Exploring Anciet Ruins

The third and final Monument was Wupatki.  What is that you ask?  It is a National Monument of pueblos that were once homes to people over 800 years ago.

As we walked among them I felt like I was exploring an ancient castle.  I wanted so badly to see what these places were like at the time they were inhabited.

I was amazed at the engineering and construction that went in to building these pueblos, especially this one, Wukoki Pueblo, which sits atop a large sandstone rock, and was three stories tall.

This was the favorite pueblo among the kiddos because they could climb inside & explore. Several did not want to leave; it was the biggest playhouse they had ever been in.

Not sure why the doors were so little.  To keep your back limber?  They couldn't have all been around 4 feet could they?

The next pueblo on our stop was Waupatki Pueblo (below).  It was by far the largest.  I think I read that it had over 100 rooms.  Kind of looks like the remains of a castle to me.

Many of the rooms were used as storage for food and especially water.  It is a very dry climate and they had to collect water when it came and store it for the dry seasons.

The kids were getting tired by now of seeing Indian ruins.  They sort of felt, "seen one seen them all."  We just made brief stops at the last couple of pueblos; there were kiddos sleeping, it was hot and a minor injury.  John fell while walking on the asphalt trail and took a small chunk out of his knee.  He probably could have used a few stitches to close it up, but did we want to find a hospital?  Not really.  Did I want to deal with John going through the process of getting stitches and then having them in?  NO!  As much as he picks at scabs he probably would have picked his stitches out.  So we did our best to use a butterfly bandage and figured he could have a scare on his knee.

Paul, LeeAnn and some kiddos found their way to the top of this bluff where there had once been a pueblo.

No trip is complete without seeing a little wildlife.  Just as we were about ready to head home we saw some, well one; a Collared lizard.  He was beautiful & pretty big.  He nicely even stood still on his rock to let us take his picture.  I wish my kids would cooperate so well for pictures!

We are grateful for a fun adventure exploring sites not so far away and for a fun weekend with the Jessee's.  Thanks for making the trip down to see us!