Sunday Stories

Well, exciting day here at Hovenweep.

After a busy morning of patrolling the outlier sites, Julia took me down to see the petrographs at the Square Tower group. They were beautiful! There was two hand prints on the way down that were gorgeous. The actual site is on the face of a large rock under Tower Point. There is a migration symbol, three macaws, a step design, and possibly a lizard and snake. We have an interpretation we think these symbols represent, but of course there is no way to know for sure.

On the way back, Julia and I discovered what looked like a blue spruce but of course was not. We took a small sample (for educational purposes only!) to have Ranger Todd identify. He said it was some kind of pine and was extremely rare for this environment. I felt a sense of joy in finding a little bit of home in this foreign environment. It was completely worth the uncomfortable stabbing this little sample was doing to my thigh through the lining of my pocket on the hike back to the VC.

When we got back to the visitor's center, Ranger Steve informed us that he witnessed an assault. Apparently an elderly woman did not enjoy her son's comments he made about her age and condition. She responded with a "Shut up!" and a quick smack across his thigh with her cane. Steve couldn't find it in himself to write her a citation, which we all understood, and laughed out loud instead. Julia and I were too busy trying to identify mysterious pine plants and missed the action.

Last night, the moon was absolutely gorgeous. It is almost full and reminds me of the Grandfather Time book we read as kids. A perfect orb placed above the earth like a white pearl. The Sleeping Ute mountains had a light purple hue that turned almost pink in the sunset before growing dark. It is so interesting how the landscape keeps changing as the days change. I look forward to the fall season here.

Time to get back to work! Hope everything is well at home! Miss you all!