Hovenweep National Monument
Towers at Square Tower Unit
We decided to go on a road trip and headed for Hovenweep National Monument, located about an hour east of here on the border of Utah and Colorado.
Hovenweep is comprised of 5 different sections that contain towers grouped at canyon heads that were built by the Anasazi in the mid 1100 – 1250 AD. The earliest towers were round or square buildings, but as time went on they became more elaborate – multi-storied, oval, rectangular or D-shaped. Many theories have been offered to explain the existence of the towers including – Observation; Signaling Stations; Living or Work Rooms; Ceremonial Chambers; Storage or Defense.
Storm clouds moving in
We hiked a two-mile trail around the main set of towers, the Square Tower Unit, dodging rain drops and then drove on a
Towers and fragrant Cliff rose which were in full bloom through the park
Amazing Tower built atop a rock in Holly Unit of Hovenweep
Holly Unit of Hovenweep
rough, dirt road to the Holly Unit. The views were amazing and made even more so by the storm clouds that were surrounding us.
The skies had been blue when we left the campground but darkened the closer we got to Hovenweep. We were lucky enough to only get a few sprinkles, never the deluge which threatened, but it was extremely windy and cool.
When we returned to the campground we heard that the same storm system was responsible for all the tornadoes and deaths in Oklahoma. We’ve been unbelievably lucky with the weather on this trip, seeming to skirt all the big issues.
Along the road leading to Hovenweep
Georgous spring storm
Sun and Sand Travelers 
Amazing.
Looks like it was a nice day, despite the storms. Did you acquire a field guide for flowers yet? It looks as though it would be very useful. Have you used the bird guide at all? By the way, the image with the cliff rose cannot be enlarged…
We did get a small flower field guide and have used your bird guide, thanks again. Not sure why the cliff rose can’t be enlarged perhaps I will try to reapply it as I may have had a bad link.
Dudes! Some tips for Monument Valley. If you are camped nearby, drive back to the VC and the View Hotel and watch the mittens light up at sunset. Then just after dark they project John Ford’s “Stagecoach” (1939) on the wall of the VC for free! Staring John Wayne and Claire Trevor. Bring some popcorn and your portable chairs. We stayed at The View in a room with a balcony right next to the VC. The VC has a great gift shop too. Don’t miss the museum at Gouldings lodge. The cabin out back was featured in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” We took a tour of the monument in late afternoon from Gouldings in a pickup truck “tour-mobile” driven by the craziest old Navajo I ever saw. He showed us George Washington dome. He turned up the local Navajo radio station on the way back from Dead Horse Point and sang along with the drum circle boys! Hey ya, hey ya…
pix to follow by email…
Will, got your message after we had already left Monument Valley but it looks as if we did a lot of the same things you did. We’ve had horrible internet and are way behind in our posts, so I hope we will get caught up soon.