Picto Diary - 26 July 2019 - Mesa Verde
Above: Blanding, UT
rest stop. 26 July 2019
Out and about on the Duc with Markco.
2015 Ducati Multistrada S. 2007 BMW K1200GT.
Me, outside, taking image, stewing.... wondering what's keeping Markco. I find out later Markco taking his time on the throne reading about Jeffery Epstein.
Above: Wild horses on county Road in Utah, four corners area, somewhere between Blanding, UT and Cortez, CO 26 July 2019.
Out and about on the Duc with Markco.
Wild horses couldn't keep us off this road!
Mesa Verde can be seen in the distance.
Above: Bishop at Horseshoe Tower, Hovenweep National Monument, San Juan County, UT. 26 July 2019.
Out and about on the Duc with Markco.
Uninhabited for the last seven hundred years, ruins of ancient Pueblan people villages remain. Most of the desert-dwelling, agricultural peoples' habitations were located near water...springs and seeps near canyon heads.
Reason for the peoples' departure is unclear, but, the best guesses are drought, climate change, and depleted resources. Its possible that internal strife led to their departure... strife which could have arisen due to shortages due the aforementioned causes. The descendants of the Pueblan people are settled in what are now the pueblos of the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico and the Hopi mesas of northeast Arizona.
The Pueblan people raised corn, beans, squash and other crops in small fields and terraces, often using check dams for irrigation.
They used solar calendars and astronomy to calculate growing seasons.
Above: Elk and new home foundation. Durango, CO 26 July 2019.
Out and about on the Duc with Elk and Markco.
Elk and Pack Rat building a new house. Here Elk stands in newly poured foundation.
Above: Bishop at Square Tower House. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. 26 July 2019.
I've been wanting to come to Mesa Verde for years. Its one of the only places in the US that TIMDT and my family have been to, but, I have not.
For seven hundred years, from 550 AD, the Pueblan people lived in the rock caverns of the Mesa Verde. In the late 1200s, in the span of a generation or two, they left this area. Today, their descendants are settled in what are now the pueblos of the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico and the Hopi mesas of northeast Arizona.
Above: Cliff Palace. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. 26 July 2019.
Out and about on the Duc with Markco and Elk.
Cliff Palace is the most famous vista at Mesa Verde. My first reaction is how sophisticated and complex the dwellings were. I am used to seeing building "sophistication" in the early Americas... in Peru, Maccu Piccu, and Mexico, Tulum... but, in my default brain, teepees and tents were the apex of north American Indian civilization. That default perception will now have to be reset. The Cliff Palace is no match for Tulum or Cuzco... but, it is closer to those constructions than it is a teepee. We had no time to walk amidst the ruins... but, the sight seen in this image was magic.
The ride in and out of the park was half the fun of the visit. Twenty miles of twisty and scenic road... and, of course, the temptation to exceed the low National Park speed limit of 40 mph was great.
Addendum:
Great to get a picto diary update. It’s hotter .than hell and I don’t want to get out much. The tow truck with the K 1200 GT looks exactly like my ride from Fish Lake. What happened? I’m planning a late September ride in your area, maybe even make it to Larkspur to say hey to Henry. I’ll check in with you when my plans become more definite.
Good to hear from you.
ITYW, San Angelo, TX