Monday, October 27, 2014

A couple of things in Blanding, UT, 20 miles south of Monticello, looked interesting, so off we went.  First was a highly rated dinosaur museum recommended by my friend Kevin.  The absolutely empty parking lot was not a good sign, however, and we found they were closed for the season as of October 15th.

Nothing to do but head for our second stop, Edge of the Cedars, State Park.  It seemed a bit strange to be located in a neighborhood in town, but there it was.  The park was created to preserve the ruins of people once living in the area.  We learned the name, Anasazi, actually means "ancient enemy" in Navajo and is no longer politically correct. They are now called Ancestral Puebloan people.

There was a pretty extensive museum to display a lot of the relics found in the archaeological site.  Apart from one woman leaving as we arrived, we had the place to ourselves for more than two hours.  I guess that was the reason for a lot of places closing this time of year.

The museum was proud of a number of unique finds on display including the animal effigy below.

The museum includes a research facility and they are the archaeological repository for all of south-east Utah.  Many of the pieces are on display in the Visible Storage exhibit.

We learned a little more about flute playing Kokopelli.  The name came from the Hopi word Kookopoli.  "Hopi traditions and teachings tell of a lecherous and promiscuous individual who lived in the far south and caused many problems wherever he went."  He was a trader who would entrance people with his flute playing.  Only after he left would they awake and realize all of the mischiefs he had perpetrated on them.

Just outside of the museum, a part of the site was excavated and remained exposed (a lot of the site was reburied after study).  Visitors can walk around the ruins and actually climb down a ladder into one of the kivas.

I think our visit to Edge of the Cedars has piqued our interest in ancient cultures, which will make our time in the four corners area even more interesting.

Recapture reservoir was visible along highway 191 between Blanding and Monticello.  It seemed out of place in the high desert.  The lake collects run-off from the surrounding mountains and is used for irrigation - we just liked the pretty blue color!