Colorado Sacred Places

Every visitor to fragile ancient sites in Ute Mountain Tribal Park goes with a guide.  (Photo: Dale Davidson)

Trip Planning References

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Offerings range from one-day experiences, with laboratory time and a visit to a dig ($50 for adults; reduced fees for children), to longer ones, including five-day U.S. trips to Chaco Canyon and more (from about $1,800) and international journeys (from about $2,300, depending on the destination). The center's information-packed website is an adventure in itself. 23390 Road K, Cortez, CO 81321; 800-422-8975

Ute Mountain Tribal Park
Tours start at 9 AM daily, May 1 through November 20. Half-day trip, $24 per person; full-day, $44; discounts for children. Traveling in the guide's van costs $9 extra per person (recommended, as you hear more of the lecture); or follow in your own car. Camping and special tours are available. Visitor Center, on Highway 160/491, 20 miles south of Cortez; 800-847-5485

Sand Canyon Pueblo
For a map with detailed directions to this admission-free site, stop in at the Anasazi Heritage Center, 10 miles north of Cortez. The center is at 27501 Highway 184, Dolores, Colorado 81323; 970-882-5600

Accommodations
Travel sites like Go-Colorado.com and RoadLodging.com provide extensive lists of accommodations. I visited the Grizzly Roadhouse Bed & Breakfast where a double-occupancy room costs $79-$89, and the two-bedroom cottage is $125-$158 for up to four people. 3450 Highway 160/491; Cortez, Colorado 81321; 800-330-7286

Puebloan Creation Panel. Creation stories are part of Native American cultural traditions. The depictions on the rock wall in Ute Mountain Tribal Park come to life at winter solstice when the lizard-shaped shadow crosses over the figures, reviving old tales and forecasting crop germinations in the new growing season. (Photo: Dale Davidson)

And the Evidence Shows...? How did the original inhabitants use the underground rooms found throughout Sand Canyon Pueblo, a 13th-century site about 12 miles from Cortez, CO? Were they storage chambers? Places for households or other small groups to hold rituals? Archaeologist Mark Varien (left) and Ernest M. Vallo, Sr., tribal council member from Acoma Pueblo, debate the possibilities. (Photo: Stephanie Woodard)

What You Can Do at Home

These books will remind you of your trip—or inspire you to go.    —S. W.

Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations: Traditional and Contemporary Native American Recipes (Ten Speed Press, 2002), by Kiowa chef and photographer Lois Ellen Frank. Glorious pictures of the Southwest accompany delectable recipes using heritage local ingredients.

The Medicine Wheel Garden: Creating Sacred Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquility (Bantam, 2002), by ethnobotanist E. Barrie Kavasch. Beautify your life with designs that encompass an entire yard or a pot on a windowsill. Kavasch, who has early Powhaton and other Native ancestry, offers planting information and accounts of her adventures visiting prehistoric medicine wheels.

A Thief of Time (Harper & Row, 19881988; HarperTorch Paperbacks Paperback, 1990), by Tony Hillerman. A popular Southwestern mystery writer is in top form in this tale of an anthropologist who vanishes at an ancient ruin plundered by so-called "thieves of time" and the Navajo police officers who must solve the crime.