've run away from home again, getting an early start on my winter trip. Just to confirm the wisdom of my timing, Mother Nature has given Montrose several mornings of freezing temps, and a layer of ice on the windshield as I was getting ready to depart. Definitely time to head South.

As I passed by Telluride, toward Lizard Head Pass, I realized my recent trip there was about a week too early. Fall colors, now at their peak, were simply magnificent. As always, it's very difficult to find places to stop the motor home and take photos, so I took a few through the windshield, trying not to include the bug spatters.

Nearing the town of Dolores, the trees were mostly evergreens so fall color was limited to scrub oak and other small shrubs.

The main reason I stopped in Dolores was to visit the Anasazi Heritage Center, part of the Canyons of The Ancients National Monument. This large park, more than 175,000 acres, was established in 2000 to preserve and protect the largest archeological region in the country. Over 6000 archeological sites have been discovered here so far, but not many have been excavated. Some that have been excavated were covered again to better preserve them. Only a few have been made accessible to the public. Two of these, named Escalante and Dominguez after the two Spanish padres who explored this area, are located at the Anasazi heritage Center.

Escalante Ruin is on top of a hill, requiring a half-mile hike that gains 500 feet in elevation. My out-of-shape legs were feeling weak long before reaching the ruin (he is 75 now), so I stopped for a breather and a view of Sleeping Ute Mountain. Frankly, I have a little trouble seeing the shape of an Indian chief, but the Utes consider it sacred.

There were also good views of McPhee Reservoir, created to provide irrigation for the Montezuma Valley, but now considered the premier recreation area hereabouts. Many miles away, the snow-capped La Plata Mountains can be seen.

The actual ruin has only been partially excavated, and the condition of the walls suggests to me that some level of restoration took place. It is an interesting example of housing built in the open, as opposed to the cliff dwellings I like to find. The hillside would have made a good spot for growing corn and squash, staples in the Anasazi diet. The kiva (the round room) is in especially good shape.

Walking back to the Visitor Center, I saw the Dominguez ruin, small and not very impressive.

The museum at the center houses a large variety of artifacts found in the excavations, as well as a few replicas of Anasazi construction techniques, murals depicting daily life and lots of modern day paintings by local Indians. Some of the pottery and weapons were obviously reconstructed from pieces found at the sites. Anasazi pottery was strictly functional, with little color. Their descendants, (the Hopi and Zuni) introduced color, now routinely found in all native pottery. The building itself has an appearance similar to the ancient pueblos.