We've been incommunicado for the last several days because we didn't have wifi where we camped in Bloomfield, NM. So we have a lot of catching up to do.

In our last post we were still in Flagstaff, AZ, and were preparing to leave for Bloomfield, NM, with an overnight stop in Gallup, NM. While driving from Flagstaff to Gallup we received a phone call from our realtor informing us that we had an offer on our townhouse in Pocatello. Needless to say we were excited about the prospects of selling the place. Our realtor emailed a copy of the offer to us and we printed it out once we arrived in Gallup. We accepted the offer (which is contingent on financing and a positive home inspection, of course) and faxed the signed documents back. So if everything works out we are suppose to close on the sale on or before the end of May.

The night sky in Gallup

We arrived in Bloomfield on Saturday the 20th and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. While driving into Bloomfield we saw signs for the Salmon Ruins Museum, Library and Research Center. Rick visited the Salmon Ruins in 1974 while they were being excavated by Cynthia Erwin Williams, Ph.D. Dr. Williams was only the third woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in archaeology, and she was well known and respected by even the male chauvinist archaeologists like Dr. Jesse D. Jennings, Rick's mentor. Rick had completely forgotten where the Salmon Ruins were until we spotted the sign along the highway. We thoroughly enjoyed strolling among the excavated and unexcavated parts of the 10th through 13th century "great house" on Sunday afternoon (and there was only one or two other groups there). 

An excavated "kiva" (circular subterranean ceremonial/meeting 

room at Salmon).

Sunday morning we visited Aztec Ruins National Monument a few miles north of our RV park. It was contemporary with the Salmon Ruins and they are less than 10 miles apart. Another great example of the large complex communities that existed in the 9th through 13th centuries in the four corners region of the American Southwest.

One of the main groups of rooms

Rick at the edge of a kiva

Sharon also peering into a kiva

The climate is so dry here that even thousand year old

second-story floor beams have survived

All sites in the region have several small "clan" kivas

like these at Aztec

But only the few most important sites have giant "great kivas" 

like the above as reconstructed from the archaeology. 

Great Kivas are probably where leaders from several 

groups gathered for ceremonial or political meetings

The band of dark stones is an interesting architectural detail 

around the outside perimeter of the "great house" since all

walls were plastered. And just above the dark band

note the ends of the two second-story floor logs.

This is what the "great house" looked like - and there

is an adjacent unexcavated mound that is another ruin

of similar size.

On Monday we drove about 60 miles south of Bloomfield to visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park which contains a dozen or so very large three and four story "great houses" that are contemporary with Aztec and Salmon sites mentioned above.

Walking toward a great house called Chetro Ketl - like

many of the communities they were built near the

bottom of the canyon cliffs

Typical remains of a three-story wall at Chetro Ketl

Chetro Ketl has a "great kiva" so it was obviously

a very important place

Most of the great houses are massive with 600-800 rooms

and three to four stories high

Out away from the large communities is the biggest of the

Great Kivas which probably indicates that this is the

most important place for the entire region (roads lead

from here to places as far away as Salmon and Aztec Ruins

60+ miles to the north)

This morning we left Bloomfield and drove to Cortez, CO. From our RV window we can see Mesa Verde which we will visit in the next day or two to tour the ruins in Mesa Verde National Park. We also plan to visit Hovenweep National Monument to tour some more ruins. After a couple of days here we plan to head for Moab, UT, for a few days then off to SLC. Then back to Pocatello to hopefully complete the sale of our townhouse. We'll keep you posted on our progress.