Hiking the Monument

What a beautiful morning for a hike I did about the first 2 miles of Sand Canyon in perfect sunny, warm weather. The views of the cultural sites were spectacular. It is amazing to think about the people that lived here and why they chose to build their homes in the alcoves of the sandstone.

In the afternoon, Pamela took me on a field trip to Lowry Pueblo, and then to Painted Hand Pueblo. These sites have been excavated and stabilized as public sites, but she pointed out all of the area around. These developed sites where many other cultural sites are under the earth and how to spot them. We discovered evidence of people going off trail and collecting pot chards and worked pieces of stone and collecting them into little piles. Upon finding these we scattered them. When you hike in these landscapes of the ancient people and find artifacts, please take a look at them and then leave them where you found them..

The figures at the bottom of the Great Kiva at Lowry Pueblo are really interesting. I’ve never seen anything like them before. .A native from Santa Clara Pueblo interpreted these figures as representing winter people and summer people.

After Lowry, we visited Painted Hand Pueblo and walked down to see the tower that had been built over Kiva inside the Kiva We spotted one of the white handprints left by the early people..

Today was a snowy day, so I stayed in for most of it and worked on sewing blocks inspired by the beautiful colors of the surrounding canyons. I’m hoping to eventually display these blocks on a larger background piece by hanging them on hooks so they can be arranged and rearranged. In a gallery setting, viewers would be able to touch the pieces and create their own compositions.

Each block will be finished with quilting designs inspired by patterns I’ve seen on pottery in the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center.