Visiting the new Bear's Ears National Monument - Wow! post5

A bright and sparkly morning...

the morning bed-head contest

big blue sky

Monument Valley in the distance

We went back down to the Kane Gulch Ranger Station and stumbled into our day's Anasazi adventure: Moonhouse. This is the good stuff. Only 20 people per day allowed. A serious scramble down one side of a valley and up the other side. A bunch of buildings; one with a corridor you can actually go into. Corridor??? Yee-haw!

Moonhouse ruin

Major ruins like this one have ammo boxes with a write-up of the ruin in them. They're always worth a read. Click these for bigger versions.
Moonhouse is a late period structure with a stick-and-mud wall construction of the inside rooms that was obviously much faster and easier to make than foot-thick stone walls. It also has a stone outer wall with a hallway inside and separate rooms off the hallway.

We have never seen anything like this before in our Anasazi ruin hunting. What a lovely surprise!

up into the main structure's hallway

dark rooms. thick looking smoke marks on the ceiling

walls between rooms -woven sticks covered with mud

inner room with painted decoration

looking + not touching + not going inside = excellent Moonhouse behavior

this decoration appears fairly often in this area. clan mark?

a granary further along the rim. there was lots more that we didn't have time for on this trip

back we went...

pool day!

We were hot and dirty. Time to check into civilization for a shower, email, Deuce orders and the pool. Our favorite spot for that: the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, UT.

Visiting the new Bear's Ears National Monument - Wow! post2

On one of the busiest US Holidays of the year, we see exactly one other family who came to view the ruins next to camp.

One of our favorite camp breakfasts is Rösti. I first had this in a hut in Switzerland while skiing the Haute Route. The hash-browns come dehydrated so they're really lightweight and compact. Rehydrate them with boiled water, fry them up slowly with lots of butter and olive oil. Patience, patience. They get wonderfully crispy if you can just bring yourself to cook them a little longer...then add shredded cheese (Ementhaler and/or Gruyere are favorites), melt. Finish it off with eggs over the top, poached (by putting a lid on) or stir in. YUM!

 

breakfast is served

 Leisurely, leisurely we got ready to explore around camp...ruins to see, a viewpoint to explore.

off to see the ruins

the desert was blooming

3 structures. two tucked under, one (of many) up on the point (right skyline below tree)

we were told the one on the right is nicknamed "Boulder Tower"

that section of Comb Ridge back there is a presence

I'm a sucker for lichen patterns

the view was spectacular. 180˚ required 17 photos. 

I love cactus flowers. they're incredibly soft delicate and come from a plant that's so hardy and harsh

spotted what looked like a granary across the valley - a stone's throw from camp

I'm thinking it's a tarantula burrow...

back to camp, lunch and reading PeterPan

we pitched the sunshade

 After lunch we took another walk; this time South along the rim

the Mormon Tea was blooming too (aka Ephedra)

yup, it was a granary!

jasper

O's a pretty good walker but...

so colorful

here's one of the things we just love about this area. we had just spent the morning walking over to the viewpoint in this picture (top skyline). we spotted a granary from there, across the canyon. now, from the granary, we see that we were right over at least five more structures. we LOVE the sense of discovery this place gives

desert in bloom...

jackrabbit!

back at camp, it's tree-play time until day's end, things little boys do