Out of the Past ...

We stopped briefly in Lodi, where Drew lived for a couple of years as a kid, never knowing that the person he was destined for lived just 40 minutes north ...

The old house.

The town's landmark, the Lodi Arch.

The Sierras

We spent two days and nights at Silver Lake, just below Kit Carson Pass. The second day, we hiked the 7-mile round trip to the top of Thunder Mountain, which rises sharply above the lake. The next day we kayaked in the morning and then headed out for Nevada via Lake Tahoe.

Flower & Bee

Carol with volcanics on Thunder Mt. ...

... and at the summit (cold and windy) with Silver Lake below.

Nevada

"What are those things?" (Carol's first pronghorns, near Berlin, NV)

Nevada was, well, bleak after the Sierras. We took a quick side trip through Virginia City (Drew had never been there), then we camped at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, where there is a large concentration of ichthyosaur fossils which were discovered by miners working nearby gold mines. We also stopped by a petroglyph field, Sand Mountain and its old Wells Fargo station, and Spencer Hot Springs outside Austin. Then we pushed on for Chaco, via southeastern Utah.

Chaco Canyon

Chaco Canyon was a center for the pre-Pueblo culture, popularly refered to as Anasazi. The "Great Houses" were constructed and inhabited over a relatively short period around 1100 CE (the ruins are well-dated using tree-ring chronology); the same people later built the Mesa Verde style cliff dwellings. There is ample evidence that they watched the sky: many structures were situated and aligned, eg, to show winter solstice risings, and both the famous "sun dagger" and 1054 supernova pictograph are located here.

Chetro Ketl from the cliffs to the north. Perspective causes the back wall to look curved in this mosaic, but in fact it runs straight for about 400 ft. Some claim it is aligned with the maximum lunar rising point.

(left) Interior rooms of Pueblo Bonito, showing 3 floors. The rooms must have been relatively dark, and in fact there is little evidence to indicate most rooms were actually lived in. The masonry-work (in sandstone) is impressive.
(below) View of Pueblo Bonito from the low clifts to the north.
Wijiji masonry
Stonework at Wijiji (right).

Petroglyphs between Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito.

The Great Kiva of Casa Rinconada.

We camped one night in Chaco Canyon, awakening to a flat tire on the car; then Drew was bitten by a fire ant (they hurt!). After this, we decided to head north toward Colorado (Durango, Ouray hot springs) and then back to Great Basin to see the trees and get out of the heat ...

Carol standing under the skylight in the restored Great Kiva of Aztec Ruins NP. This restoration is somewhat questionable in accuracy (especially the yellow tape and orange cones), but nevertheless must give some feeling to what these structures were like inside. I found that after spending half-an-hour inside, re-emerging into the world above-ground was quite startling and impressive.

Aztec is located north of Chaco and it was built somewhat later.

Aztec Ruins, rooms

Great Basin National Park

At Great Basin, we hiked up to the Bristlecone Grove (at about 10,000 ft), then continued to the foot of the "rock glacier" which is claimed to be the southernmost glacier in the US. We also stopped by a beautiful little lake (backed by Wheeler peak) right at sunset. The following morning we checked out a pictograph site, and then took the Lehman Caves tour.

Drew with ancient bristlecone pine on Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park. One of these organisms is 3300 years old; the other merely looks it.

Carol contemplating Fremont culture pictographs at GBNP; yes, there really is something there ... Enhanced detail from above

We returned home via US 6 through Tonopah, NV, across to Long Valley caldera, then Tioga Pass to home. (People claim US 50 through Nevada is the "Loneliest Highway in America". Not a chance -- it doesn't hold a candle to US 6.)

The trip was fun, but much too short!