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- Sep 10, 2021
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Canyons of the Ancients National Monument , SW Colorado- Wilderness Volunteers Trail Project - May 2024
Located west of Cortez, CO is Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. The monument is managed by the BLM. The visitor center and museum is located in Dolores, CO. The monument is considered to have some of the highest known archelogic density of Native American Cultures in the US. The site encompasses 174,000 acres. The archeology here is quite impressive. It is an easy monument to visit but daytime temperatures are a key consideration in the summer.
The Sand Canyon Pueblo had 420 rooms, 100 kivas and 14 towers. Quite an impressive sized pueblo ! On our day off we hiked to Cannonball Pueblo. There was a photo of this site from the last century in the museum which I have included for reference. The large pueblos and kivas were located at the top of the canyons. In the canyons were many classic cliff dwellings.
https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/colorado/canyons-of-the-ancients
I had joined up with the Wilderness Volunteers to do a week of trail maintenance at the monument. Here is a quick overview of the Wilderness Volunteers, which is a non-profit located in Flagstaff, AZ. “Giving Something Back Since 1997 Wilderness Volunteers has been providing affordable and meaningful volunteer service opportunities that conserve and protect America’s wild lands since 1997. Working in cooperation with the US Forest Service, National Park Service, the BLM, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and others, you’ll be inspired and invigorated when you see how much a group can accomplish in a few days.”
I have done a couple projects with this organization and find them a great approach to perform service work for the betterment of our public lands. Wilderness Volunteers does a great job organizing the project to make it a productive and fun experience.
At Canyons of the Ancients, our group worked with monument staff to maintain the trail system from a popular trailhead and control social trails that had developed near the many archeological sites. The week was very successful for the monument’s trail maintenance goals.
I would highly recommend visiting this national monument and consider working on a Wilderness Volunteers Project.
https://wildernessvolunteers.org/
Here is a photo of our volunteer crew taking a break in front of one of the archelogical sites.
A view looking down at our dispersed group camp site.
A night photo of a full moon over my tent site.
Lowry Pueblo Kiva
Cliff dwellings in Sand Canyon
Rock Creek Arch
Information sign for Sand Canyon Pueblo
Zoom in on info sign...
Cannonball Pueblo Photos
Historic Photo of Cannonball Pueblo
While descending back to camp from an evening hike, i found an old honeycomb hanging from beneath an overhang.
Thanks for reading....
Located west of Cortez, CO is Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. The monument is managed by the BLM. The visitor center and museum is located in Dolores, CO. The monument is considered to have some of the highest known archelogic density of Native American Cultures in the US. The site encompasses 174,000 acres. The archeology here is quite impressive. It is an easy monument to visit but daytime temperatures are a key consideration in the summer.
The Sand Canyon Pueblo had 420 rooms, 100 kivas and 14 towers. Quite an impressive sized pueblo ! On our day off we hiked to Cannonball Pueblo. There was a photo of this site from the last century in the museum which I have included for reference. The large pueblos and kivas were located at the top of the canyons. In the canyons were many classic cliff dwellings.
https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/colorado/canyons-of-the-ancients
I had joined up with the Wilderness Volunteers to do a week of trail maintenance at the monument. Here is a quick overview of the Wilderness Volunteers, which is a non-profit located in Flagstaff, AZ. “Giving Something Back Since 1997 Wilderness Volunteers has been providing affordable and meaningful volunteer service opportunities that conserve and protect America’s wild lands since 1997. Working in cooperation with the US Forest Service, National Park Service, the BLM, the US Fish & Wildlife Service and others, you’ll be inspired and invigorated when you see how much a group can accomplish in a few days.”
I have done a couple projects with this organization and find them a great approach to perform service work for the betterment of our public lands. Wilderness Volunteers does a great job organizing the project to make it a productive and fun experience.
At Canyons of the Ancients, our group worked with monument staff to maintain the trail system from a popular trailhead and control social trails that had developed near the many archeological sites. The week was very successful for the monument’s trail maintenance goals.
I would highly recommend visiting this national monument and consider working on a Wilderness Volunteers Project.
https://wildernessvolunteers.org/
Here is a photo of our volunteer crew taking a break in front of one of the archelogical sites.
A view looking down at our dispersed group camp site.
A night photo of a full moon over my tent site.
Lowry Pueblo Kiva
Cliff dwellings in Sand Canyon
Rock Creek Arch
Information sign for Sand Canyon Pueblo
Zoom in on info sign...
Cannonball Pueblo Photos
Historic Photo of Cannonball Pueblo
While descending back to camp from an evening hike, i found an old honeycomb hanging from beneath an overhang.
Thanks for reading....
