Four Corners
Oct. 13-21, 2007 - Trip Report
Peg Abbott, guide, with eight participants

Sat., Oct. 13 Arrival in Albuquerque / Aztec Ruins National Monument / Casa Blanca Inn, Farmington
With the help of our cell phones, we found each other in Albuquerque and soon were underway to Farmington. We found our first Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, and Red-tailed Hawk, and saw a flock of Mountain Bluebirds, quickly swept away by the wind. Julie spotted a herd of Pronghorn, all fat and healthy looking as they continued to feed. There were several females, two robust-looking young of this year, and one fine-looking male, recognized by the black cheek pattern. Peg stopped at a roadside stand advertising fresh Pinon nuts, a rare treat freshly shelled and ready to eat. We drove directly to Aztec National Monument, a small park but a perfect introduction to Ancient Puebloan (Anasazi) life. Late afternoon light was perfect for our exploration; we marveled at masonry work on the maze of rock walls, the beauty of the setting with its Fremont Cottonwood trees aflame with color, and the sense of oasis here after driving through some stark but beautiful country. The highlight here is a reconstructed great kiva one can enter. Inside there is the detail of design and architecture to admire, and an introduction to the mystery of this culture that remains today. We stayed until closing, and then drove a short way to Farmington’s Casa Blanca Inn perched up on a bluff, overlooking the ribbon of color along the San Juan River and the lights of this fast-growing city. They catered dinner for us, a marvelous Chicken Marsala complemented by a delicious vegetable casserole, several side dishes and, lemon sorbet with fresh raspberries – yum!

Sun. Oct. 14 Chaco Canyon Cultural Historical National Park
We had breakfast in Casa Blanca’s cozy dining room, where brightly colored linens complemented the light coming through the sun porch, we enjoyed a breakfast buffet that included a cheese and tomato soufflé, homemade yoghurt and cereals, muffins, pinon nuts, dried fruit, freshly squeezed local apple juice and more. Two noisy Black-capped Chickadees alerted us to a flock of warblers in the large pine just outside the door, and a Townsend’s Warbler was the prize amid a good number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. We picked up sandwiches on our way out of town, and soon left the oasis of the river for stark country of colored rock and little vegetation. We stopped in a wide, now-dry wash that had run swift water not too long ago. Horned Lark and American Pipit were on the wing in good number, though they did not land for our inspection. Soon Fajada Butte, an impressive rock formation that marks the entry to Chaco Canyon, came into view, but it was several bone-jarring miles on washboard road to get there. Stopping to photograph this massive feature, Kathy spotted our first Canyon Towhee, which popped right up atop a bush for great viewing. There were many White-crowned Sparrows here and throughout the day, but a lone Black-throated Sparrow was the highlight and a new bird for several of the group. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center to get oriented and for hiking permits, and soon we were ready to explore Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl, two of North America’s most spectacular ruins. Complex in design, marvelous in placement, and intriguing in purpose, we all generated more questions than answers, precisely the dilemma of a century and a half of archaeological review. We walked through small T-shaped doors, looked up to corner windows, pine latillas, broken-off roof beams and intricate artistic masonry work. We rested on the plaza, looking off to South Gap, the intimate canyon and its expansive skies. Petroglyhs, chipped carvings of parrots, turkeys, stick men, lighting bolts, water insects and spiral symbols, decorated the rock wall of the canyon edge that separated the two ruin complexes. There was much to see, and the morning went by quickly! While we had been hot against the solar gain of the canyon rock wall, at our picnic spot we wanted jackets to buffer a cold fall wind. After lunch we stretched our legs with a short walk, hoping to find some birds, but there was very little activity in the wind that had picked up. Actually, we did not see a single raptor all day, very surprising for this time of year. Luckily, Common Raven danced aplenty in the sky, differing races of Dark-eyed Junco showed active migration, and a lovely male Cassin’s Finch perched for us, after serenading us with song that echoed on the rock walls. Des climbed up 300 feet or so through a rock crack to enjoy quiet and a splendid overview of Pueblo Bonito. We walked to the Great Kiva of Casa Rinconada at the end of the day, and then braved over twenty miles of dirt road out to the highway. A beautiful band of native ponies, colorful pintos and appaloosas ran like the wind in the sage. Cottonwood trees along the San Juan River caught the low late-afternoon sun and shone brilliantly as we headed west to the Inn. Sunset gave us orange and magenta hues, and at one turn we had a marvelous glimpse of Shiprock, with its prominent and imposing jagged outline framed by solid magenta light. Linda was waiting with a great meal for us served in the formal dining room of Casa Blanca. After time to clean up, we enjoyed Caeser salad, pork tenderloin, fresh applesauce, garden potatoes with rosemary and, for dessert, a wickedly delicious caramel apple tart; oh my!

Mon., Oct. 15 Ute Mountain Tribal Park / Mesa Verde
We woke to another fine day, and enjoyed a second delicious breakfast in the cozy dining room. Julie kept saying, “I hate to leave this place”, but we were off for our adventure, meeting our local guides of Ute Mountain Tribal Park at the remote East Entrance gate at 10:00 AM. On the approach Leigh spotted a pair of Red-tailed Hawks perched together, the female being particularly large and white. We drove past clouds of migrant Dark-eyed Juncos, and stopped for great sightings of Black-billed Magpie and Mountain Bluebird. A few Western Meadowlark perched on field posts, and Peg got a look at a Lark Sparrow perched on a phone wire.

First on the agenda, after greeting our guides Jacob and Robert, was some wild recreational driving back to a remote ruin. We crossed washes, slickrock and thick carpets of shredded juniper logging debris, finally to park on an angled slope above Porcupine Ruins. The setting was beautiful, decorated with colors of fall: the red of sumac, burnt umber of oak, yellows of numerous small shrubs blending with rock and lichen colors of tan, brown, red, gray, yellow and lime. Two ladders proved challenging, but worth rallying for as they led into the intimate world of life of the Ancient Puebloans. Fred showed not a ruffled feather descending the steep ladder into the ruins; after his descent several followed with more ease. “Ruins” is far too inadequate a word for the tantalizing treasures and traces we examined. Our guides allowed us to peek in windows and doors, and to pick up pieces of pottery, scrapers that just fit our hands, and an ancient woven sandal that still held the form of a young boy’s foot. It was remarkable to look up to blue sky, towering pines, and colorful trees, and imagine a clan group and their daily life. Hairy Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee and Ruby-crowned Kinglet came and went; a soft breeze cooled us and we had plenty of time to experience this place. The drive out seemed easier, and soon we were at a picnic site, where we enjoyed our sandwiches and got great looks at Juniper Titmouse which came to greet us.

From the picnic spot we walked a level trail along the canyon rim which afforded views of several large sites across the Canyon, including Eagle’s View which we had climbed up to on a previous trip. This perspective afforded views of Ute Mountain, the La Plata Mountains, and in the distance even the San Juan Mountains with their new snow cover. The canyon was deep; on the rim we had warm sun as Jacob recounted for us how the park became established and described the personal, backcountry experience they were trying to provide. Brad found a Tarantula and, with Jacob, a Striped Whipsnake that had just shed its skin. A Clark’s Nutcracker came over to inspect us, most cooperatively sitting on a picturesque branch at the canyon’s edge. The day passed quickly, and as we had an hour’s drive to circumnavigate canyons of the mesa, we continued on, stopping near the La Plata River for a break at a place where the leaf color was brilliant. Des remarked on how rich the land seemed after crossing the Colorado border, the influence of the Rockies, deeper soils and more moisture in contrast to the San Juan Basin being everywhere evident.

Mesa Verde’s crowning edge glowed in late afternoon light; Kathy spotted a Golden Eagle playing on the wind off its edge. We pulled off for views, then continued on to our lodgings, where it was warm enough to enjoy sunset from our balconies before dinner in the well-appointed dining room.

Tues., Oct. 16 Mesa Verde National Park
Ho, ho, ho, we woke to SNOW! Just a light dusting of ‘corn’ snow, but with temperatures near 32 degrees we all agreed fall was here and we were not yet hardy! We had the full day to explore Mesa Verde, so everyone enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (waiting for it to warm up…) and we left at 9:00 AM. En route to the museum and Spruce Tree House Ruins, we ran into a flock of birds, and quickly went in search of them. A number of Western Bluebirds posed for us, then fed with abandon on mistletoe berries. White-breasted Nuthatch and Mountain Chickadee rounded out the flock, and a bit further on we found our ubiquitous Dark-eyed Juncos. Two Western Scrub Jay came in to Peg’s pishing, always curious and being close to a picnic area, likely hopeful for a handout. Peg got our tickets to see Cliff Palace later in the day, and we descended into the intimate canyon to explore Spruce Tree House Ruins before it got too crowded. While the area was crowded and busier than our day at Ute Mountain Tribal Park, the sites on this part of the Mesa are world renowned and well worth the visit. Marna, a park ranger, answered many of our questions with ease; we were eager to learn about how their pottery was fired, how they dealt with effuse and waste, and always the central question – why did she think they left, never to return. We went down into the small kiva, peeked into doors to find precious artwork on remaining plaster and photographed the rock walls from every angle. Several of our group wanted time to study exhibits at the museum, and Peg, Des and Kathy wanted to walk more on this beautiful morning, so we arranged to rendezvous at lunch and all left for their pursuits. Julie commented on how well the museum was arranged, with detailed sections easy to follow and put together as a larger picture. The walkers found a curious pair of Canyon Wren probing cracks in the canyon walls for insects. They found Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees in the same flock with Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Living in Florida, Kathy was delighted to see the northern aligned Golden-crowned Kinglet bend down to show off its fall-colored crown! Peg and Des completed the loop that led to a small but intricate petroglyph panel at the junction of another large canyon of the mesa. For lunch we tried Navajo Tacos which proved to be delicious but enormous; all were more ready for a nap than a tour of the ruins! We enjoyed chatting with two potters demonstrating their techniques outside the restaurant, then drove over to the canyon that holds Cliff Palace. Marna was our guide at this ruins as well; she handled a rather large group quite well and we learned a lot. Ginny conquered the maze of ladders and steps required; we all marveled at just how fit these early inhabitants, in their short lives of thirty-five years or so, must have been! We ended the day stopping at Square House, where park staff were stabilizing the ruins, and at Sun Point, which affords views of five or six ruins in two canyons from one vantage point. The light on Cliff Palace as we approached the overlook was like a spotlight on a stage, focused sunlight as a cloud opened up – quite spectacular! This view was our grand finale, and we headed back to our lodgings on time to freshen up before dinner. A passing rainstorm on the horizon put on a good show over the expanse of sky and mesa so visible from our balconies; light rain fell as darkness arrived.

Wed., Oct. 17 Hovenweap / Bluff / Goosenecks of the San Juan / Monument Valley
We covered a lot of ground today, feasting on grand vistas at every turn. Kathy remarked on how quickly the scenery changes here; indeed the interplay of rock, soil and corresponding vegetation is woven like a tapestry of many shades and patterns. We left Mesa Verde early, and stopped for panoramic views from Park Point, where a 360-degree view showed off Sleeping Ute, the distant Abajo Mountains, Shiprock and, in the clouds, the high San Juans. We drove down the mesa, then along a lovely stretch of cottonwoods along McElmo Creek. Eventually we turned north to Hovenweap National Monument, one of the most remote sites we’d visit on our loop of the Four Corners country. Hovenweap takes one by surprise, its striking towers perched on an insignificant canyon rimmed by low juniper shrub lands. We stopped in at the Visitor’s Center, watched the informative film, and then walked the rim of the canyon to inspect detail of the rock masonry from this late period of Ancient Puebloan life. Peg discussed the complexity of cryptobiotic soils which were recovering well on either side of the well defined path, offering life and nutrients to other plants. Mormon Tea, Cliffrose, Three-leafed Sumac and Serviceberry all showed color. The spring at the head of the canyon was dry; below us a tapestry of color came from Fremont Cottonwood, Box Elder and Velvet Ash. Birds were scarce, save our ever-present Common Raven, Western Scrub Jay, and flying high overhead, two Yellow-rumped Warblers and a few Horned Lark. A Spotted Towhee called but remained well hidden, and we were soon distracted by a magnificent cloud show on the horizon and a few raindrops coming our way. We admired Hovenweap House, Castle and Square Tower, and Twin Ruins; then made our way back to the van to head on to Bluff, Utah, where we had lunch and a great time shopping at the Twin Buttes Trading Post and Restaurant.

The scenery after lunch was sublime. We drove the few streets of Bluff to look at the Mormon Pioneer homes, and then drove down and across the backbone of Comb Ridge, a geologic monocline of extraordinary color and proportion. In the low angled fall light colors were brilliant; Peg pointed out the rainbow effect of lifted layers, broken in the middle by stream erosion. We went on to a second geologic wonder, the entrenched meanders of the San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park. One thousand feet below, we traced the course of the river as it makes its way to meet the Colorado at Lake Powell. Soon the spires and buttes of Monument Valley came into view. The sky was pink with blowing dust on this blustery day, making for even more dramatic clouds. Our experience was like driving through a lightshow, where one object was lit by spotlight while another dimmed – a mesa here, a butte there, a stalwart pinnacle there…. Passing several dramatic volcanic necks, also brilliantly lit under the day’s fast moving cloud show, we reached Kayenta about 6:00 PM, a full day! Dinner at Amigo’s was surprisingly good and gave us a chance to observe the local people.

Thurs., Oct. 18 Monument Valley Tribal Park
We were greatly relieved to wake to calm and clear skies after yesterday’s intense windstorms. We met Ashley, a local Navajo guide, at Goulding’s Lodge at 9:00; he was ready with an oversized jeep equipped with soft tires that could negotiate deep sand and back roads, as we would see put to the test after yesterday’s storm! His style of interpretation was very soothing. We learned modern and ancient names for the features, and he shared descriptions of modern traditional Navajo life as well. We spent the morning in Mystery Canyon, far from the crowds, walking intimate box canyons, investigating the playground of Common Ravens. While we were not seeing much in the way of songbirds, the constant presence of this clever Corvid will be etched on our brains after this week. At a stop where we viewed two dramatic high ‘pothole’ arches, four ravens played above us, circling against the deep red-colored cliffs and arcing out into brilliant blue sky. Their shadows lagged behind them; at one point they came in as a foursome, only to morph instantly to eight – their shadows indistinguishable from their forms. This canyon was magical to explore. The two arches were widely separated; between them were sculpted pinon trees, deep yellow-hued blooming rabbitbrush and the path of a small stream. Dark-eyed Junco, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and several Northern Flicker fed amongst the vegetation as we ambled without design. Through the clear air we heard the sound of a flute – our guide, Ashley, had climbed high above the arch and sat quietly sending us the music. He had picked up on our interest in the birds, and described several that seemed attracted to the haunting mellow notes. These proved to be House Finches upon inspection; their songs soon intertwined.

We stopped throughout the morning for scenery, photos, to investigate traces of Ancient Puebloan ruins. There was a lot of rock art here, handprints in red and white, symbols for water, large sheep, men with chevron-patterned chests, birds. Everywhere we went we found broken pottery chards; Don found a finely worked chert flake, a hunting tool of life seven centuries past. We lingered at many spots, so fine was the weather. Ashley cooked us hamburgers on a grill in a shaded alcove rimmed by pinon and juniper trees. It was cool enough to enjoy hot coffee with our cookies, and soon we were seeking out the sun. At Lone Pine Arch we could not resist stretching out on red rock for a few minutes, absorbing the warmth of the rock like lizards. We continued on to Monument Valley proper, to ride around the famous monoliths of western movie fame. We spun our tires in deep sand on several occasions, and also found Ashley had an eye for raptors. He spotted a lovely backlit Red-tailed Hawk perched on a twisted stump some distance from the road. He then showed us a nest of Golden Eagle, used that year, tucked high on a cliff in an alcove. While we were observing, we spotted first one, then a second adult, flying above the bold, varnish-stained cliffs. We watched them for several minutes before driving on.

At the Visitor’s Center we took time to view the Navajo Code Talkers and other exhibits, and Peg and Des were sorely tempted by some beautiful, locally made Navajo rugs. We then drove out to see ‘the Mittens’, the ‘Three Sisters’, the ‘Totem Pole’ and the ‘Singers’. At Ford Point, we tried to get Don or Des out on the horse at Ford Point for photos; they smartly left the cowboy pose to a professional!

By now we had learned that Ashley was a singer, and beneath a towering red wall he played a hand drum and chanted two songs for us; powerful, methodical notes sung in the Navajo language. It was a great end to a very special day; afterwards we headed back to Goulding’s where we checked out the historic trading post museum before driving back to our lodgings. Dinner at the Blue Coffee Pot was memorable and very reasonable! Ginny patiently waited for us to chew, wanting only to get home to watch the Red Sox playoff game!

Fri., Oct. 19 Navajo National Monument / Canyon de Chelly
Navajo National Monument is an out of the way gem of the National Park Service, protecting Tsegi Canyon and its impressive Cliff Dwellings and other ruins. The setting is almost as grand as the ruins, a deep canyon cut into a massive layer of Navajo Sandstone. Swirls and lines of these Jurassic Dunes are highlighted by the growth of colorful lichen, and on vertical cliffs, bands of black and gray desert varnish. Today the Gambel Oak, Serviceberry, Three-leaf Sumac, and in this canyon – Aspen – were aflame, creating even more the effect of a tapestry. We stopped for a view en route, and Peg heard the distant calls of Pinon Jay. Soon a gang of them were noisily calling as they flew overhead. Over fifty birds passed to the west, but flew purposefully and out of sight. We waited for their return, Peg describing this harvest season rhythm of harvesting pinon nuts, caching them, and returning to repeat the activity. While we did not get mug shots of this special bird close by in a tree, it was fascinating to see its behavior in such detail. A pair of Juniper Titmouse came in to see what we were up to, along with our ever present Dark-eyed Juncos. We took time to view the exhibits at Navajo, which include fine examples of pottery such as huge, complete vases. Several Navajo artisans demonstrated their work; both Ginny and Leigh were quite taken with the effort and detail of weaving, seen so close at hand.

Sun graced our walk to the overlook where we studied the layout of this striking ruin with spotting scopes and binoculars to get the detail. The large view of this 130-odd room structure in a massive colorful alcove, with fall painting every color of its palette in the shrubs below, was inspiring. It was a gorgeous picture-perfect day, with blue sky, warm temperatures and beauty in every direction. Back at the top we caught our breaths and made a short loop through the campground looking for birds; adding few to our list but enjoying close views of Juniper Titmouse and Northern Flicker.

The afternoon passed quickly. Lunch was back at the Blue Coffee Pot, a busy place on a Friday afternoon in Kayenta. We drove southeast to reach Chinle and Canyon de Chelly, stopping to explore Many Farms Lake en route. The lake itself was quite silty, and most of the ducks were crowded into a clean area of water rimmed by cattails quite far from our viewpoint. We could pick out Mallard, Shoveler, Ruddy and Ring-necked Duck, but some of the others in eclipse plumage at good distance we had to give up on. We did find four species of grebe here – Clark’s, Western, Eared and Pied-billed, and Kathy called out ‘Merlin!’ as one of these little falcons flew by a shrub area, flying with characteristic fluttering wings. Franklin’s Gull was another new species; one late Barn Swallow flew above a small stream channel where a group of Long-billed Dowitchers fed. Nearby we walked beneath a group of Fremont Cottonwood aflame with color, spotting Yellow-rumped Warbler and a pair of Hairy Woodpecker. Before checking in to our lodgings, we drove on to the Antelope Ruins vista point at Canyon de Chelly to get a peek at the canyon we would explore the next day.

Sat., Oct. 20 Canyon de Chelly Inner Canyon by Jeep / Hubbell Trading Post
Peg had requested a local guide from previous year’s trips for our tour up the rugged stream bottom of Canyon de Chelly. Larry met us at 9:00 AM and soon we were pushing our wheels against deep sand, making our way to a beautiful array of rock art, Ancient Puebloan Ruins, and modern drawings added by Navajo artists in the 1830’s. Strong wind warnings emerged by afternoon, so we were lucky to have most of the morning clear and calm. The rust walls of the canyon contrasting with indigo skies were lovely, all topped off by Fremont Cottonwood trees at their absolute peak of color. We heard some of the common resident birds as we drove – Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Flicker, and then, notes of a Canyon Wren. A very pale Red-tailed Hawk circled high with Common Ravens. The bird world was pretty quiet, but the scenery again sublime. We also did a little economic damage at the vendor booths by Antelope and White House Ruins, souvenirs of our time in Canyon Country. Leigh laughed as Peg asked if the group wanted a change of pace, perhaps being “Canyoned and ruined out!” And now on Day 7, Fred smiled and said perhaps he’d had at least four years full of ROCKS. As it was windy and exploring the rim of Canyon de Chelly would be miserable, we drove south to Hubbell Trading Post, where we could enjoy a tour of the Hubbell Home with a Park Service interpretive ranger. Don and Leigh searched every pole for raptors, but this year they seemed almost absent from our journey. They diligently reported Red-tailed Hawk, but numbers for 2007 were low indeed, to our disappointment. The artwork and basket collection in the home are most impressive. The Trading Post here is almost a perfect rendition of the early 1900’s, with an “L” shaped counter, a mix of groceries, supplies and arts and crafts. The rug room has hundreds of rugs of many patterns. An artist came in with a Two Gray Hills Tapestry, an exquisite piece of work done over a two-year period. The trader smiled, admired and said it was of museum quality. Peg felt honored just to see the work, as well as the time- honored tradition of buying and selling. Brad, Kathy and Peg made a valiant effort to find Lewis’ Woodpecker, which Peg had found on two previous journeys at this time of year. The gale force winds prevented any real birding, but sent us an Osprey; quite a surprise flying over the parking lot! We celebrated a good week, reviewing our highlights at dinner.

Sun., Oct. 21 Return to Albuquerque
We had smooth sailing back to Albuquerque despite some blustery winds. We all would miss this world of color, where red rocks were decorated with the colors of fall. A great trip!

Photos by: Peg Abbott.

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