JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
In Boulder they are trying to resurrect the
shelters that were used by the Anasazi.
We also visited The Tuzigoot National
Monument, outside of Cottonwood, Arizona.
This large stone structure was built on top of a
hill that overlooked the Verde River and it’s
plaine. A good spot to cultivate corn, yet close
enough to protect them from enemies.
There were many small rooms or chambers
inside. If they used fire to light these rooms or
cook it must have gotten pretty smoky, as there
were no vents. Notice that the rocks and stones
are all natural, like river stones. Not cut to fit or
to any shape.
99
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
We were wandering around the dirt roads outside
of Sedona in what we thought was pretty remote
when we came across these buildings.
This was a sensational find for us as it was both
our first cliff like dwelling, and we were able to
climb around the ruins. They were under a shelf
which must have protected them from the
weather, but you can see the ‘plates’ of stone that
have been scattered around the ground. There
were a number of drawings. Some were pretty
realistic as opposed to the symbolic or child like
petro graphs we had usually seen.
100
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
These areas were small and we were able to get
really close to them. In the case of Sedona we
actually walked around them.
101
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
It was when we arrived at Canyon De Chilly in
Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation that we got a
real feeling about the grandeur of these
structures.
Canyon De Chilly:
Most of the Navajo Reservation in northeastern
Arizona is desolate and arid. It’s hard to imagine
how these people have survived after the way
they have been treated by our Federal
Government. In fact it has really been grim.
Outside of the National Park we were accosted
by a couple of young Indians asking for a hand
out. Alongside of them was a sign pleading with
any tourist not to show any charity or give any
hand outs to individuals.
102
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Canyon De Chilly, pronounced ‘Shay’ is marked
by two large hills, each with a tower on them.
They were resurrected by the Spanish, in the
1500’s. It’s a good thing because we might have
never found the canyon if those Spanish sentinels
were not there.
Inside, the canyon floor was a fine white sand so
deep that only a horse or hiker could cross it.
Only Navajo’s were allowed to drive into the
canyon. The deep sand sank the tires of jeeps,
and 4X4’s. We watched a farm tractor try to pull
a pick-up out, without any luck.
We fortunately, took a tour as it was the only way
we could see the cliff dwellings. Get a load of
our tour bus. It’s a repainted, refurbished army 6-
by truck. It could go anywhere.
103
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
There was no problem crossing the sand in it.
Once we had gotten deep into the canyon there
were a few trees and horse corrals. The cliffs on
both sides were steep, shear sandstone without
any trees or brush growing on them. On the
northern, sunny side, were these stone and clay
structures. They were at the foot of the cliff, and
crumbling.
They looked a little like the Sedona ruins, except
there were many more buildings, and different
shapes. Some were taller, like a tower, many
were rectangular and there were a few round
ones.
All of them were on the ground, protected by the
overhanging cliff.
Above them was a vestibule. What looked like a
large slash in the side. It might have been 60-80
feet above the ground, and 150 feet from the top.
We could see the most famous of all their
dwellings, The White House.
It looks like they modified their shelters to
accommodate the canyon. It would be difficult
to get into the canyon with all the sand. So there
might not have been the need to build above the
ground.
104
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
However, this was the only place they could
build, and it looks full.
It was a good day we had in Canyon De Chilly.
The sand was the most surprising to us. But, we
had seen our first Cliff Dwelling and they were
impressive. It would have been neat to climb
around in them.
On a different note the U.S. Army was chasing
marauding Indians during the middle and late
1800’s trying to protect the many settlers while
moving West. Kit Carson led his cavalry into
the canyon and chased the Indians up into a high
tower. They would have been safe except they
105
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
didn’t have any water and eventually had to
surrender.
We left Canyon De Chilly and headed toward
Shiprock, Arizona and into Colorado to visit the
mother load. The Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde.
Before we move on to Mesa Verde and the
national park we must say it’s unfortunate we
haven’t visited Chaco Culture, National Historical
Park. It’s in New Mexico, a large long lasting
Indian preserve. We understand it’s difficult to
get to; along unpaved roads.
Mesa Verde National Park:
It had been a long day and I suppose we were
tired so to drive up onto the Mesa surprised us.
For some reason we weren’t expecting it, or how
steep it was.
It’s a large mesa, and several miles to the
dwellings. We had reservations at the Park’s
campground. The sites were not very nice, but
separated from each other in the woods. Other
than that there was nothing special about them.
Often the National Parks have substandard
campgrounds, even when they are run by
contractors. Our rating was a 2.
106
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
In the morning we were greeted by this young
deer. It would have breakfast every morning.
Mesa Verde is a large series of Mesa’s mostly
forested with Pine, Oak, and Cedar Trees. There
are lots of ravines and canyons that separate this
mesa. So it is possible to cross from one area to
another while still high above the Colorado River
floor. In some areas we would pass across
narrow spits of land to another large Mesa.
Like in the Canyonlands where we crossed into
Dead Horse Point. A narrow natural passage.
107
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
On the southern side of the Mesa were the
inhabited cliffs. They face to the southwest, and
must have provided a lot of warmth for these
stone villages.
108
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Arlene is walking along a trail that overlooks the
rugged countryside and cliffs.
It’s estimated that as many as 4,000 people,
Anaszia, lived on the Mesa. Only 600 of them
lived in the cliff dwellings. It was special.
Once we came upon the cliffs that held these
shelters we were amazed. We also saw some
differences between them and other Cliff
Dwellings.
The differences may show how flexible these
people were using their environment.
The biggest discovery in Mesa Verde was the
agriculture and use of the land. Archaeologists
believe that they cultivated the top of the Mesa,
109
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
not the bottom of the canyons. We were shown
hand and foot holes carved into the stone leading
to the top. There doesn’t seem to be any trace of
the canyon floor below the dwellings being used.
Comparing that to Canyon De Chilly, you can see
there was no way they climbed that shear and
steep cliff. In fact they built shelters on the
ground under the overhang.
The natural slices and cuts in the cliffs were used.
Here you can see two different sets of building,
each in a different overhang of the cliff.
Many different structural shapes were built. They
not only left narrow passage ways between them,
110
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
but built to the back of each mountain as well as
to the top of each.
We could see many different shapes. Not all
were square or rectangular. The circular ones
may have been used for spiritual activities or
water reservoirs. Walls separated areas, towers
may have been like apartments. Open areas were
for meetings and social events.
Sturdy cedar ladders were used to get from one
apartment to another. The ones we climbed
were 4” verticals with 2” rungs, substantial.
Arlene scampered up these ladders, waiting only
for the slow pokes.
111
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Often entrances were not through door ways, but
through holes in the roof. Here I go down into a
small chamber 6 by 8 feet, a common size.
112
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Families of 4 may have slept and lived in the
single room.
Like at Canyon De Chilly many of these building
are given names. There was the ‘White House’
which was easy to tell because it was a different
color than the tan sandstone.
Here in Mesa Verde there are many outstanding
structures. There’s the Balcony House, the Cliff
Palace, and the Spruce Tree House. Each was
easily identified, but we wondered about the
Spruce Tree. Had it lived the 500 years
113
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
before we visited? Some trees do and we’ve seen
them. There was also the Long House and the
Step House.
Actually, we were so overwhelmed at this
incredible place and our ability to go all over. To
walk in the footsteps of the ‘Ancient Ones’. The
Rangers were wonderful.
In the apartments tree limbs were used for
ceilings and roofs. It’s believed that the surface
of the Mesa could have been denuded of them,
for their use.
Cultivation of crops was on top of the Mesa. It
was probably corn and beans. The latter should
114
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
have replenished the soil with nitrogen, keeping it
fertile. This method of farming unlike our
southern planting and growth of cotton which
leached our fields from Virginia to Texas,
making it necessary to move westward to find
new fertile soil.
Here is one of the several Rangers that helped us
understand all the research that’s been done on
these cliff dwellings.
In the background, you can see the cedar posts
that were used to separate the levels and rooms
in this apartment.
Water was not only kept in basins, but there were
several springs inside the cliffs. They were
obviously, used and helped to fill the reservoirs.
115
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Food was stored in separate rooms around each
village.
We returned each day, climbing down the metal
stairs from the other side of the canyon to the
villages.
116
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
MESA VERDE:
Our last view of the Cliff Dwellings was from the
other side of the canyon, through the Oaks.
We have such an appreciation for these people
and their work. We wonder how they
disappeared, and why we haven’t been able to
discover the reason why .
We are left with the question, and an answer for
our understanding of their culture and our
civilizations. Our answers are:
Yes, we are different. Yes, we should do as much
as we can to research and understand their
culture. Yes, their civilization means a lot to us
and is something special. Yes, their legacy is
remarkable and important to all civilizations.
And, how does it reflect upon us.
117
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
118
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
CHAPTER 4
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Prairie Lands:
While crossing the country, we’ve noticed that
state lines often make natural boundaries. The
States may be divided by a river like the
Potomac between Virginia and Maryland, or
Washington D.C. or a chain of mountains like
California and Nevada. Sometimes it’s a drastic
change in the environment.
But, between the states on the Great Plains there
is usually very little or no difference. This is
probably because the way the lines were drawn
between the states. In the East they were usually
land grants from European nobles. Later they
were mostly defined around and about the Civil
War. One border line for a free-soil state and
another for a slave state.
Colorado was poorly defined by these
political requirements and lingered into the
1870’s before westward expansion took a
different direction. The migration was driven
by the discovery of Silver in at Colorado and
Gold in California. It became a state in 1876.
Crossing into Colorado from Kansas is a little
different. The grasses and agriculture of Kansas
are left behind and in it’s place is sage and a wild
arid desert.
119
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
There isn’t the same agricultural industry. We
wonder if the ‘Tallgrasse’s of the Prairie, those
historic 6 to 8 foot high grasses which were
supposed to have grown all over the Great
Plains actually grew here or supported the
thousands of buffalo we’ve read about. For sure
they couldn’t support them today.
We’ve taken U.S. 50 into Colorado many times.
It’s not long before we see the snow capped
Rockies. What a spectacular view. For our
ancestors it would be as much as a week to reach
them. For us it only took 3 hours.
We’re headed for the Great Sand Dunes
National Park so at La Junta we stopped at
Sam’s Club for gas and then headed toward
Walsenburg
In our first trip, to Alaska, we camped at
Lathrop State Park. Back then we had covered
every opening to our Mercury Van with
screening. Every window, the moon roof, and
even the radiator. Now with the RV we weren’t
thinking about the mosquito’s or the desolate
Al-Can highway. Besides all our windows had
screens.
Well, to our surprise we encountered thousands
of grasshoppers. Our windshield wipers
couldn’t keep the smear away. We stopped
twice to clean the windows.
120
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
In Walsenburg we realized that we would have
to power wash our radiator, to clean it off and
allow it to breath. We bought window screening
at a hardware store and put it inside the grill.
After cleaning up we left to drive up the
mountain at the 9,400 foot La Veta Pass. Most
of the traffic crossing the mountains must have
been really happy about the truck lane as we
topped the pass at about 30 miles per hour
leaving lots of room for them to fly past at 65 or
so.
Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range:
We had climbed into a great valley, The San Luis
Valley It was surrounded by mountains. To
the far West were the San Juan’s where the Rio
Grande River flows. On the East side, are the
Sangre De Cristo mountain range. In between
was the largest fertile high desert area in
Colorado.
This area like much of the Southwest was named
by the Spanish in search of mineral riches, gold
and silver. They had been colonized in Santa Fe,
New Mexico for years and often sent out
explorations into the northern mountains. The
Valley was named in 1709, while the Sangre De
Cristo Mountains weren’t named until later in
the century, 1765.
121
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
The Spaniards were also in search of a land path
to California where they had several missions.
They had only accessed them by sea. Crossing
the desert was a challenge. They were never
successful.
Beside the terrible heat in the deserts they had
problems with the Ute Indians.
Our favorite story about the name of the Sangre
De Cristo Mountains comes from the death of a
Spanish Missionary. On his death bed he looked
up through blood filled eyes at the snow capped
mountains. They were as red as his eyes. He
claimed the mountains were the ‘Blood
122
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
of Christ’. Cool, huh. That’s a pretty good
promotion pitch. And it’s kept it’s name ever
since.
Others, who had not suffered from the Ute
warriors had a different spin on the reddish
mountain tops. Simply, the sun setting through
our atmosphere on the white peaks, created a
red glow.
123
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
Great Sand Dunes National Park and
Preserve:
The Sand Dunes are the highest dunes in
America. They maybe as high as 750 feet, but
are continually changing because of the winds
shifting across the valley.
Our sand piles around the country are not all
made up of silicon. The White Sands of New
Mexico are gypsum.
Geologist have a story about how these sands
were formed and continue growing.
We’re all familiar with how water flows over
rocks grinding them down to smaller and
smaller; boulders, then to stones to sand.
That’s what they think happened over thousands
of years.
The winds blew down off the soft volcanic San
Juan Mountains across the valley. However, the
valley wasn’t always dry. They think it was a
huge lake. Today the valley is 130 miles long
and 75 or so wide. That’s a big lake.
124
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
As the lake dried up the sands created by the
water and wind action piled up against the
Sangre De Cristo mountains on the eastern side.
Here’s what was created.
We’ve mentioned often that National Park
campgrounds are not so nice. We’re fortunate
to have them, and by the looks of today’s
skimpy budgets and the increasing number of
visitors they have seen their best days.
The Sand Dunes campground was some
distance from the dunes. You can see them in
front of the mountains in the distance. We rated
the camp as a weak 1. If National Park camps
aren’t in beautiful natural settings then what do
they have to offer. This place was terrible.
125
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Medano Pass Primitive Road:
We persevered and signed up for a tour. Our
tour took us beside the dunes along the Medano
Pass Primitive Road.
Wow! Was this guy a good driver. The sand
turned out to be much finer than beach sand. It
had been ground to a power. A car or truck
could sink in it in a couple of hours.
Along the dry areas we slid from side to side like
we were skiing. The ruts from the sand were a
couple of feet deep. When we crossed the creek
we would drop down a foot or more into the
water before climbing out the other side.
It’s hard to imagine this road. Ruts and ditches
were deep, beside it mounds of sand 12 to 15
126
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
feet high. Some turns were 90 degrees, and
banked at 45 degrees. Several turns were snaked
together.
Mike, the driver, took us at top speed across all
of it. At least 15 miles hour. He missed the
cedar posts alongside the road by inches, first on
one side then the other. The posts let you know
where the road was, as the shifting sands would
otherwise obliterate it. Some dips were so deep
we couldn’t see out of them.
We crossed the Medano Creek three times
before turning around. Some had names, ‘The
Pit’ was the most hair raising. A 4 foot drop
into the creek bed, 30 feet across, and then up a
45 degree bank, 5 feet, to a 90 degree turn. We
scraped our sides on the Pinion Pines as we left.
People would park all along the roadside. It was
pretty close to the higher sand dunes, and they
would drive down, park and picnic. Like at the
beach they often had more things, umbrellas, ice
chests beach toys, for a day than we did for
several months. At ‘The Pit’ one group cheered
us on as we dove down and up the other side.
Mike said he had pulled many 4X4’s, SUV’s and
pickup trucks out of the sand. Our tour gave us
an appreciation of the
127
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
sand dunes as we prepared to hike over them.
Medano Creek:
We were up early and headed out toward the
dunes and the Medano Creek. The dunes collect
lots of water. It’s easy to dig down a foot, even
at the top of a dune to find wet sand.
The Medano Creek flows for part of the year, in
the spring and summer alongside the highest
dunes. After that it dries up, and disappears
under the dunes. In fact the entire valley has an
aquifer under it. The remains of the old lake?
We walked along the creek. It’s not very deep, 2
feet at most, but has it’s own enthusiasm for
direction. Maybe as wide as 70 feet in places. In
others it separates with several braids of thin
streams across the sand.
128
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
There was this strange occurrence along the
surface, called ‘Surge Flow’. Curiously, the
current would flow weakly along one path, then
it would build creating little ripples, 3 or 4 inches
high until they became a wave. The wave would
pass and the current would return again to being
flat.
We watched these ‘Surge Flows’ for a while. It
was explained to us that the stream pushed up
the fine sand into small mounds or dams. The
water would be trapped by those dams until it
was stronger and broke through them. Thus
creating the rise and fall of the waves.
We waded across the creek, carefully, stepping
sideways to keep our balance.
Our feet sank deep into the water, raising it up
as high as our knees. Mike had told us that
SUV’s have been lost in the creek sand in no
time at all. It’s like quick sand.
129
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Sand Dunes Hiking:
We have expressed how small these sand dunes
were, especially when compared with others.
The White Sands of New Mexico, the San Diego
Sands, and even the ‘First Flight’ sands in Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina. But, ever since Alyx had
described her visit to the orange sands in
130
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Dubai, we had been eager to come, and climb
these mounds.
As an aside we must say that in Florida too
many senior citizens worry and talk about their
health. Arlene and I try not to do much of that.
Our health and, our health insurance is pretty
good. So we can concentrate on other things.
In this case it’s walking over sand.
At the White Sands we wished we had small
snow shoes. Because the larger the foot print
the less we’d sink into the sand.
131
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
At the horseshoe curve of the Colorado near
Page we thought that smaller steps made it
easier. Even better we walked on the side of the
sandy path where there were clumps of grass.
Here, the sand is so fine that nothing helps.
One step upward and two backward. Going
down one step and you end up sliding two. It
would be nice to have a cafeteria tray to ride on
and slide down the slope.
Off we went in the early morning. It’s the best
time as the dunes can get pretty hot during the
day. We drove down The Medano Creek Road
across a ford, scraped our bottom but made it to
a parking area called ‘Point of no return’.
132
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Parked, we waded across the creek and started
up the dune. This sand is so fine and steep that
we struggled with every step. There were a few
folks in front of us. They also were having a
tough time climbing. The single line we made
going up the dune made us think of the Chil-
Coot Trail in the Yukon headed for the gold
fields.
We climbed, rested and climbed some more. At
the apex we could only see more dunes, even
higher. We crossed a small valley and started
climbing again.
133
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
As we climbed we’d look over the dunes to pick
and choose our direction. We kept trying to
take the easiest path to the top.
Three peaks later, with sore, tired legs we
reached the top of the highest dune.
When on top we found the crest or ridge was
okay and easier to walk across. The view was
grand. Across the dunes the sands sparkled,
beneath the clear blue skies. It was so quiet and
serene.
From the top of the dunes the slopes all looked
very steep. So not being able to
134
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
determine which would be the easiest we
decided a roundabout, diagonal path would be
best. Even then we encountered slopes that
dropped over 45 degrees. We could easily touch
the sands without bending over.
After every step we slid several. It’s so much
easier going down. What we didn’t see were any
cafeteria trays. That could be our age, but we
didn’t see any snow boards either. They would
have been great for the downhill trip.
At the bottom we ended up somewhere
different than the creek. It was a mile or more
through the sand back. Driving toward camp
we scraped our bottom again crossing the ford.
This was a good day. Although sore and tired to
the bone, we really enjoyed climbing and sliding
around in the sand.
Zapata Falls:
South of the National Park and our
campground, the Bureau of Land Management
has preserved the Zapata Falls. Named after the
Mexican revolutionary. It’s high on the Sangre
De Cristo hills. We drove near the creek that led
to the falls and hiked from there.
The path way followed the creek for a while and
then stopped. I left Arlene behind at that point
and began the upward climb through the water.
135
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
The water was icy cold and the rocks slippery. I
crossed back and forth searching for the easiest
path. Eventually, slipping and falling into the
water. My nylon pants were soaked, but my
camera survived. I decided the best path was
through the water.
It was early in the season, with plenty of snow
and ice high on the mountain. At the top of this
arduous climb the creek went into a snowy cave.
Inside the cave it got pretty dark I could mostly
only hear the roaring as the water flowed past
me. I crept forward in the water, using the icy
cave walls for balance.
It was bitter cold, but I kept going. Maybe 50
yards in the falls appeared above me pouring
through a hole in the ceiling. I stood balancing
against the ice and snapped a few pictures. Then
turned and while leaving shot off a couple more.
Returning like so many hikes is much easier. I
even made it over those rapids that caused me to
slip on the way up. Once back with Arlene I
climbed out of the creek, frozen drying off in
the sun.
While warming up we noticed that few visitors
climbed beyond where we were and those that
did stopped at the falls where I’d slipped.
I warmed up quickly in the sun. My clothes
helped. They were light, nylon, pants and shirt
136
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
and dried quickly. We walked back to the car
and headed down the mountain back to camp.
Camera Calamity:
Back at camp we started cleaning up and getting
ready to leave tomorrow. We’re heading north
toward Gunnison.
While Arlene was making dinner I thought I’d
down load our photos. It had been several days.
All of our Sand Dune pictures and the great hike
up the Zapata Creek into the cave were all there.
I inserted the camera chip into our PC, and
pressed Picasa’s import. Nothing happened.
Oh! Horror! There was nothing there.
No pictures of the climb into the Sand Dunes.
No pictures of the Mountains.
No pictures crossing the Prairie.
No Pictures! No Pictures! No Pictures!
Every camera we’ve every used has crapped out
on us. The video camera, each of the four
digital cameras, and the two 35 mm’s. How
disappointing.
Maybe we need to keep a backup. I didn’t enjoy
dinner, nor did I sleep much that night.
We’d have to find a store where we could get
another. The closest was over the Pancha Pass,
north at Wal Mart in Salida.
137
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
We‘ll make a bee line for it tomorrow.
There is nothing so disappointing and
discouraging to me than to lose some work that
we’ve taken so much time and effort to do.
Over the years we have lost only a few items. A
sketch book we dropped in the Arizona desert,
fortunately retrieved, but I was really upset
about it. This camera, and each of the ones
before I see as terrible setbacks to our travels
and enjoyment.
Villa Grove:
On our way to Salida, we passed through a small
place called Villa Grove. It was one of those
towns that had a Post Office, and if it weren’t
for that it wouldn’t exist.
The name rung a bell in Arlene’s memory. She
asked ‘Isn’t this where Russell lives? ‘Why sure
enough, let’s stop and say hello.’
We did. And it turns out that not everyone in
the west wants to share with anyone else. We
had a devil of a hard time finding out if he really
lived here, and if he was at home. It took us
some time to even get someone to say they
knew him.
Russell is the oldest son of our cousin Pat and
Phil Beckwith. We’ve known him since he was
born.
138
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
First we asked at a coffee shop. No luck they
didn’t know anyone by that name. We tried the
general store and bar. Same answer. We went to
the Post Office.
What a story we got from the Post Master
Sorry she said, I’ve only been working here for
the past few weeks and don’t know anyone by
that name. Come on who cares how long she’d
worked there. Just look it up. No dice she
wouldn’t.
We went back to the bar and a character said he
knew someone that he was friends with that
might know where Russell was.
He called this fellow and we had to explain that
we were his cousin etc. etc. Even then he
wouldn’t tell us anything, only that he’d call back.
Five minutes later he called and told us that
Russell was working nearby. He gave us
instructions and we headed toward the camp and
recreation area where Russell was working.
We found him and visited for a while before
heading over the Pass to Salida and Wal Mart. If
we got back his way we were invited to come to
his ranch and stay.
Boy! was that an experience.
139
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
In Salida we picked up a Kodak Z740 digital
camera with 10X optical. There wasn’t a big
choice. We usually like more optical, because you
can be a long way from a wild animal and still
take a good shot of them. Of course being 100
yards from a bear is more reassuring than 100
feet. So we settled on it.
We were both tired and on the way back we
stopped at O’Haver Lake State Park thinking
we’d spend the night. It was raining and the
drive up to the lake was muddy.
The lake turned out to be a pretty pond, but we
didn’t like the camp sites and turned away to find
Russell’s Ranch. What a good choice that was.
140
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Back in Villa Grove we turned at the Post Office
on route 134. After a few miles we turned on to
this dirt road toward his place.
A cloud of dust rose way up along the drive.
Down the drive raced Russell at the speed of
light on his 4 wheeler. He greeted us and
beckoned us to follow. Off he sped at a
terrifying speed. We followed but, much slower.
At his green gate he was waiting for us with one
foot on the gate. We ambled up at about 10
miles per hour, thankfully without bottoming out
along the way. His Ranch house was only
another 500 yards. Down a draw, and up onto a
plateau.
141
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
Here’s a photo of his ranch. Behind it are the
Sangre De Cristo Mountains and a threatening
thunder storm.
We don’t know many westerns, but in the last
few days we’ve met a few. Russell has lived out
here for the last 20 years. He’s a lot of fun, and
fiercely independent. That seems to be the way it
is here in the west.
The ranch was like he said, enough room for
several tractor trailers to turn around in his front
yard. He showed us around, and cheerfully
142
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
pointed out the ‘fourteener’ mountains, across
the way where he and his brother Will had
bagged a couple of elk the previous year. He
showed us the stable, his ‘in-progress’ home,
garage, and barn, and at least 5 horses.
The horses were free to wander around. The
only fence on the property defined the property.
It outlined his ranch.
The horses moseyed up looking for some grain,
which they got. There were two red ones, one
big black called ‘Tequila’. Russell had a scar
where he had been thrown by him. A white
horse and the other red. The last one was a
Mustang. We were advised to stay away from
him.
Our recollection of horses told us to stay away
from all of them. They push you around, step on
you, bite and kick. His warning was quite
enough. Arlene was satisfied to stay away while
watching where she stepped.
The ranch was run on solar and propane gas.
The gas was used for heat, cooking, and keeping
the fridge cold. The solar was for electricity ,
lights and the well pump.
Russell had one other characteristic we noticed.
He worked like a mad man on every job he had,
and he usually had several. We had learned that
143
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
he had built almost every building in Villa Grove.
The coffee shop, the pottery barn, several
houses, and rebuilt the general store, and bar.
When we first saw him he was building a series of
sleeping cabins for a recreation area, where he
had previously built the recreation . center and
meeting hall.
The characteristic we’re talking about is that he
works hard on the job, but not so much at home.
We were really tired and slept well. The next day
he made us a working man’s breakfast of eggs,
bacon, coffee and toast. It was good and we
were stuffed.
He had taken the day off so we were able to visit
most of the day. By the afternoon he asked if
we’d like steak for dinner. Sure we would. Why
would we guess they were Elk steaks, like that
would make any difference to us grocery store
easterners.
He said he’d go get them, from his freezer. It
was at a friend’s ranch down in the valley. In the
meantime we should take a ride on his 4X4 into
‘no man’s land’, the BLM that bordered his
ranch.
We went out and started the 4X4. He pointed
out the foot shifter, like a motorcycle, the gas on
the handle and how to steer. Then he bent over
144
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
and let most of the air out of the tires. Arlene
hopped on behind me and we circled the front
yard. Satisfied that we could handle it he jumped
into his red pickup and drove toward the back of
the ranch to the fence. We followed.
Wow! This was our dream. We were headed
into the wild west on our first choice to see it as
it really was. Arlene clung to me like I was the
most important person in the world.
At the gate he took down the barbed wire and
opened it far enough for us to drive through. He
yelled to us. As if we couldn’t hear.
‘NO RULES’ Go anywhere, forget the roads,
don’t worry about the brush, or prickly pear, go
anywhere. Remember ‘NO RULES’. He hitched
the gate closed got into his truck and was gone.
145
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
It would be great if we had some photos we’d
taken while driving around the Bureau’s land.
Only, besides our camera problems we have also
had problems with a disk crash and losing lots of
data. We now have a new PC, but only half of
thousands of photos we have taken in 30 years.
This year 2006, has mostly been lost.
We started out slowly, driving over ruts, turning
to miss cactus so the tires wouldn’t pop. Grass
land was surprising, instead of being flat, like it
looked, it was rugged. Clumps rose 4-6 inches
above the soil. We climbed over them, under,
around and often up them and down. Our 4X4
didn’t care it just kept going.
We were most uncomfortable when tilted to one
side while driving down into a 3 or 4 foot ditch,
diagonally. We’d slide to one side of the seats
and squeezed tighter on the handle bars. But the
machine didn’t tip over and we didn’t fall off.
This was great fun. We stopped and took
pictures. At one point Arlene couldn’t find her
favorite University of Wyoming hat. The one
with the wild bronco on the front. We looked all
over for it. Back tracking getting off the 4
wheeler. We couldn’t find it after searching for
some time. We headed back to the machine to
continue our wild ride. Oh! My! There on the
146
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
back, between the seat and the carry-all was her
hat. What joy! Here’s what the emblem looks
like.
We kept going deeper into the hills, crossing
several roads and thinking about what Russell
had told us about interlopers. Over the years the
ranch had been broken into and robbed. There
was no one around while he was working in
Dallas or elsewhere.
147
JUST AROUND THE BEND
Episode VII
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK
He tried many things including setting traps
around the ranch house. He’d set them in the
ground, and covered them. Like land mines.
They didn’t catch to any thieves. He finally
talked his friend from back Pennsylvania to come
out and look after his property. We met Jeff. He
was a friendly fellow on the smallish side. We
suppose that’s how he got the nick name of
‘Mouse’.
‘Mouse’ in addition to managing the ranch works
on most of Russell’s contracts. He also raises
chickens, and before we left he brought two
dozen eggs to us.
Well you can imagine how that went. On a good
week at home we may eat ½ a dozen eggs
between us. On the road we may have eggs twice
a week. At that rate ‘Mouse’s two dozen would
take us six weeks to eat. We told ‘Mouse’ how
much we appreciated his gift, but at most we
would take one dozen. He was gratuitous
enough to see our point and took the other
dozen back. We wondered later what he could
possibly do with so many eggs. There might not
be enough people in Villa Grove to eat them.
Off in the distance we could see the cumulous
clouds rising and hear the thunder. Where
148
The words you are searching are inside this book. To get more targeted content, please make full-text search by clicking here.
Discover the best professional documents and content resources in AnyFlip Document Base.
Search