Heading West 2006

Amarillo - Cadillac Ranch

May 9, 2006

Cadillac Ranch was created in 1974 by The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective, in cooperation with property owner Stanley Marsh III, a helium tycoon. (Yes, HELIUM.) The installation consists of 10 Cadillacs (from 1949 through 1963) planted nose down "at the same angle as the Cheops Pyramids". It's not clear what color they were originally, but now they've been thoroughly adorned with a rainbow of colorings and graffiti - with the full encouragement, apparently, of the owner.

Parking on the shoulder of the road (apparently a stretch of legendary Route 66), we walked the 100 yards or so out into the field to get a close-up of these classic conveyances. We discovered empty cans of spray paint lying around, all of the same brand, suggesting that they were supplied for public use. Zephyr found one with some contents still remaining, and added his contribution for posterity.

The big serendipity of the day was that while we were there, a convoy of four "artcars" from Northern California, on their way to an Artcar Fest in Texas, pulled up to pay their respects. These vehicles were quite imaginatively decorated, and they competed with the Cadillacs quite effectively for the attention of passersby.

Note for future visits: Bring spray paint!

Mesa Verde National Park

May 13-14, 2006

To begin with we took the least strenuous of the available tours, a self-guided stroll through a rather large pueblo (over 200 feet wide and about 80 feet deep at one point) constructed into the side of a mountain more than 8 centuries ago. At least 600 of these dwellings have been found in the park, but most are quite small, apparently intended for single family use. But this was one of the big ones, featuring 100 rooms or so, and apparently designed as gathering places, with ample storage space for food, and garbage dumps in back and front--where the dead also were buried. (On April 20 of this year, 150 complete remains and 1500 partial remains were re-interred elsewhere under the supervision of Hopi officials.) And there were numerous kivas, or circular ceremonial rooms. Each kiva contains several pilasters that supported the (now missing) roof through which a ladder provided entry. Each also features a fire pit, and an air vent with a cleverly placed partition that distributed fresh air around the interior. And a little hole in the floor represented the opening through which the soul emerged from the nether regions. (According to their religion, the inhabitants already had been expelled from three previous worlds, and this one was their last chance to get things right. Let's hope they succeded!) One such kiva has been reconstructed, so that we were able to descend into it.

The residents of these pueblos abandoned their settlement here and migrated south, becoming today's Hopi and Zuni, sometime in the 1200's. Nobody is quite certain why they left, but there seems to have been a general depletion of the area's resources, as well as a mini ice age and an extended period of drought.

Examining the artifacts on display in the adjacent museum, we particularly were struck by the presence of a swastika on some of the pottery. Long before it was pilfered and perverted by the Nazis, the swastika had been a benign spiritual symbol for ages, appearing in many cultures and many different variants - including the yin-yang wheel and the cross. We're quite accustomed to seeing these designs in relics from the Near and Far East, but seeing it in Native American archaeology makes us wonder whether its presence is due to cultural cross-pollination or the universality of certain ideas.

On our second day of exploring the ruins, this time with two guided tours. Both treks involved hiking down a steep cliff via a winding path. On the first, we watched an owl soar out from her nest where she's been guarding two fledglings, and perch on a ledge not far away from us. The ranger guide commented that it was extremely unusual for this mama owl to make herself seen like this--maybe she was just making an appearance for Mother's Day.

But the second tour was perhaps even more memorable. It was a considerably smaller group than the first, and was led by a retired high school science teacher with a robust sense of humor. (One of the more interesting tidbits of information he provided was that Natives used the bark of the juniper trees for making diapers. Ouch.) What made it especially memorable was that we had to gain access to the pueblo by scaling a cliff wall on a large wooden ladder, about 50 feet high. It was quite a challenge for Dennis, who gets a bit giddy at such heights, so at the end of the tour, the ranger presented him with an Indiana Jones certificate, in recognition of defiance of fear.

This tour was well worth the effort, for we were able to walk around inside the rooms to a greater extent than in any of the other pueblos.

What an utterly fascinating glimpse into this vanished civilation that prospered (at least for a time) without metals, without wheels, without draft animals, and--so far as we can tell--without warfare. True, the men lived to only about 35 and the women to about 25, but that was normal for the time. And feminists take note, this was a MATRILINEAL society.

Later, we made our way to the highest point in Mesa Verde, a peak over 8500 feet high. It offered quite a commanding view of a region that Zephyr has been photographing extensively for use on his Crevice Tales web site. We also saw the unfortunate aftermath of fire, the most recent of which occurred only a few years ago. It will take the trees 2 or 3 centuries to be fully replenished, but as an informational poster commented, it's "a different kind of beauty".

Arches National Park

May 16, 2006

Arches are spectacular spectacles formed by attrition over a period of millions of years, beginning back when this region was underwater. Interestingly enough, there is no minimum height requirement for a formation to be classified as an arch - it simply needs to be at least 3 feet wide. Technically, it could be only an inch tall, although the ones we saw were at least 50 feet high or so.

We stopped in the visitors' center and watched a film about the phenomenon, including some serendipitous footage shot by some tourists of the rare occurrence of the collapse of a 60-ft. section of arch. And we learned that Arches N.P. has figured heavily in Hollywood filmmaking locations over the years, and Moab has become known as a hangout for those involved in these projects. It's ironic that we mentioned a few days ago how the scenery reminded us of the backdrop of some John Ford western, because John Ford actually filmed at Arches. So did Steven Speilberg, who used the park as the location for a scene in the last Indiana Jones movie.

We took a stroll around the very aptly named Balancing Rock, which looked like a gigantic bowling ball about to tumble off its perch at any moment Hopefully, there will be warning long before that moment arrives, and the premises will be placed off limits.