Pagosa - Day Three
On our last day Irv and I got up early and make the 20 mile drive to one of America's newest national monuments--Chimney Rock. The monument is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and seems to be run by a host of volunteers.
It's an ancient archeological located on the San Juan mountains near Pagosa Springs. We've driven past here a few times, but this is the first time we've stopped.
Chimney Rock and Companion Rock
We could see people up there...are we going to get to go up there?
The answer was yes so up we started going.
We arrived shortly after the park opened at 9:00 and I wouldn't want to arrive much later. It was already hot. The volunteers ensured we had the proper shoes and water with us before we hit the trail.
This trail is certainly not for the faint of heart or those afraid of heights.
In some sections we had to climb up these rocks and on either side there was a steep cliff. One slip and you're a goner.
I had to stop for a breather every now and then. Not a good hike to forget the hiking sticks because what goes up must come down and going down is always a challenge on rocks and gravel.
We did it! They believe this community was build around 1000 AD. It is comprised of about 200 homes and kivas for communal gatherings.
Of course we had to get a selfie with the rocks in the background.
What was even better was that a ranger was up there with this sign and she was taking photos for everyone. What a great idea!
They believe the people who lived here were from the Chacoan culture which is also found in northern NM.
They believe the community had as many as 200 inhabitants. So why did they decide to live on top of these hills? During excavation they determined that there was an initial building of structures and then they were expanded 18 years later. And why did they leave? More than likely due to drought.
So why 18 years? For years they thought it had something to do with the sun. But then they started looking at the moon and sure enough, there is a certain trajectory of the moon rising that only occurs every 18.6 years. During that time the moon rises between those two rocks and it's called Major Lunar Standstill. It's visible for only a few days over the course of three years.
I highly recommend a visit if you're ever in the area, but come prepared. Of course I had to stop for these unusual flowers. What are they?
Beautiful thistles. I wish my shadow wasn't in the shot.
We went back to the campground and picked up the other two then headed to an escape room.
The theme was the DaVinci Code and it was difficult. I didn't think we'd ever get through it without Jillian's help since she's the queen of escape rooms, but Mr. Beans and Mary proved to be quite helpful. There was math involved, lots of locks with keys and combination that you had to solve, equations you had to figure out with the help of a mirror. I'm the first to admit that I wasn't very useful, not clever enough.
We had to use the three free clues which I think was really more like 20 clues. Somehow we managed to get through it...
...with only 2 minutes and 47 seconds left on the clock.
Super fun day!
Comments
Congrats on solving the escape room. I am totally intimidated from even trying one.