Made it to Durango!

Sunday, September 8, 2024

 

Up this morning about 6, to what looks like another lovely day!  To be honest, breakfast wasn’t memorable … unless you’re into biscuits and gravy, (Hello, Debby!), which we decidedly are not. However, with lemon poppyseed muffins and Rotolo de Pizza in our room, we were fine – and R thinks we’re still “hung over” from our Japanese meal on Friday night, which could possibly be true!

 

Packed up and loaded about 9 and headed back to the museum in Dolores from yesterday, to take the short hike to the Escalante Pueblo.  It’s located about half mile from the museum, and up a lovely, paved walkway from the parking lot.  There were wonderful explanatory signs all along the pathway, as well as very convenient benches.  As R pointed out, at 7,000 feet, oxygen isn’t as easy to come by as at home! 

 

The Pueblo is so named because the site was visited by Escalante in 1776 as he and Dominguez led a small party out of Sante Fe to find a route to Monterey (in California).  As it turned out, they only got as far as Utah Lake (missing the Great Salt Lake) before turning back toward Santa Fe, having to deal with the Grand Canyon along the way where their crossing point – marked by foot holds cut into the rock – is today know as “The Crossing of the Fathers”.

 

The interesting thing was that while we were driving to the museum, it absolutely POURED down with rain!  Yet all around us was sunshine and blue skies – except for right overhead, which was a VERY black cloud!  By the time we got to the parking lot, all was dry – but we did wonder if we should take our car umbrella with us on the hike! (We did not!)

 

Really quite a lovely walk, both up to a look-out point over the McPhee Reservoir and to the Pueblo itself, and, while we did pass a couple of people, we basically had the entire site to ourselves, which was lovely!  Also lovely was the temperature outside – actually kind of coolish, which, after a summer in Tucson, makes for a very pleasant change!  

 

The Escalante Pueblo contained quite an assortment of rooms, and was built around a very large kiva.  The kiva was so large and well-built that it was thought to support two stories rather than the usual one, as there were eight pilasters or roof supports, a sub-floor shaft for fresh air, and an oblong chamber set into the kiva floor.  Some of the doorways are also T-shaped, which is indicative of pueblo architecture from the southwest all the way down to Paquime in Chihuahua, Mexico.  It was occupied by several groups of people over three separate phases, beginning in AD 1129, and ending around AD 1200.  

Escalante Pueblo

Kiva

Post holes along the lower edge to hold up the roof

On our way down the hill, we found a very interesting plant with HUGE seeds or pods which (of course!) wasn’t identified.  Fortunately for us, there was a very nice and helpful couple of BLM volunteers at the bottom, who were able to tell us that the plant was a banana yucca.  Hopefully our photos do it justice!  According to the US Forest Service, the fruits of the banana yucca are fleshy and succulent, and were a traditional food of the Apache and Navajo.  They were prepared by roasting or baking, stripping out the seeds, pounding the remaining flesh into a pulp, forming the pulp into flat cakes, and sun-drying them for later use.  The resulting product is said to be nutritious, sweet, and delicious.  Who knew?!  

 

McPhee Reservoir

Interesting seed pods!

Banana Yucca

From the museum, we decided to head to the Lowry Pueblo to take a look.  (There are quite a few pueblos in the area, as well as many other sites – Hovenweep National Monument, Mesa Verde, Salmon Ruins … and the list goes on!  Definitely merits a return trip, just to explore the 4-corners area, where Colorado/New Mexico/Utah and Arizona come together!)

 

The drive to Lowry Pueblo took about half an hour, over mostly paved roads.  The only problem we encountered was when Emmy, our GPS, told us we had “arrived” – and there was nothing there!  No matter!  The ever-resourceful Robert also had a paper map, and was able to guide us the half-mile or so further along the road, and voila, there was the pueblo!  

 

Lowry is a 1,000-year-old Ancestral Puebloan Village that was constructed around AD 1060 and inhabited for about 165 years.  It began as a small village with a few rooms and a kiva.  Several more rooms, the Great Kiva and Kiva B were added between AD 1085 and 1170.  By the time the last families left Lowry and migrated to the south and east, the pueblo had grown to 40 rooms, eight kivas, and a Great Kiva.  

 

Lowry Pueblo

Inside Lowry Pueblo

The construction is protected by an excellent roof/covering, reminiscent of Casa Grande near Phoenix.  One can enter the main building, but much of what is inside has had to be reinforced by metal beams and studs to provide stabilization.  Hopefully you can see from the photos what the inside looked like.  It was definitely at least two stories high, as the current floor level was estimated to be higher than the original floor when occupied.

 

Exterior of Lowry, under protective cover

The Great Kiva, outside and in front of the dwelling, was really magnificent!  The subterranean structure was probably accessed by a ladder through a central opening in the roof or down a series of steps through the rooms on the north.  Additionally, there were two stone “figures” on the floor, which were recently interpreted by a native American to be a “summer” and “winter” person, and as you look at the figures from above, it does seem to look like a person, with legs and head!  

Great Kiva in front of dwellings

Do you see the person?

The legs and the head?

By this time, it was past noon, and we thought we should start heading for Durango, our place for the night.  But first … back to Cortez, and a quick stop at Walmart for a few items – a hat, as I had forgotten to bring one (duh…), some soap for R, and a tuffy pad to help with dishes!  Filled the car up with gas, and then on the road to Durango.

 

We did hit some rain on the way here – it’s about 50 miles, and definitely uphill, but really a beautiful drive!  And, as we hadn’t had any lunch, and our hotel room wasn’t quite ready for us, we decided to head into Durango (historic) downtown for some lunch.

Found parking on the street, and right in front of the parking spot was the Strater Hotel – which was open and serving lunch and dinner!  Looked good to us, so in we went.  Found a nice table for two next to the window and had a really excellent dinner!  We had salads to start with – mine with blue cheese dressing, and R’s with honey/mustard.  Then came 6 oz. fillets cooked rare (someone in the kitchen really knows how to cook beef!) served with exceptional French fries for R and mashed potatoes for me, along with (overcooked) assorted veggies for both.  Along with glasses of Whitehaven (NZ) Sauvignon Blanc, it was a fabulous meal!!  And, we were hungry!  So much so that we also had slices of their really excellent cheesecake, plated on caramel sauce with sliced strawberries and whipped cream!  YUMMY!  So!  That’s it for food for the day, for sure!

Really yummy cheesecake!

 

As our hotel room was now ready, we headed to our Homewood Suites, room 325, and are now cozily residing for the next couple of nights!  Really a chilly and blustery night, with thunderstorms predicted!  Tomorrow, we’re taking the Durango-Silverton steam railroad.  Very much looking forward to it!!

 

So, much love, and more later!

m

xxx