Native American Lands – Day 2

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Ute Reservation, Colorado

We are on a guided tour through the Ute Reservation in Southwest Colorado and are immediately surprised by the amount of broken pottery we are shown. That these small fragments of cultural treasure are lying here for us to witness is lucky for us. Thank you to everyone else who has ever visited and withstood the desire to walk away with a souvenir shard.

Ute Reservation, Colorado

Pictographs are easily spotted in nearly all directions.

Ute Reservation, Colorado

While the rock formations are of great interest, too.

Caroline Wise on the Ute Reservation, Colorado

But it is the fragments of dwellings that draw us in.

Ute Reservation, Colorado

An old visitor center that operated from 1971 to 1981 is near the foot of Chimney Rock.

Zuni Art, New Mexico

From one reservation, we headed to another south of us. The Zuni Reservation is in northwest New Mexico. We were looking for some food but found art and fell deeply in love with Zuni art.

Zuni Art, New Mexico

At the time, we couldn’t afford a piece from the collection we were checking out, and I regret it.

Native American Lands

Our drive back to Phoenix is filled with beautiful landscapes and dramatic skies.

Native American Lands – Day 1

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona

Our lives should have stories; while this one is cheesier, it was ours. While many places along Route 66 are simply gone, there are a couple of stretches where images of an era gone by are clinging to life, such as in Seligman, Winslow, and here in Holbrook. Someday, this place too may join the fate of many of the other original Wigwam locations and be bulldozed, but we’ll know firsthand what it was like to sleep in a concrete Tee Pee on one of America’s most famous old highways.

Holbrook, Arizona

Fitting in with our nostalgic overnight we just had to stop in a cafe for breakfast, and a great breakfast it was.

Native American Lands

Heading into the lands of Native America.

Native American Lands

The landscape is beautiful, but it’s also obvious that it gets little rainfall. Along the way, we stopped at the Hubbell Trading Post listed as a National Historic Site.

Native American Lands

After this dust storm blew across the landscape, we were offered a bit of rain, but just a little.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Over in the southwest corner of Colorado, not far from the Four Corners region where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico all share a common border spot is the Mesa Verde National Park. For almost 10,000 years, the native people of North America have inhabited this area. Today, there are over 4,300 archaeological sites in this park, though only a few are easily visited.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

These cliff dwellings are probably the largest draw for visitors to Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado

Our time here is too brief as it is in so many of our travels while we are out here trying to get oriented to the lands of America.

Native American Lands – Day 0

JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona

Finally had the opportunity to sleep in a Wigwam here in Holbrook, Arizona. This is only one of three Wigwam properties that still exist. Built-in 1950 on old Route 66, it is an icon that has always attracted our attention when we’ve driven by it. Heading up to Colorado, we decided to shave some miles off our trip by driving the 186 miles (300 km) here to the Wigwam Motel, as this was as good an excuse as any to book a night. Bragging rights alone make this bit of Americana worth every penny.