"In Search of the Old Ones"

In Search of the Old Ones is a book by David Roberts that I am currently reading. I am really enjoying the book, he shares his experiences of traveling the southwest looking for Anasazi sites and understanding their culture. Some influential people in locating Anasazi sites were the Wetherill brothers. They found sites like Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, but they are many other important archaeological sites of the Anasazi that are just important, for instance the Grand Gulch area of Cedar Mesa.

Which brings me to my photos. In a previous entry, I said that Cedar Mesa was one of my favorite places I traveled to this summer in my southwest journeys. After spending the night on the mesa at Muley Point, one of the planned stops the next day was Mule Canyon. Located on the northeast side of the mesa, this was my first chance to see ruins not in a touristy nature like Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde. The above photos are some of the Anasazi ruins located in the North Fork of Mule Canyon.

I am looking forward to the time I can travel back to the area and do more exploring and learning about the Anasazi.

My Favorite Pictures of Summer #4

One of my most fond memories of the trip was an incredible sunset from on top of Cedar Mesa.

I had heard this place was wonderful and I didn't know if I could believe it before hand. When we arrived some people were out camping on the point where the group wanted to camp, I remember getting very frustrated.

Then the magic of the mesa began to capture me.............

The feeling of not being surrounded by thousands of tourists was gone, the simple but elegant beauty of the area was right in front of me and the frustration was worn away and turned to joy. I realized that I could see Monument Valley in the far distance, the Goosenecks of the San Juan River below me, and after the most incredible sunset, the billion stars in the sky from my cot on the slickrock. Cedar Mesa is now one of my favorite spots.