The Anasazi Heritage Center is a Bureau of Land Management museum that interprets the history and culture of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Trail of the Ancients, and the Four Corners region. The Center has a hands-on Discovery Area, educational programs, permanent exhibits, a museum shop, and films that explore archaeology, local history and Pueblo, Ute, and Navajo lifeways.

The Anasazi Heritage Center is located just 3 miles west of Dolores on Highway 184. The museum is fully accessible and open seven days a week, except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The museum’s hours are 9 am to 5 pm March through October and 9 am to 4 pm November through February. There is an admission fee of $3 charged from March through October for everyone over 18, but 17 and under and Golden Pass holders are free. As of June 2000, the Anasazi Heritage Center is also the information headquarters for the newly designated Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. For more information call (970) 882-4811 or visit the websiteat: www.co.blm.gov/ahc 

Hands-on activities at the Center include weaving on a loom, grinding corn with a mano and metate, and looking through microscopes at ancient ceramics, stone tools, or native plant seeds.

In 2002, two new exhibits were installed; the largest is an exhibit devoted to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. This exhibit focuses on the area’s rich heritage by incorporating commentaries of modern Pueblo people, artifacts excavated from Sand Canyon Pueblo, two interactive computer stations, and a kiva mural fragment from Lowry Pueblo. The second addition is an exhibit featuring photographs along Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway.

There are also two partially excavated 12th- century pueblos, located on the museum grounds. The pueblos, Dominguez and Escalante, are named after the Spanish friars who traveled through southwestern Colorado in AD 1776. A 1/2-mile wheelchair-accessible nature trail leads to Escalante Pueblo and a spectacular hilltop view of Mesa Verde, McPhee Lake, Four Corners mountain ranges, and the Great Sage Plain.

The Center also hosts a variety of Special Exhibits every year. For current information, please contact the Anasazi Heritage Center at (970) 882-4811.

Canyons Of The Ancients National Monument

As of June 2000, the Anasazi Heritage Center is the information headquarters for the newly designated Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. The Monument encompasses 164,000 acres of the densest concentration of archaeological sites on public land in the nation. The archaeological information held in these sites contains evidence of cultures and traditions spanning thousands of years. The Monument is a rugged area intertwined with natural and cultural resources. Canyons of the Ancients is a unique area because it offers an unparalleled opportunity to observe, study, and experience how cultures lived and adapted over time in the American Southwest.

Visitors are asked to come to the Anasazi Heritage Center to get maps and information about places to visit in the Monument. Lowry Pueblo will be closed May 12, 2003, to June 12, 2003 to build a new roof cover. There are other accessible archaeological sites, but visitors need to get maps from the Center to make their way through the network of gravel and dirt roads and to avoid crossing private property.

There is no permanent source of water in Canyons of the Ancients, and the weather can change drastically in a matter of minutes. Daytime summer temperatures vary from 80º F to over 100º F and winter temperatures can drop into the single digits. Please be prepared by taking plenty of water. Visitors should use insect repellant, wear appropriate clothing, a hat, long sleeves and pants, sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots, and good socks. As when traveling anywhere in the backcountry remember to watch out for rattlesnakes, scorpions, mountain lions, and other potentially dangerous wildlife.

The Bureau of Land Management is currently preparing a Resource Management Plan for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Issues to be addressed will include preservation of cultural and natural resources; balancing multiple uses such as recreation, livestock grazing, energy development, traditional and Native American activities; integrating Monument management with community, tribal, and other agency needs; visitor services; and access and transportation on public lands. For more information call the Anasazi Heritage Center at (970) 882-4811 or visit the website at: http://www.co.blm.gov/canm

Chimney Rock Archaeological Area lies on 3,160 acres of San Juan National Forest land surrounded by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Hundreds of individual sites dot the landscape. So far, researchers have found 91 structures that may have been permanent structures, plus 27 work camps near farming areas, adding up to more than 200 individual rooms.

The high mesa holds 16 individual sites, 14 of which are residential. Four of these sites have been excavated and stabilized and are visited on the tour. The sites visited are the Great Kiva, Pit House, Ridge House and Great House Pueblo. Other sites have been excavated and studied, then reburied to protect them and the valuable information they hold.

The Chimney Rock Hikes and Lifestyles Workshops give participants an opportunity to experience firsthand the environment, culture and lifestyle of the early people of Chimney Rock. Early people developed sophisticated skills to utilize the natural resources in the area for food, medicine, tools, clothing, baskets and pottery.

The Chimney Rock Interpretive Program tour is offered four times daily, seven days a week during the season. Visitors should carry water and have good walking shoes, a hat, and sunscreen. The tour is approximately one mile walking, and includes a 200-foot climb on the Pueblo Trail. The Great Kiva Trail Loop is wheelchair-accessible. It takes about two hours plus driving time for the complete tour. The tour guide will relate information about the site and surrounding areas. Included is the history of the site, excavation of the site, and who may have settled here and why. Without written language, pictographs, or petroglyphs, there are no definitive answers but, instead, a lot of differing ideas about the history of Chimney Rock.

For specific information about tour times and workshop fees and requirements, call the Visitors’ Cabin (970) 883-5359 mid-May through September or (970) 264-2268 during the off-season (October 1 to mid-may May). Visit the Chimney Rock Archaeological Areawebsite at www.chimneyrockco.org.

 

The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, located in Cortez, Colorado near Mesa Verde National Park, invites adult and student participants to join professional archaeologists in the search for a better understanding of our ancient past. A not-for-profit research and educational institution, Crow Canyon has been involving the public in archaeology since 1983. The Center offers cultural, historical, archaeological, and educational programs, both regionally and abroad, and accommodates approximately 3,500 participants each year.

Crow Canyon is located in the heart of one of the richest and most significant archaeological regions in America, recently designed as the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. Participants in the archaeological programs make a major research contribution by excavating ancestral Pueblo Indian (Anasazi) ruins in the field, and by analyzing artifacts in the lab. In 2003, archaeologists and participants continue to excavate at the Albert Porter Preserve, a site owned by the Archaeological Conservancy. This site was occupied for over two hundred years, and likely represents a large community center, given its dense concentration of ancient buildings. Through evidence collected at the Preserve, researchers are

 examining the nature of Chaco Canyon cultural influence in the Mesa Verde Region, and learning how the community changed over time. Research at this site will aid inquiry into general anthropological issues including the nature of leadership, decision-making, and authority in human society.

Crow Canyon also offers cultural programs and workshops, focusing on indigenous cultures and societies past and present. Participants in the exploration programs travel with renowned scholars and visit remote sites not easily accessed by the general public. Tour itineraries feature the Southwest, but also include the American West, Central America, South America, and North America, as well as overseas locations. Southwestern programs include Hopi pottery making, Navajo and Puebloan astronomy, Hovenweep on horseback, Navajo trading

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge steam locomotives are genuine coal-fired mechanical workhorses that pull passenger cars to and from Silverton in the summer months and to and from Cascade in the winter. The locomotives that are used today are from the American Locomotive Works (1923) or Baldwin Locomotive Works (1902 and 1925).

Beautiful aspen forests and breathtaking mountain views are combined with daring sights deep down the sides of the Animas Canyon to the waters of the Animas River. The tracks hug granite cliffs as the train climbs north before descending into Silverton.

In the summer of 1881, the Denver and Rio Grande Railway whistled into Durango and by July of 1882, the Silverton leg had been completed. Ore from mines in and around Silverton could finally be transported back to Durango for smelting. Owing to the nearly insurmountable terrain, the railroaders adopted the narrow gauge, which was more appropriate for treacherous rock ledges and tight turns than the standard gauge. With tracks only three feet apart, curves could be sharp enough to thread the train through the precipitous walls of the Animas Canyon.

For decades, the narrow-gauge train carried ore to Durango’s smelters and today it carries tourists and rail fans from around the world through some of the most spectacular scenery in Colorado.

Travel the same route, along the same line built by railroad pioneers in 1881, for an unforgettable experience. Join in the celebration of 120 years of continuous service to Silverton. A ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is more than a train ride; it is a step back in time and history.

The early inhabitants of Southwest Colorado had to meet many challenges to live in this high desert environment and Mesa Verde (meaning green table) is an excellent way to learn about these early people. The examples of their inspiring structures at Mesa Verde National Park leave visitors with a sense of fascination and curiosity. It was more than 1,000 years ago that industrious and creative people thrived in what are now the the remains of their cliff dwellings. Originally, these people developed and prospered from a basic hunter/gatherer society into a culture which has become known for magnificent architecture, artistry and agriculture.

Countless sites of dwellings are found throughout Southwest Colorado and today, in what is one of the most dramatic examples of their seven-century-long civilization, Mesa Verde National Park continues to protect and preserve these ancient cliff dwellings. Mesa Verde Park was the first park in the United States established to protect man-made artifacts.

Who were these people and why did they leave? What can we learn and where did they go? Professionally trained tour guides help visitors to the park get some insight into the experiences and settings of these early people. These guided tours review the past and present puebloans, explain the story of how Mesa Verde was "happened upon" by early area settlers, as well as cite information on early excavations and explain the creation of Mesa Verde National Park and its designation as a United Nations World Heritage Site.

The ruins are not all grouped in any one particular locale, so be prepared, and allow time to get from one site to another. Not all the sites can be adequately seen in one day. Some of the Ranger-led tours to consider taking to these breathtaking ruins include: Balcony House Tour, Long House Tour and Cliff Palace Tour. Aramark Mesa Verde Company offers private tours by advance reservation. These tours can can be for parties of up to 37 persons and may be scheduled for a maximum of 6 hours with established beginning and ending times. They can also be tailored to the needs of the touring group. To visit Aramark’s website, go to www.visitmesaverde.com/tours.htm or call 1-800-449-2288 (the local number is 533-1944).

The park’s entrance lies approximately midway between Cortez and Mancos on US Highway 160. The Far View Visitor Center is 15 miles from the park entrance. Allow at least 45 minutes driving time from Durango. From the main highway into the park, the roads are fairly narrow with sharp curves and steep grades. The park is open every day of the year. Park information is available by calling (970) 529-4465 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/meve.