Four Corners & the Ancient Way

[Bosque Bill]

Finally, there is a new post - a trip looping around the Four Corners area visiting areas of ancient civilizations and gorgeous scenery.


I took this trip way back in the second week of November and what with the holidays and much laziness I didn’t get this report finished until this morning. I hope you enjoy it.

Part 1: http://bosquebill.blogspot.com/2016/01/four-corners-november-2015-part-1.html
Part 2: http://bosquebill.blogspot.com/2016/01/four-corners-november-2015-part-2.html

Shortly after completing this trip I removed the camper from the truck and rolled it into the garage for winter safe-keeping. I won’t be taking any more camping trips until spring.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Loved part one, on my way to part two! Part two is even better! Wonderful photography! We hope to explore the area this year, so it's much appreciated!

 

[ski3pin]

Another gem of a report Bill, thank you!

 

[longhorn1]

Bill, Great stuff. Your trip is on my bucket list. Fall looks like a great time to miss the crowds. Thanks for posting. jd

 

[Foy]

Very nice TR, and thank you for the effort to share it!

Foy

 

[Tuff Guy 62]

Great TR Bill. Was last out in that part of the country back in October 2014. Can't wait to get back. Could happily spend the rest of my days on the Colorado Plateau and Four Corners region.

tʼáá íiyisíí ahéheeʼ (Thank you very much in Navajo)

Tuff Guy

 

[billharr]

Fantastic report. The cold weather is off set by the lack of tourists.

 

[Cayuse]

Wonderful report! Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly are currently part of the spring break trip discussion with my daughter.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Great trip Bill.The desert you take us through is full of great photo spots.
Keep traveling/posting.
Frank

 

[GroovyDad]

Beautiful photography and what awesome campsites you had. Just one thing was missing... I sure would have loved to see a pic of that Navajo taco you enjoyed. It made me hungry for home just reading about it.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stalking Light]

Very nice TR. I love that part of the country and spent the summer as a volunteer at Hovenweep a couple of years ago. Can't wait to revisit the area this spring.

 

[highz]

Thanks for another great read with awesome images. Thanks also for teaching us the proper pronunciation of Bisti/De-Na-Zin. Yep, I'd been pronouncing it wrong. You really scored with your campsite at Monument Valley! The last time I was there the established campgrounds were closed and I ended up at a motel in Kayenta. Your special tour in MV was fun to read about, too.

 

[takesiteasy]

Beautiful country and photos. I enjoyed your report!

 

[N'kwala]

Thanks for a great report, and wonderful photos. I think this is part of the world I simply MUST visit one of these days.

Not to teach uncle to suck eggs, but are you familiar with Spenco blister treatment packs? Include something like burn gel and a mesh adhesive covering? I've hiked in relative (operative word) comfort on quite evil blisters using this stuff. I never leave home without them.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

<snip>

Not to teach uncle to suck eggs... <snip>

Apologies for the hijack, but that's quite a saying! Do you know the origin?

 

[PaulT]

Apologies for the hijack, but that's quite a saying! Do you know the origin?

New expression for me but I found this reference from centuries ago.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tea1.htm

Paul

 

[Bosque Bill]

Thanks everyone for your very nice comments. I do appreciate you reading my blog and taking the time to leave your thoughts.

Groovy Dad - yes, I should have taken a pic of the Navajo Taco. Didn't think of that, too busy eating ;-)

N'Kwala - the morning of second day, when I dug out my 1st Aid kit to find a needle, anti-septic, and gauze, I discovered I had one of those blister kits you mentioned. Of course it was probably about 20 years old, so I just proceeded to sterilize, drain, and cover - seemed to work pretty well.

Stalking Light - yes, Hovenweep is a hidden gem. It is on my list for a return trip when I won't be so rushed by the weather.

high-z - sometimes on a long trip a motel is welcome, but Valley of the Gods and Jone's Canyon are not that much farther away and as BLM land camping is always available.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Thanks for the report and photos, Bill. I too love the Four Corners area, even if they put the monument in the wrong spot.

 

[Bosque Bill]

Thanks for the report and photos, Bill. I too love the Four Corners area, even if they put the monument in the wrong spot.

Yeah, well, what's 1800 feet between friends?

Here is a long, but interesting article: http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/INFO/fourcorners.shtml
Titled: "Why the Four Corners Monument is in Exactly the Right Place"
tl;dr: "A basic tenet of boundary surveying is that once a monument has been established and accepted by the parties involved (in the case of the Four Corners monument, the parties were the four territories and the U.S. Congress), the location of the physical monument is the ultimate authority in delineating a boundary. Issues of legality trump scientific details, and the intended location of the point becomes secondary information. In surveying, monuments rule!"

 

[Foy]

As the son and grandson of civil engineers who earned a living as land surveyors, I am fascinated by the technology and field methods. I even have some of my grandfather's instruments--some of his older pieces and the very transit he used when he died suddenly at age 62 in 1957.

Others interested in the subject (THANKS for the link, Bosque Bill!) should keep an eye peeled for reenactors appearing at festivals in the west. At each year's Bannack Days festival at Bannack, Montana, reenactors appear portraying the surveyors engaged in putting in baselines, rangelines, and marking the section corners of the Public Land Survey System (PLLS). They have actual plats and reproductions of plats, period instruments (including chains!), and they dress in period clothing. It's a hoot for a map geek and wanna-be surveyor like me. I believe there's a national surveyors historical society which sponsors exhibitions such as appears at Bannack Days.

Foy