indexALBUM 8) Thursday 23 July 2009

Bluff, UT - FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT (AZ, NM, CO, UT) + HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT

~ getting lost in the farminglands of Canyons of the Ancients, CO and driving back to Bluff via the 491, Monticello + Blanding, UT ~

a) ThursdayMorning 23-July, Enjoying Our (Executive) Cabin at the Desert Rose Inn & Cabins (Bluff, Utah).JPG
thumbnails/tnb) (MOVIE)Nestled Between the Sheer Red Rock Cliffs of the San Juan River Valley.jpg
c) Living the Good Life ;-).JPG
d) Bluff Is Located in the SouthEastern Corner of Utah, With a History of Ancient Anasazi Culture ....JPG
e) And the Historic Civilizations of the Ute+Navajo and Mormon Pioneer, Along With Contemporary Artist Culture.JPG
f) (MOVIE)Ready to Explore! Driving Out of Bluff (Passing By Twin Rocks Cafe), Getting On Hwy 162.jpg
g) Back In NavajoNation.JPG
h) On Our Way To the Four Corners Monument!.jpg
i) Following the San Juan River Direction South East.JPG
j) Must Be Nice Quiet and Serene to Live Here.JPG
k) 162 South-East (Utah), Eventually Converting into the 41 (Colorado), Then 160 South-West to 4-Corners.jpg
l) (MOVIE)Natural Gas and FarmingLand (Montezuma Creek and Aneth Area, Utah).jpg
m) (MOVIE)Tony Hillermans Detective Novels In Action! (Best Known For His Navajo Tribal Police Mystery Novels).jpg
n) Actually, Could Have Been the Navajo Nation Police ... (The Law Enforcement Agency on the Navajo Nation).JPG
o) Shiprock (New Mexico) In the Distance ~ Volcanic Rock Formation That Can Be Seen For Miles in All Directions.JPG
p) Ultra Zoomed In ~ Known to the Navajo as Tse Bitai or Rock With Wings (Center of 3 Volcanic Pressure Ridges).JPG
q) Arrival at the Four Corners Monument ~ This Location Is Very Remote (With Unpredictable Strong WindWaves).JPG
r) Four Corners Region Is Part Of (Semi-Autonomous) Indigenous American Indian Nations (Navajo+Ute).JPG
s) This Is The Only Place in the US Where 4 states Intersect at 1 point ~ Arizona,New Mexico,Utah and Colorado.JPG
t) Both the Navajo (Dineh)+Ute People Live in the 4-Corners Area (Ute Mountain Reservation - Colorado Corner).JPG
u) Artisans and Craftsmen From Both Indian Nations Are Represented At The Monument.JPG
v) The Legend, the Lay-Out of The Isolated But Unique and Popular Landmark Monument Area.JPG
w) This Must be Facing North-West, Borderline Of The States Arizona and Utah.JPG
x) Exploring the Authentic Navajo Crafts ~ Buying Handmade Jewelry, KeyHangers, DreamCatcher And ....JPG
y) Bookmarks! ;-).jpg
z) David Trying to Conquer the Landmark (Original Marker Located In the Center, A Popular PictureTaken Point).JPG
za) Waiting Patiently For Our Chance To Set Foot On the LandMark ~ Meanwhile Reading Some Information.JPG
zb) OriginalMarker (Simple CementPad) Placed After GovernmentSurveys Showed this 4-States ConnectionPoint.JPG
zc) The Monument Was Refurbished In 1992 With A Bronze Disk Embedded In Granite.jpg
zd) Conquered! ;-) Claims Are Sometimes Made That The Monument Was Misplaced In The Initial Surveys.JPG
ze) (InternetPic)The Accuracy of The Surveys Has Been Defended by the U.S. National Geodetic Survey.JPG
zf) Each of the State Boundaries Radiate From The Disk+Each States Seal Rests Within That States Boundary.JPG
zg) The Four Corner Region ~ The Dineh (Navajo) And The Nuchu (Ute) Living Peacefully in Harmony.jpg
zh) Ute Tribe (CO)~Supreme Law of 1987 Legalized Gambling-Economic Sovereignty For All Native American Tribes.JPG
zi) White Settlement ... Btw, Native Americans Were Not Granted Citizenship Until 1924 (Right To Vote in 1948).JPG
zj) The Ute, Interesting Tribe, But We Go Back into Utah via Arizona ~ Feeling at Home in NavajoNation by Now ;-).JPG
zk) In Teec Nos Pos (Arizona) Filling Up With Unbranded Gas+Buying the Navajo Times+Independent NewsPapers.JPG
zl) And Indeed We Should Have Bought That Navajo Rug There! (220 Dollars, But Beautiful+Authenthic).JPG
zm) A Note For Later ~ Another Time, When Were Are On Indian Lands Again of the South-West.JPG
zn) (MOVIE)Feeling Like Foreigners At Times ;-).jpg
zo) On Our Way to Hovenweep National Monument, the BackRoads ~ Literally Driving in the Middle of Nowhere ;-).JPG
zp) (MOVIE)Little Confused Here ;-).jpg
zq) Btw, Check Out this Map! Notice the CH (ChapterHouse).JPG
zr) A Chapter House Is The Navajo Equivalent of a Town Hall.jpg
zs) Navajo Tribal Headquarters (Equavalant of Washington D.C.) is Located in Window Rock (Further South).JPG
zt) Approaching Montezuma Area (Utah) Again.JPG
zu) This Time Driving Direction North-East (Hovenweep National Monument Area In the Distance).JPG
zv) Horses Happily Grazing.JPG
zw) The Good Life ~ Indian Land is the Place To Be! ;-).JPG
zx) Montezuma Creek Is A Center For Oil+Gas Field Work In The Area + A School, As Well As Several Churches.JPG
zy) Montezuma Creek (San Juan River), Named For A Tributary Of The San Juan River.JPG
zz) Located Within And Partially Outside The Boundaries Of The Navajo Nation (Known Locally As The Rez).JPG
zza) Driving Off the Beaten Path (With Solitary Residences In the Distance).JPG
zzb) Far from Centers of Human Population ...JPG
zzc) Secluded, But ... On the Right Track.JPG
zzd) Arrival at Entrance Area of Hovenweep National Monument ~ Check It Out! (Ruin in the Nearby Distance).JPG
zze) Zoomed In ....JPG
zzf) Nearly There ... .JPG
zzg) Arrival At Destination ;-) Entrance at Visitor Center (Which Was Closed Yet Btw).JPG
zzh) Today, the Area Seems Deserted+Isolated, But 8 Centuries Ago It was the Heart of Ancestral Puebloan Culture.jpg
zzi) Amazing Little Ruin Canyon, All To Ourselves ... We Are The Only Human Beings (In Present Time ;-).JPG
zzj) The Ruins We Could See From Where We Were (Towards Dusk).jpg
zzk) Stronghold House ~ What You See Is Actually The Upper Story of A Large Pueblo.JPG
zzl) Twin Towers, Eroded Builder House, Rim Rock House.JPG
zzm) Together, Twin Towers Had Sixteen Rooms.JPG
zzn) Hovenweep, the Deserted Valley (Its A Ute-Paiute Word).JPG
zzo) Stronghold Tower in The Foreground.JPG
zzp) Many Dwellings Stood Right On the Canyon Rim.JPG
zzq) Why Did They Build Here ....jpg
zzr) Maybe Perhaps Because Of The Water (Springs+Seeps Near Canyon Heads).JPG
zzs) Facing To The Left Again ~ StrongHold House, Named For Its Fortress-Like Appearance.JPG
zzt) Hier Ben Ik! (Meanwhile David Walking Further Down The Trail To The Right).JPG
zzu) Mirjam Follows, But Is A Little Scared For the WildLife (Typically Coming Out At Dusk).JPG
zzv) From This Point Closer Look At the (Eroded) Boulder House.JPG
zzw) Huge Rock Under Which It Sits As Part Of Its Roof and Walls.JPG
zzx) That Must Be The Unit Type House.JPG
zzy) The Twin Towers Seen From A Different Angle.JPG
zzz) Back to The StrongHold House ~ A Fortress Or Not, Feel Safer Here ;-).JPG
zzza) Why the Ancestral Puebloan People Leave,Where Did They Go,Why the Towers+What Were They Used For.JPG
zzzb) So Many Questions With Various Speculations, But Just A Few Answers ....JPG
zzzc) What We Know Is That They Moved to the Rio Grande Valley (NM) + Into the Little Colorado River Basin (AZ).JPG
zzzd) So Too We, Have To Move On ... Back To The Car to Return To Our Cottage in Bluff (Utah).JPG
zzze) Its Getting Dark, Lets Try To Take Another Route Back To Avoid to Deserted Roads This Time.JPG
zzzf) (MOVIE)But Instead Of Going West We Were Going East, Lost in Canyons of the Ancients  ...jpg
zzzg) This Was The Map We Used, But We Got Lost ... So, Change of Route, Eventually Ending Up In Pleasant View.JPG
zzzh) Right ... .JPG
zzzi) Wish I Had This Map On Me! ;-) Anyhow, Eventually We Made It Back To Bluff.jpg
zzzj) A Stop Along the Way~TakeOut Subway Vegie Delight Sandwiches in Blanding (Just In Time Before Closing).JPG
zzzk) Eating the Healthy Ingredients in Our Cozy Cottage ~ Bon Appetit and Goodnight! ;-).JPG
   

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