Happy October!

The last thing it feels like is Fall.

The weather here is beautiful- neon blue skies with barely a cloud in sight. While it gets down to the 40s every night and I usually have to walk to work with a sweatshirt on at 7:30 am, the days still get up to mid 80s. By the time I get back from my roves in the afternoon, I am sweating and tired. It is very strange to have that 40 degree difference every day.

Yesterday was full of chaos! First, the parking lots and roads in the National Monument were getting paved. The crew was here at 6:00 am, and it took some extreme organization at that hour in the morning to move all the government vehicles, our personal vehicles, as well as manage the flow of visitor vehicles. Usually everyone who is working is not all at the visitors center at the same time because someone is out roving on the outliers or going somewhere for business, but because of the paving project, everyone was all stuck at the visitors center. Then, a elder hostel came in, unannounced, so I had to give them an impromptu talk and we had to send Brenda out on the trail to help them. For some reason it was incredibly busy and our lead ranger had to do things for CNHA (Canyonlands National Heritage Association- one of the groups we belong to). One of the many people who visited yesterday was a former Hovenweep Ranger. I told Todd who stopped in after he left, and he said "Ohh... that is the ranger who was shot at." After getting over my initial shock, I asked to hear the story. Apparently, in 1998, 3 fugitives stole a water truck near Cortez. When a police officer pulled them over, they killed him with automatic weapons and fled into McElmo Canyon. When the radio went out, they notified Hovenweep since it was on the route of the fugitives. The ranger ushered everyone into the visitors center, locked the doors, drove up, and locked the gate to Hovenweep. While he was securing Hovenweep, the fugitives drove right by on what now is Route 10 and peppered the side of his vehicle with ammunition. He survived by ducking under the dashboard.

The fugitives continued to cross canyon- the canyon right next to ours and dumped the stolen truck, continuing on foot. They had ammunition, food, water, and other supplies hidden inside the canyon. They searched for the men forever- using Navajo trackers, dogs, helicopters... the whole nine yards. Eventually they found the first guy dead in the canyon- suicide. The next guy turned up near Bluff, shooting and causing a fuss, eventually killing himself. The last guy was not found until last summer- his body was discovered by a local ranger.

So Todd is telling me this amazing story after the guy they shot at was at Hovenweep. Meanwhile, a rattlesnake was seen on the trail. Then, we hear reports of piles of what seems to be seeds around the monument. I go out to investigate out of curiosity, and find out that they are offerings a very strange new age woman put around the monument. Because these piles could draw animals closer to the ruins causing more damage to the national monument, I had to remove the 'offerings,' which turned out to be cornmeal and corn pieces, with gloves into plastic baggies just in case it was harmful. Through all of this, all the roads and parking lots are still being paved and causing problems with traffic flow, etc.

Oh boy. Never a dull moment! Well, hopefully today will be a little calmer. Hope everything is well at home!