Colorado Plateau

The middle of the Colorado Plateau, near Kayenta, Arizona
N36.56761 W110.48766
Q: What region has the highest concentration of parklands in North America?

A: The Colorado Plateau, with nine national parks, 16 national monuments, one national historic park, many state parks, millions of acres of national forest, and many other protected lands.


















The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic province in the western United States covering an area of 130,000 square miles. Not one single plateau, it is in fact a huge basin ringed by highlands and filled with plateaus. What makes it unique? Well, compared with the regions that surround it, the Colorado Plateau has been remarkably stable. While the Rocky Mountains to the east and the basin and range country to the west were being thrust, stretched, and fractured into existence, the Colorado Plateau earned a name for itself by the simple device of remaining structurally intact.

All of my posts from Flagstaff to Zion Canyon (upcoming) are set against the backdrop of this sprawling region. Here are some photos I took of typical plants one sees in the Colorado Plateau...

Piñon Pine. This often stunted tree has many uses. The seeds (nuts) are a rich source of protein, riboflavin, niacin and potassium. There is as much protein in a pound of pinyon pine nuts as an equal amount of beef. The pitch mixed with red clay and mutton tallow made a salve similar to Vaseline and was used to treat skin irritations. Pitch was also used to fasten arrowheads and knives to wooden shafts, to waterproof baskets, cement turquoise stones to silverwork, repair sandals or pottery and as a source of chewing gum. Warmed pitch was used to remove splinters. The rotted wood was ground into a talcum powder and boiled leaves were used to control diarrhea. The easily carved wood was used for ceremonial objects.






The Datil Yucca. Indians used just about every part of the yucca plant. The fleshy fruit was eaten green or dried for winter meals. Baked, it tastes like a potato. Mixed with berries, the pulp was made into a cake. The young stalks were eaten like asparagus. As an ingredient in root beer the plant creates the foamy, white head.









Utah Juniper. Juniper logs were used as roof beams in ancient dwellings and store houses. The wood was used for fence posts and implements like digging sticks. Shredded bark could be used as tinder, diaper pads, and braided into rope. A brew made from juniper was used as a laxative.









Rabbit brush. This plant was used to treat coughs, cold and headaches. The mature blossoms make a yellow dye. The seeds can be ground and baked into a bread or mush. The branches were used for baskets, mats and arrows. Root concentrates were used for internal injuries.









Mormon Tea. These have a variety of medicinal uses and have been used by many cultures for centuries. The pioneers brewed a tea-like beverage from the stems as a diuretic and for bladder and kidney problems. Dried and ground, Mormon Tea is made into a bitter-tasting bread.










Prickly Pear cactus. Spineless prickly pear pads were used to stop bleeding. The fruit can be eaten dried, fresh or cooked with dried peaches and used in stews. Rolling the fruit in sand or singeing it in hot ashes removes the spines.



Thanks to the National Park Service for their descriptions of traditional plant uses.

Monument Valley and the Colossus of Memnon

Mesas became McDonalds...
Hopi blurred to Hampton Inn...
Kachina turned to Kayenta....

This last one is the name of the northeastern Arizona town where we spent the night after taking our leave of the Hopi reservation. Firmly in the grip of American consumerism, Kayenta (from what I saw) could have been any town between Reno and Raleigh. Once my mind submitted to that reality, I was able to enjoy a fine rest and full breakfast at our hotel (a name at the beginning of this post--you guess which one).

We got a late start the next morning, due to a great deal of unpacking and searching for the one indispensable item in our possession: the car key, without which we would be extending our stay here by several days until a spare could be flown in from California. It was a tense situation until the key was found in a grocery sack. Too bad we had already called a towing company to open up the car...

An inconvenient truth: we had no idea where to find the key
When we finally left town, some spectacular scenery greeted us as we drove north on Hwy 163... Monument Valley. The Navajo who live here call this Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii (I'll let you pronounce it, but it means Valley of the Rocks). Monument Valley is not at all what I consider a valley, but instead a scattering of buttes and mesas rising in splendid isolation hundreds of feet above the floor of the desert.

Every guidebook you look at will tell you that this location has been the backdrop for many a Western, but even such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Forrest Gump include scenes shot here.


So many formations and angles that it's hard to keep track of them. The top photo is centered on a spot called Mitchell's Butte, and the bottom one is--I believe--looking at Monument Pass.
No wonder this place is an icon. Stare at these rocks long enough, and the mind will start to see things and make associations. Some of the names on the map include words like Stagecoach, Saddleback, Elephant... One rock I saw reminded me of a place I had visited in Egypt several years ago. Don't tell me that you can't see a resemblance:

This spot in Monument Valley...
N36.81959 W110.24969
...reminds me of this 3,400-year-old statue near Luxor, Egypt.
N25.72055 E32.61055
The map calls this Owl's Rock, but I'm calling it
The Colossus of Memnon. You heard it here first.

Next: Goosenecks of the San Juan

First Mesa (Part 3: Hopi Culture)

Left: Hopi canteen (Stanford Museum). Right: basketware from the village of Oraibi

Note: Scroll down to start with First Mesa-Part 1 if you haven't read those posts yet.

Because it is a sacred place for the Hopi, outsiders are admitted to Walpi only by guided tour. The Hopi are a very spiritual people, and within its small area Walpi has a number of kivas, rooms which are used for religious and civic purposes. Most of the year the kivas are open only to men, but women are admitted at the time of the solstice festival.

Our guide was happy to explain Hopi beliefs and customs, but she sometimes had to stop and consider what was appropriate to tell visitors, and what should remain within the tribe. One important fact is that the Hopi are one of the few traditionally matrilineal societies, where inheritance and social status is determined by the female. A man will become part of his wife's clan upon marriage.

Read on to see what the World Culture Encyclopedia says about Hopi religious beliefs:

The Hopi universe consists of earth, metaphorically spoken of as "our mother," the upper world, and the under world from which the Hopi came and to which their spirits go after death. Although the concept of original creation is unclear, there are various accounts of the Emergence into this present world from three preceding ones, the place of emergence, or the sipapu, being located in the Grand Canyon. Each of the preceding worlds came to an end because of some evil done by witches, and the present world will someday come to an end also. In order to forestall this and to keep the world in harmony, ceremonies are performed by ceremonial societies and by kiva members. The universe is balanced between a feminine principle, the earth, and a masculine one, manifested in the fructifying but dangerous powers of sun, rain, and lightning. Evil is caused by the deliberate actions of witches, called "two-hearts" because they have bargained away their hearts for personal gain and must steal another's heart to prolong their own lives. When a ceremonial leader is believed to "steal" the heart of a relative to ensure that the ceremony will be successful, there is an element of magical human sacrifice in this belief.

In Hopi cosmology Dawa, the Sun-Spirit, created the Four Worlds.

There are three major classes of supernatural. The most individualized are the gods and goddesses, each having his or her special area of concern. Figures or impersonations of these deities are used in ceremonial activity.

A few of the kachinas are individuals, but most of them are classes of beings each with its different character and appearance. In kachina dances the dancers wear the costume appropriate to the kachina type they portray. Some types are more popular than others; new ones are invented and old ones drop out of use.

Kachina dolls from 19th c. to present. Artists unknown.
These are given to girls to teach them about the over 300 kachina spirits.
Finally, there are the generalized spirits of natural objects and life-forms, who will be offended if one of their earthly representatives is treated improperly. Thus, when a game animal is killed, its spirit, and the generalized spirits of that animal type, must be placated.

The Hopi follow a ceremonial calendar determined by solar and stellar positions. The ceremonial year begins with Wuwtsim, the Emergence ceremony, in November. Soyal, occurring at the time of winter solstice, is conducted by the village chief, and its officers are the men holding the leading ceremonial positions in the village. It is at this time that ceremonial arrangements for the coming year are planned. Powamuya, in February, is a planting festival in which beans are sprouted in the kivas in anticipation of the agricultural season. This is a great kachina festival, with many types being represented. Kachina dances begin after Soyal and continue until July, when Niman or Home Dance is held. This celebrates the return of the kachinas to their unearthly homes in the mountain peaks and the under world.

Snake dance at Walpi

Snake-Antelope and Flute Dances alternate biennially in August, the first emphasizing war and the destructive element and the second emphasizing the continuity of life after death. In September, Mamrawt, or the principal women's ceremony, is held. This contains many elements found in Wuwtsim. The other women's societies hold their ceremonies in October. Along with these ceremonies, there are some that are held only from time to time and others that have been defunct for many years. In addition, there are many small rituals. Accounts of the late nineteenth century indicate that hardly a day passed without some ritual activity taking place somewhere in each village. While ceremonies have specific purposes, all are in some way thought to bring rain, which is valued both for itself and as a symbol of abundance and prosperity. The kachinas, especially, are rain-givers. Kachina dances are joyous public events, consisting of carefully choreographed dance sets interspersed with comical performances of clowns. The clowns, like ignorant children, mock everything and understand nothing. Social deviants are shamed by the clowns' mockery.

1899 photo of Hopi snake priest (with snake in mouth!)
(Library of Congress)

Next post: Monument Valley and the Colossus of Memnon

First Mesa (Part 2: Walpi)

"Picturesque Walpi, perched on the point of a rocky island in a sea of sand, is an irregular, rambling community-house, built without design, added to in haphazard fashion as need arose; yet it constitutes a perfectly satisfying artistic whole."
Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian (1907)
Approach to Walpi a century ago. It looks much the same today.
Walpi is the oldest village on First Mesa. It was established in 1690 when a Hopi village at the foot of the mesa was abandoned out of fear of Spanish reprisals for the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Terraced onto a narrow rock table, Walpi is the most pristine and enchanting of the Hopi villages. (Oraibi [N35.87613 W110.63957], on Third Mesa, is older--going back to around 1100.)

This is a living village, not an abandoned ruin. But these days only a handful of elderly people stay here year-round. Because there is no electricity or running water in Walpi, residents now walk a few dozen yards to neighboring Sichomovi for bathing. In former times women hauled water up to the mesa from the plain below. There are no visible signs of commerce here, or any activity whatsover save the few villagers offering handmade kachina dolls or pottery for sale and the dogs that eagerly joined our tour.

Walpi street scene
Views from the windswept mesa are awesome. Stairways cut into the side of the rock lead to agricultural fields and cow pasture on the plain below. The constant going up and down, often with heavy loads, must have kept the Hopi in excellent shape in the past. Now, our guide said, "You can always recognize a Hopi because we are short ... and chubby!"

The impression I received of the Hopi was of a generous and peaceful people. All the people we met were extremely courteous and welcoming. They asked only that we respect their traditions and not take photographs. Photos shown here were taken by Edward S. Curtis in 1906. Northwestern University Library, Edward S. Curtis's "The North American Indian," 2003.



























Left: Stairway leading down from the mesa. Right: Young Hopi women

The plaza at Walpi


N35.83312 W110.39735
Next: Part 3 (Hopi Culture)

First Mesa (Part 1: Arrival)

Looking up at First Mesa from below. You can't tell it by this photo, but three traditional villages sit on top of the mesa, 300-500 feet above the plain. The houses below are in the village of Polacca, on the plain.
We are so lucky I turned down a hamburger.

I had called ahead to the Hopi Reservation to ask what time guided tours were being offered of First Mesa, one of three mesas overlooking the Colorado Plateau that the Hopi claim as their ancestral home.

"Be there between three and three-thirty," I was told by the voice on the other end. Not knowing how long the drive would take, and not wanting to be late, I declined Mom's offer to stop at the Cameron Trading Post for another good meal, and instead we kept heading east through the seemingly empty scrublands of the Navajo Nation.

There are no signs announcing one's entry to the Hopi Reservation. The Hopi are not a large tribe (about 7,000 members in the last census), and their reservation is surrounded on every side by the 27,000 square miles of land belonging to the much more numerous Navajo.

Second Mesa (on the left side of the photo) as seen from Highway 264
One reason I wanted to visit here is that this is their home. These lands have always belonged to the Hopi; they were not forced to move here by the United States government. Approaching from the west, you go past Third and Second Mesas before reaching First Mesa.

When we arrived at the foot of First Mesa, I turned off the main road and followed a steep gravel lane to the top, several hundred feet above the plain below. I had been told to look for a stone building called Ponsi Hall, where the tour would begin. My precconceived notions of clearly marked signs and paved parking lots are far away from the reality here. Just park anywhere, walk up to Ponsi Hall--you can't miss it--and open the door to whatever awaits.

It was 2:15. We were 45 minutes early. Or so I thought.

When we walked in, a guide was teaching some Hopi words to a group of about a dozen tourists. I was a bit surprised that, although the language appears to be maintained somehow, it seems to be understood by a small minority...even older women in the room did not know number words beyond ten.

After a few minutes the demonstration was over, and the tour was about to begin. We paid our $8 registration fee and joined the group. It turns out that this was the only tour of the day, and had we arrived at three thirty it would already have been over.

I learned that atop the mesa are three traditional villages: Tewa, Sichomovi, and Walpi. Because this land is sacred to the Hopi, I was not allowed to take photos. A short walk took us from Tewa, the most modern of the three villages, through Sichomovi, and within five minutes we were at Walpi. What awaited us was a highlight of our entire trip.

Next: Part 2 (Walpi)
N35.83674 W110.39308

The Grand Canyon

I have some hesitation in trying to describe the Grand Canyon. The scale of it is just so far above and beyond that of day-to-day experience that words are inadequate to describe this unique wonder. I am speechless. The pictures do a much better job, but they also present only a small fragment of the whole.

This is my second visit here to the South Rim. I noticed a new Visitor Center, built to withstand visitors numbering in the thousands. Even at the end of March, the number of visitors seemed already quite high.

We stayed one night in the town of Tusayan, which seems to serve only one purpose, to be the bedroom town for the Canyon. Leaving here, our next destination is the Hopi Reservation.

The Navajo Taco

THE TACO, before I set to work
The biggest meal I have eaten in a long, long time was a one-course affair known as the Navajo taco, ingested with gusto at the Cameron Trading Post.

The Navajo taco starts with “fry bread”, a fresh, springy bread that is patted flat and deep fried to a golden brown, then smothered with a spicy combination of ground beef and beans, and topped with chopped green chile, fresh lettuce and tomato, and tangy cheddar cheese. It was served with a zesty homemade salsa.

This is the most famous item on the menu in the trading post's restaurant, and could realistically satisfy a party of about three. Our Navajo waiter, after looking at my thin frame commented "Oh, you must be hungry," which I interpreted to mean "Are you sure? There's no way a guy like you can eat that!" Having been issued a challenge like that, there was no way I was going to let him win the argument. The next hour was spent dissecting and enjoying this wonderful meal. It was a tough slog toward the end, and I did leave a sprinkling of pinto beans scattered across the plate, but everything else was consumed with relish. After this gargantuan meal, I didn't feel any appetite for another day.

The Cameron Trading Post was established in 1916, and has a huge shop selling Native American art, pottery, jewelry, rugs and other items. I bought a tomohawk here which one day will find its place above my fireplace mantle.

This talented Navajo weaver described her rugs to us.

Left: a small part of the pottery assortment. Right: Cameron Trading Post in 1930
N35.87585 W111.41235

Wukoki Pueblo

Wukoki Pueblo is an ancient Indian construction, rising above the Colorado Plateau on an outcropping of Moenkopi sandstone. With a commanding view of the surrounding terrain, it is visible from several miles away.

The name Wukoki is the modern Hopi word for "big house." There were three stories in what seems to be a tower that rises on one side of the outcropping. A total of six or seven rooms may have been home for two or three families. It is a grand structure, built with a fine sense of balance and proportion.

Occupation of this pueblo is dated from approximately 1120 to 1210 AD, based on types of pottery found there. Today’s Hopi and Zuni tribes are believed to be the descendants of the people who lived here. As with other Indian ruins in the region, there seems to be a good deal of uncertainty about who built these communities and why they left them. In this harsh climate with scarce water and marginal farmland, it can be assumed that life was not easy.















N35.52952 W111.32858

There are other ancient dwellings in the area, spread over the dry, rugged land directly west of the Little Colorado River. Another, called Wupatki Pueblo, contains a ball court, which may have belonged to cultural traditions of Indians living in Mexico. Many such structures have been found (with over 200 across Arizona), leading experts to believe that ball games were an important part of life for these people.















Before Cleveland: home court of the Wupatki Indians. The ballcourt here is 78 feet wide, with a six foot high wall. (reconstructed from remnants)

Both of these pueblos are found in Wupatki National Monument, a 56 square mile preserve located about 25 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. From here we headed to the Grand Canyon.

Riordan Mansion, Flagstaff

My blog now has a guest book. I would appreciate it if you would let me know you stopped by, by clicking the green link on the right side of the page.
N35.18735 W111.65936

I like touring homes, because of the insights you gain into the character of the home's residents, and the times they lived in. In Flagstaff, the most interesting home to visit is the Riordan Mansion, which was constructed in 1904 for the Riordan families: two brothers and their wives and children. Timothy and Michael Riordan were logging titans; they became millionaires by negotiating 25-year contracts with the railroad to cut down, saw, and sell off the forests of northern Arizona.

Their home--two identical homes, actually, connected by a long playroom--has 40 rooms, over 13,000 square-feet of living area, and servants' quarters. The house is full of original possessions, including a very impressive collection of Craftsman furniture. This style was at the height of popularity a century ago, and still has fans today (including me). It is extremely collectible, with individual pieces known to sell in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

My favorite item in the home was Tim Riordan's dining room table. It curves like a lens, coming to a point at either end. In this way guests could talk easily with everyone else at the table, and Mr. Riordan could downplay his stature as Flagstaff's richest citizen. The table was designed by Mr. Riordan himself. Mrs. Riordan had a fountain installed close by, which she would turn on to politely remind her husband that he was talking too long.

The main room for family time was called the "swing room." A large green wicker swing hangs from the ceiling, and faced either the fireplace or the trees outside, depending on the time of year.

Sedona, Arizona

Cathedral Rock, just south of Sedona

Mom and I made a day trip to the town of Sedona, about 30 miles south of Flagstaff. The drive there on Hwy 89A passes through the steep and narrow gorge called Oak Creek Canyon. Sedona opens out at the southern end of the canyon,surrounded by beautiful sandstone cliffs and buttes.

Thanks to an elevation drop of about 2,500 feet, temperatures here are much warmer than in Flagstaff. We left snow there, but basked in warmth once we reached Sedona, which lies at the northern fringe of the Sonoran Desert.

Chapel of the Holy Cross, completed 50 years ago
N34.83190 W111.76692

An odd thing about this town is that it is filled with stands claiming to purvey tourist information, but when I asked if any informative brochures might be available, was told that I should go buy a book, because "bookstores sell those kinds of things." Go figure.

Scenery is the main reason to visit Sedona. It also attracts artists and New Age devotees, who believe that Sedona has several "energy vortices." These are locations where Mother Earth supposedly produces invisible, swirling energy that is said to have an uplifting, rejuvenating effect on visitors. Just getting out of town--the traffic was terrible--had a rejuventating effect on me.