The Four Corners - Land of the First Americans

It was time to move again and I actually had a plan - westward toward Farmington (in the Four Corners region of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona) to explore the Aztec ruins as was the original intent before the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad intervened.  From there the plan was head north to Durango and Cortez, Colorado and on to the Mesa Verde and Hovenweep Ruins, before returning back to New Mexico to find a campground around Farmington.

The Puebloan's, of course, knew no borders and Hovenweep itself extends for miles into and around Blanding, Utah which is (because it is in Utah and not Colorado) considered to be a separate ruin.  I knew that this area would be less explored and might therefore offer more interest; but then, it was likely to be gravel roads and much less motorcycle friendly and was, therefore, left off the planned agenda.

Even by choosing the Four Corners region and drawing "a line in the sand," I still crossed the line.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is less than 80 miles south of Farmington, and too much of allure to resist.

There are literally hundreds of archaeological ruins left by the first Americans; a large number of which blanket the southwest.  With so many ruins available to see throughout New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona (in particular) and to a lesser extent Utah, it was once again difficult to choose a route of travel to see as much as possible without - making a career of it!  The Chaco Culture would be just one last stop before turning west for Arizona.

In the of course of asking questions about The Aztec Ruins, someone mentioned that, "There was not that much to see at the Aztec Ruins National Monument;" and so, when at last I found myself standing within the compound of the ruins gazing over hundreds (450) of pueblo rooms, I was awe struck!  Not much to see?  What had he been looking at?

What we see today is not as it was in the period of its occupation.  The rooms were two and even three stories high in places, but how far did the multi-stories extend (no one knows for sure).  Then too, the original walls were covered smooth with a stucco-like parging and it's believed that they once walked across the roofs of the Kivas.  Unlike the Maya and (presumably) the Aztecs of Mexico they used a mortar like base to bond the stone work together.

Round Kiva's or ceremonial centers abound throughout the complex the largest of which is a Kiva reconstructed by early archaeologist working at the site.

This huge Kiva perhaps create more questions than it answers; its diametric size is without question but height of its walls and the number of stories of the are questions, the answers to which are forever lost in time.  

As impressive as the ruins are there is an entire set of east ruins (said to be approximately equal in size, remain yet to be excavated and are therefore closed to visitors.

Of course, the site is not an Aztec site at all.  It was given that unfortunate misnomer by the great South American explorer Alexander Von Humboldt, who mistook it to be related to its distant neighbors to the south.  Given the time frame and how little was then known about early American ruins, his error is easy to understand.

It was a relatively short ride from Aztec to Durango; and when I rode into the town, I peered through the trees from highway that overlooks the city below.  My first thought, given my brief glances, was that I was overlooking an open pit mine of some sort (I still don't know where that thought was coming from); nonetheless, however wrong, it was my first impression from my brief, but inspiring overlook (see the sloping roadway).

Durango is a college town with a very collegiate (or even Yuppie) atmosphere.  In a strange way it had, for me, the look and feel of mini (very mini) Austin, Texas.    

My stay in Durango, which only intended to be an overnight at the nearest campground, did not go well.

The site of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (ala, the Cumbres & Toltec Train - Chama, New Mexico) Durango is a popular tourist destination; and as such, an expensive place to stay.

Surprisingly, given the tourism, I had a hard time even finding a campground and when I did it was (not surprisingly) a quite expensive $28 a night for just a primitive tent site.

Before leaving Durango, I decided it would be good to replace one of my aging Harley T-shirts with a new Durango Harley Davidson T-shirt.

While there, I made another decision to have my Harley checked out.  A day and a half later, and after having relieved myself of $900 dollars, I left Durango with "fond memories;" I knew that my tires were getting bad, but the brakes (which were in worse shape than the tires) surprised me.

The truly unfortunate thing about my brief visit to the Durango Harley Davidson, was that, the one thing that I wanted have checked out, did not get checked.  They told me that the repair parts (if needed) were on backorder, and as a result they recommended not doing the check out.