Puerco Pueblo

Puerco Pueblo sits on a high spot of ground in sight of the Puerco River in NE Arizona. It was home for about 100 people from about 1250-1350. Because of it's location, it was a trade center for the area. It is evident because of the variety of potsherds that have been found at the site. The clay of this area is poor, so the pottery that the local Puebloans made was marginal (They probably considered it their "Tuperware"). Therefore, they needed to trade with tribes from other areas to get the good pottery ("Grandma's good china"). Sherds of black and white ware ( to the north west) and red and black ware (to the southeast) have been found nearby. This shows that the people of Puerco were visited by travelers or traveled themselves and traded with other groups.

Although they were involved in some commerce, the local Puebloans were mostly farmers. They grew crops in fields in the flood plain below the village. Water was present in the Puerco River which has actual water in it during snow melt and after thunder storms. At other times water can be found by digging a shallow hole. There is also a seep spring just above the field area. It is possible that they used dry farming methods. That is, they would plant their crops and wait for the summer rains. The rainy portion of the year (called the monsoon) comes in late July, August, and early September. It is a time of huge afternoon thunder storms with the rain that comes with them. So it was important to have the crops planted in time to take advantage of the moisture. So how did they know when to plant?

The ancient Puebloans had a calender. Between the building site and the flood plain where the fields were is a cliff with large sandstone boulders strewn around. On their blackened patena are hundreds of petroglyphs. I love looking at petroglyphs and pictographs and trying to figure out what they represent. They are a window to the past. In case you don't know the difference, petroglyphs have been chipped into the rock while pictographs are drawings on the rock. Getting back to the story of Puerco, the people here had a calendar. On one of the rocks, around the corner from a pair of rather large feet, is a small spiral all by itself. Between June 14 and June 28 the morning sunlight creeps through a crack in an adjoining rock and at 9am strikes the center of this spiral. This is the time of summer equinox and is about 45 days until the summer rains will begin. It's time to plant.

What were the crops? Have you heard of the Three Sisters? (I'm not talking about the mountains of Oregon. ) The three sisters are referring to crops; corn, beans, and squash. Corn grows tall (they grew 4-6 types) and was a staple. Beans grew using the corn stalks as support. Squash was planted around the base of the plants to help retain moisture, inhibit weeds, and the roughness of the squash stems discouraged rodents. All three provide nourishment, but the three vegetables, when cooked together, provide more than they do individually. I'm not sure that these folks knew that, but it is an interesting fact. The three sisters are know by many tribes even those of the east. We have talked to a couple from New York, and they said that the Iroquois planted the same combination.

So how did the ancient Puebloans live? The pueblo was a single story structure about the size of a football field. The outside wall consisted of rooms for the people. They occupied one to three adjoining rooms that reached toward the central plaza. One room was for sleeping, one for food prep. and one for storage. These rooms were small, about 7x9, so were used only in inclement weather. The large central plaza was the family room, laundry room, kitchen, playground, entertainment center, and social hall.

The other part of the pueblo was the Kiva. The kivas in the pueblos to the north were round while the ones to the south were square. Notice the shape of the one at Puerco. Do the rounded corners mean that this place was a transitional home? The kiva was a special room used by men only as a for religious ceremonies, to store sacred objects, to educate young men, and as a men's social hall. In other words, it was the "man cave". It was the only place in the pueblo that the men owned. In this matriarcal society, the women owned everything. The men tended the crops and hunted for food, but when they brought it to the pueblo, it belonged to the women.
When a couple were joined, the man moved in with the woman's family. He would know that she was done with him when he would find his moccasins sitting out in front of the door. Hmm...

Gallup

Gallup, New Mexico. What are your expectations? What does your mind conjure up when you read Gallup, NM? Cowboys? Indians? The West? Big Town? Little town? Well, from one short day's analysis, it appears to be all of the above. Went to the Saturday swap meet ( or flea market depending upon who you are talking to). I was told to get there early if you wanted to get a parking place. "What's early?" "Before noon."
So we left here about 8:30 and found the "event" about 10ish. Got a good parking place nearby. I was also told to dress warmly as it gets cold in Gallup. We did bring extra jackets but didn't need them as the sun was warming the place. The swap meet happens every Saturday all year long so I can imagine how it would be when the temperature is in the single digits.
The fare at the meet was what you would expect, with exceptions. The food places offered mutton stew, Indian hamburgers, Indian tacos, fry bread (yumm). (By the way, Indian tacos have fry bread instead of tortillas.) The other large exception was the number of items used for tribal ceremonies, rattles, different types of tobacco, and other things that I have no idea of what they are. I did not feel comfortable enough to go up to a person at a table and say, " Hey, what is that thing?" Gallup labels itself as "Indian Capital" and it showed at the swap meet and in any store. I find it very interesting observing people and the folks you see in and around Gallup are an interesting assortment. There are many tribes in the area so there's a real mix of folks. I wanted to take a picture of intersting areas around G, but we didn't find any then.

Zuni

It was Friday, our day off so we decided to drive to Zuni to see what the Zuni Pueblo looked like. I have seen pictures of Taos and wondered if it resembled that area. We drove down to Sanders and turned south on 191 and turned east on AZ 61 ( which becomes NM 53). Zuni is about 20 miles into New Mexico. The road east is pretty no descript in AZ , but as you approach the NM statle line, rock mesas start to appear. It's as if the map-makers used these visible features to help them find the line.

Zuni is the center of the Zuni Reservation. My idea of what is would look like was not accurate at all. It looked like an old village. Taking of pictures of the pueblo are not allowed so you will have to just go and see for yourself. The reservation has a population of over 11000. There are many reservations in NM; many of them in close proximity (Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, Ramah Apache, as well as Navajo) so New Mexico has a very diverse population. We drove slowly thru the village taking it all in. At the east end of the town, we stopped at the visitor center. We spent over an our conversing with a very nice lady who is Zuni. Being careful not to be offensive, we asked a lot of questions about Zuni history, religion, mores, and government. They elect their own governor, and council members ( both men and women) who serve for several years. They have to be on the Zuni rolls to vote. They must be at least 1/4 Zuni to be eligible to vote on trible issues. They also can vote on national, state, and local elections, as well.

The Zuni society is a matriarchal one. The property is owned by the women. It is handed down to the women children. If there are no girl children, the boy will get the property, but then it will go to his daughters. However, the men control the religious ceremonies. Women are not allowed in the kivas or even to talk about the ceremonies. They only may attend them and watch with everyone else. On the day we were there, the men were preparing for a Saturday night ceremony so we were not allowed at the central site, which ironically, is an old Catholic mission church. The Spaniards came into the area in the 1500's and forced the people into servitude building missions and farming for them. The rule finally ended in the Indian revolt of 1680 when 21 of the 33 priests were killed.

After leaving the visitor center, we ate lunch and then took our new friend's recommendations and stopped at PaWa's Bakery for Zuni bread. As we got out of the truck in front of the home, the gentleman, obviously the father, came out to greet us. He asked me where we were from. When I said, Oregon, he asked if we would like to see his oven. I readily agreed and he lead me around back. There, under a tin cover was a large igloo shaped oven made of mud and sticks ( adobe). We had noticed many of them around town, but this was the largest in town, not doubt because of his commercial bakery. He sells his breads, white, sourdough, and raisin out of his house on Wed, Thurs, and Fri and at the flea market in Gallup on Saturdays. R & I could smell the bread baking in the oven as we approached. He opened the wooden door of the oven to show us the baking bread.

The oven is heated by having a fire in the oven made with juniper. Once the oven is hot, the fire and ashes are removed from the oven, it is sweep with a long -handled broom and the bread dough is placed inside. The heat is retained by the thick adobe walls, enough to do two batches of bread. Needless to say, we bought two loaves of bread, white and raisin.

Week-end

It's only Tuesday and I'm planning our next week-end. The volunteer coordinator is adjusting our schedule this week so that starting next week our three days off will be Thurs, Fri, & Sat. That means that this week is a three day week followed by two days off. Luckily one of those two days will be Saturday the 21st which is our anniversary. Our 40th no less!!!!!! How did I put up with her for so long? :) R might say something different.

So what should we do? My thought is to head for Gallup, NM. The ranger at Hubbell told us of the artists craft fair that is held on the north side of Gallup on Saturdays. It is a chance to buy products directly from the craftsperson who made it. We also want to check out some of the interests in the G area. There are several Native American areas nearby, Zuni, Acoma, and Apache. So it's time for some research.

"N" Training

Tuesday 2/17/09

7:30 am Today we woke up to clouds and dark. As I was walking the girls, I detected mist in the air. By the time we returned to the trailer it was snowing lightly. It got the ground white but the streets are just wet. We are scheduled to do training for N (for North, which means the areas in the north half of the park) so I wonder how that will go.

Noon It’s now our lunch break and we are finished with our nourishment and have a few minutes before we need to be back at the van for the trip to PDI for the afternoon program. The weather has switched. It is clear here and windy. The wind is biting cold. It was quite cool ( think cold!) standing out for the morning Puerco program. R& I will take an extra layer of clothing for this afternoon, but first to PDI for the program there. When we are doing the N duty, we are responsible for two programs at Puerco Pueblo (11am & 2:30pm) and one at PDI at 1:00pm. Also we relieve the person at PDI so they can go to lunch, then take our lunch, and give the PDI tour. At 2:15, we need to be back at Puerco for the 2:30 afternoon program there. It is fun to give the programs, talk to the folks, and explain about the areas we are talking about.

4:30 Back from our training and are enjoying the warmth of the trailer. The Puerco programs are going to be more challenging than the PDI program because they are conducted entirely outside which means wind, rain, wind, snow, wind, heat (in the summer), cold ( in the winter) and in case I forgot to mention, wind. Today it was sunny for both programs but the wind was definitely a factor. I can hardly wait until spring when it’s supposed to get really windy here.

Monday Feb 16, 2009

Today was a great day. The weather cooperated and gave us a warm day, albiet cloudy, but no wind. We decided to head east, so we traveled about 20 miles to Sanders, stopped at the Ortega Trading Post. Checked the merchandise and spent some time in their "rug room" where the Navaho rugs are stored. Some really nice ones.

Then we drove back six miles west to Sanders to Burnham's Trading Post. The first spot was a tourist stop but this one is a real trading post with some groceries, etc. and lots of beautiful rugs and baskets. We had a great time going through the various rugs in the rug room relearning the different styles available. Generally, the style of rug weaved depends on the area. So the Ganado rugs come from the area of the same name. Same is true of the other styles, Khagatoh, Two Grey Hills, etc. All of them would look great on any of my floors.

After leaving Sanders, we headed north on Hwy 171 to Ganado which is about 40 miles up the road. Ganado is home for the famous Hubbell Trading Post which a National Historic Site. It still looks much like it did in the early 1900's complete with creaking floors and baskets and rugs everywhere. I did score a big deal and was able to purchase some wool rovings from the Churro sheep that are part of the site. It was one of my goals on this trip to buy some Navajo wool.

One down - two hundred to go.

The Flag

An Observation - The Flag

Part of the duties working at either of the Visitor Centers or PDI (Painted Desert Inn) is to raise and lower the Flag. The last time I had anything to do with a flag was in the military so it’s been a while. If I knew the proper procedure, it had long since drifted away to the other side of my mind, so it was a re-learning experience. The Flag is raised and lowered promptly at the hour of opening and closing, so whatever you are doing in your procedures stop at that moment and the Flag is taken care of. Do you know the proper way to raise the Flag? How about lowering it?

Well, for the record, the Flag is to be raised to the top rapidly and lowered slowly. If it is a day when the Flag is to be at half-staff, it is raised to the top and then lowered to the half-staff position. At the end of that day the colors would be raised to the top before being lowered to the ground. Another rule is that the Flag never touches the ground. So you need to be careful when handling it. And then there is the proper way to fold it into the triangle that we have all seen. Once you figure out the trick, it’s not difficult. I have it figured out so it goes fairly smoothly, but a stiff wind does present a challenge and we have stiff winds often in the afternoon. One more thing to learn.

Sunday Feb 15, 2009

Sunday Feb 15 2009

Today it was sunny most of the day and it was nearly 60. R & I invited our neighbors over for “coffee and conversation” (actually none of us drank coffee, more like ice water, but that’s a technicality). Tom and Sharon are volunteers from S.D. who have been here for six weeks. On their time off this week, they drove down to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in N.M. to check it out. They are scheduled to work there Nov. & Dec. this year, so they wanted to see the lay out, etc. They brought us back some information about the area and the park because we are also planning to volunteer there Feb-Apr, 2010. From what I have gathered and the conversation with T & S, it seems that it will be similar to being here, but different. ( Less spit and polish than a national park, but probably more than a forest service location or a wildlife refuge.) I am thinking about calling GCDNM and changing our arrival time to one month later.

We also attended a ranger talk this afternoon at the Puerco Pueblo ruins site, which is also in the park. It was occupied by early Hopi people from about 1250 -1350. R & I will be doing ranger talks about this site in a week so we are absorbing as much information about the place as we can. One way is to listen to other people as they give their presentations. It gives you knowledge, it gives you ideas of ways to present your information, and it helps to cement facts into your mind. I feel that my job as a presenter is not to fill you with facts and figures, but to give you enough information to give you a feel of place or location and maybe pique your interest enough to do some further research or at least, talk about it with your travel mates.

Friday Feb 13, 2009

Friday 2/13/09 - Painted Desert Inn

Today was our first day “alone”. We have been in training for about 2 weeks and had other experienced people around to train and watch over us, but today we traveled the two miles or so to the Painted Desert Inn (PDI) for our 9-5 shift there. The PDI story goes back to the 20’s. A gentleman named Herbert Lore used some Mexican workers and built himself a home on 2500 acres he had originally homesteaded on the edge of the Painted Desert. The home was built out of petrified rock and cement, but neither Mr. Lore nor his workers knew much about building and the structure had more mortar than rock. The other difficulty with the house was that it was built on top of land that consists of bentonite clay. When it rains, the clay swells and it shrinks as it dries out. Between the two problems (mortar and clay), the building needs repair every few years. Lore used the inn as his private residence for a number of years, as well as a tourist stop which provided food, drink, gifts, and a place to stay. When Route 66 was developed, Lore sold his property to the Monument and a road was connected to 66. Because the property needed repairs, the CCC was brought in to stabilize and restore the property. No water or electricity was available; therefore, all the work was done by hand. And, the workmanship is wonderful! Logs needed to be felled and brought to the sight for ceiling supports and furniture. From the Flagstaff area ponderosa pine was brought in for the vigas and aspen for the savinas were transported from the White Mts., over 100 miles southeast. The furniture was made from wood; the light fixtures are tinwork, glass panels hand-made, as well as hand-painted, and the walls on the outside were covered with stucco to replicate the Spanish adobe look. WW II interrupted the work and the Inn was closed until 1946. In 1947 the Fred Harvey Co. was contracted to take over the concessions. Mr. Harvey had worked with the Santa Fe Railroads to provide different an oasis at different stops along the line. His practice was to hire young ladies from around the country to work in the dining rooms. The Harvey Girls as they came to be known, needed at least an 8th grade education, proper manners, and were not to be involved with the clientele during their 6 month contract. Mr. Harvey brought in his designer Mary Jane Colter to look at the Painted Desert Inn design. She changed the windows to the north for a better view of the panorama of the Painted Desert, changed the color scheme, and invited Fred Kabotie, a very famous Hopi Indian artist, to paint several wall murals in several of the rooms. The CCC had added an extra room that became the Monument’s Visitor Center until the new/current VC was opened in 1962-3 when the Monument became a National Park and PDI was closed. For 24 years there was a great deal of controversy over what to do with the crumbling building, from remodeling to bulldozing the building down. PDI was saved for good when it became a National Historic Landmark. After repairs were made, the Inn was re-opened to the public in ‘87. It requires constant monitoring for cracking and the last remodel was in 2004. Keeping this building is service is necessary because it is such a wonderful historic treasure and the view from the windows is breathtaking, especially when snow adds a new dimension to the landscape as it did last week.

Petrified Forest National Park

Sunday Feb 1, 2009 - April _____, 2009

After a long hard pull 125 miles from Phoenix (at about 1100 f) to Flagstaff (at 7000 feet). The truck was like the little engine that could but it made it. There was still snow on the ground around Flag. We fueled up, had lunch and headed east on I-40. It's about 115 miles to PFNP and we arrived at the gate about 3:45. By 5ish, we were parked, plugged in, and putting stuff away. I even had a chance to catch the second half of the Super Bowl at the rec room. The headquarters area consists of basically a campus with several housing areas and an office area, maintenance area, and the visitor center. There was a school here at one time.,but the kids now are bussed to Holbrook (25 miles).

After a day of rest on Monday, we started work. Tuesday consisted of driving in a van with 7 people up and down the park road checking out most of the turn outs. Wed, Thurs & Friday were training days. The National Park Service is, of course, a government agency so certain things have to be c0vered. There were 8 of us in the group. Part of the training was in how to give a presentation. In was very good info. It will help us here as well as future sites we will be working. Next week more training.

Phoenix

Friday morning the 30th we hooked up the rig and left Quartzsite for a 2 1/2 hour run into Phoenix. We turned north on the 101 and left our trailer in the driveway of friends in Peoria and drove over to D & K's home north of Scottsdale, the area is called Troon if you are familiar with the area. VERY expensive and nice area. Their house is just west of Pinnacle Peak. It is a beautiful area. Saturday, we spent the day at the Desert Botanical Garden, a beautiful area nW of Mesa near the Zoo. In addition to the many desert plants from all over the world, there was a large display of Chihuly glass throughout the park. It sounds out of place but they looked good there. Look at the pictures here to make your decision. It was a great birthday present.

Quartzsite, AZ

I have heard stories of Quartzsite, AZ. but I had never seen it during it's prime time. Prime time is Dec - Feb. During the quiet time (summer) the town has a population of 3000 hardy souls who can put up with the high temperatures. But during winter, the snowbirds descend upon the area and set up camp. There are campers ( travel trailers, vans, fifth wheels, motorhomes, even some tents) in any direction as far as the eye can see. There are RV parks with full hook-ups and areas that have no facilites at all. The BLM has certain areas for short term camping ( up to 14 days) and others that allow camping from Oct to April. It is very interesting to see the equipment that some of the rigs have.

The town itself transforms also. Portable restaurant spring up. Vender booths appear. A large white tent is erected and used for a series of events from a RV show, to a vendor sales area, to a car show, and so it goes on. And always there are hundreds of vendor booths scattered through out town. It is a fun place to look around for some treasure you did not even know you needed. If you ever in the area in the winter, it is definitely worth a "stop and see". I think we will stop by for a few days next year on our way down south.

The Beginning

Day 1 Eugene-Klamath Falls Tues Jan 20
Left the house at 10:20 Uneventful trip over Willamette Pass. Got to J & T about 3. Went to dinner at one of our favorite stops Wingers (good salads). Had lots of fun opening presents from Christmas. Always fun to be at their house.

Day 2 Left KFalls about 9:30. Headed down 39 which becomes 139 as it gets into Ca. Drove past Lava Beds National Monument and the site of Captain Jack’s stronghold again. Every time we pass it we say next time we are going to stop.... Well maybe next time. Had lunch alongside the road at ice covered Eagle Lake. Diesel was 2.35 at Susanville, but I wanted to wait until Reno so that we could make it to Bishop before fueling again. Well, paid 2.49 at Reno so the idea that fuel is always more expensive in California is not necessarily true. After fuel and a few groceries in Reno we continued south on 395. Lots of traffic through Carson City and the turn off for Tahoe, but it thinned down after that. However, the highway also started going up. I had not studied the map that carefully for mountain passes. I looked at the towns and noticed that they were few and far between but didn't put two and two together to realize that that may mean mountains.
There are several grades between Carson City and Bishop and Topaz Lake is on the other side of one of those grades. It would be a nice view, but it was starting to get dark by then and so we did not get to appreciate it. Devils Gate is the pass there at 7519 then down to Bridgeport. Conway Summit is next at 8143 and then to Lee Vining and Mono Lake. We have seen the lake in the daylight and it is neat. My memory will have to suffice because it was as dark as the inside of a bear’s belly when we drove past. I had read online that free overnight parking was available on the south side of the lake, but never having been there and not having daylight, we decided to move on. A young man at the Chevron station in Lee Vining told me that there was a Vons grocery store in Bishop. So we slogged up and over Deadman Pass (8039) and past Mammoth Lakes and down the Deadman Grade (a 6% grade for 8 miles which meant 2nd gear and keeping the rig at around 30-35mph during the decent). Arrived in Bishop about 8:30, found Vons, pulled over into a corner of the parking lot, had some soup and went to bed.


Day 3 Bishop to Quartzsite. As we fueled up in Bishop the attendant told me that chains were required from June Lake to Mammoth Lakes so I’m glad we kept going the night before. If we would have stayed at Mono Lake we would have been in snow. The drive south from Bishop on 395 was fun. Several quaint towns, Bishop being one of them, but also Big Pine, Lone Pine, and Independence and many campgrounds along the way. Spent on hour at Manzanar National Historic Site. It was one of the locations in the US where people of Japenese origin were sent during WWII. They were taken from their homes where ever they lived, allowed to bring only what they could carry, and brought to these places. There were about 10 of these "facilities" in the western US. Manzanar and Tule Lake were the two in California, but there were some in other states such as Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, etc. If you want some further information about what went on during those times, www.nps.gov/manz/ .