Twelve (Plus Seven) Great Things About the Archeology Trail at Zion National Park

I have been working as an interpretive park ranger at Zion National Park for a bit more than three months now. During my time here I have hiked all of the "frontcountry" trails as a way of getting to know this amazing place and to be able to pass on accurate information to our visitors. Hikes on Zion's trails range from thirty-minute strolls to multi-day backpacking trips. Each trail offers a different experience to the visitors, and provides unique ways to discover Zion’s many wonders.

I recently hiked the one trail I had yet to see. It is a very short trail that leaves from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. There was, I believe, a reason it took me three months to finally hike the Archeology Trail.

Archeology Trail Trailhead Sign

I had been given no encouragement to venture onto the Archeology Trail. Instead, I was actively discouraged from using the trail by a number of my co-workers. I was told that it was not very interesting, it was shadeless and hot, it was not scenic, and it was boring. I got the distinct impression that the perceived trouble with Zion’s Archeology Trail for many of the park’s rangers was much the same as Gertrude Stein's trouble with Oakland—a feeling that “there is no there there.” As a case in point, when getting ready to hike the Archeology Trail earlier this week in order to photograph the sights, a co-worker asked where I was headed and upon learning where I was going responded with a simple, “why?” Others had recommended against this trail and I found myself occasionally doing the same while on duty at the Visitor Center. I told visitors it was not a very interesting trail, hoping I would not have to admit that I had not even set foot on it.


I have always had misgivings about blindly editorializing for park visitors, imposing our own and often-unfounded value statements on them. I have also found it difficult when fellow workers discount visitors and the places they express interest in, acting as if parks were set aside solely for those of us who work in them. When I worked in Ross Lake National Recreation Area/North Cascades National Park Complex many years ago, some of my co-workers informed me that the park was really a “ranger playground” and that visitors were often an inconvenience at best. That notion never sat well with me and I have since been a vocal defender of the range of experiences park visitors have, whether it is one framed by a car window or one had while exploring true wilderness. Each of these, and all experiences in between,  are valid, can be deeply meaningful, and are sometimes transformative.

I am currently reading a lovely book called Landscapes on Glass: Lantern Slides for the Rainbow Bridge-Monument Valley Expedition which documents a photographic expedition in the American southwest, investigating potential additions to the National Park System. The 1930s expedition was led by Ansel Hall, the first Chief Naturalist of the National Park Service (NPS). In the short introductory biography of Hall, it was noted that the following preface was included on the application form filed by prospective NPS employees. “The duties of Ranger Naturalist require a full day’s work each day—work entailing continual contact with the public. If you are not absolutely certain that you can maintain an attitude of enthusiasm and courtesy, please do not apply for work of this sort.” I am a strong proponent of both enthusiasm and courtesy. I also deeply believe that a positive attitude and an expectation of plenty will bring each of us far more joy than the alternative. Changing our attitude can change our organizational culture in a way that will allow us to provide a far better experience for our visitors. If I were hiring Ranger Naturalists in Hall's day (or today, for that matter), I would also add that the applicant's cup needs to be half full, if not more.

I have hiked the Archeology Trail three times, now, in a week. With each short ascent I have discovered new wonders. It is out of respect for this place called Zion and the experience of our visitors, and in honor of Ansel Hall’s attitude of enthusiasm and courtesy that I offer to you, my readers and colleagues:

"Twelve Great Things About the Archeology Trail at Zion National Park"

Great Thing #1: The Archeology Trail increases the use of one’s imagination. The initial purpose behind the Archeology Trail was to provide access to an excavated archeological site. Though little evidence of Ancestral Puebloan life approximately 1,000 years ago exists, one can hike the trail with an open mind, imagining what life may have been like for the earlier residents of the area. Archeologists excavating the site found two storage rooms, three storage cists, two fire hearths, stone tools for grinding and other types of food processing, and 11 different styles of prehistoric ceramics. The Zion National Park museum collection contains more than 1,600 artifacts from this site.

Storage Shelter Interpretive Panel

Belden Lewis, a twenty-year old enrollee in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Zion kept a diary during much of his first year here. He provides a wonderful example of using his imagination and observational skills while visiting an archeological site. On Sunday August 26, 1934, less than a month after his arrival at Zion, he visited the “Boy Scout Granary” along the Floor of the Valley Road by the Great White Throne overlook. Following is his diary entry for that day.

            Sunday August 26—

I went swimming today! Up at lower & upper emerald pools. Oh for fancy! Lower pool not so hot. In fact it’s damn cold. But the environment is enticing & the water fall is cute. Upper pool is the best with the prettiest scenery & the cutest pool. I went on up past Angel’s landing & saw that cliff dwelling. I crawled into it & imagined myself as an ancient man! It is a hut 7 ft. long X 4 ft. wide X 3-1/2 ft. high with a hole 1-1/2 ft. X 2 ft. for a door. The floor is rough natural stone. A good view of Great White Throne can be seen through the door. Well, I got home in plenty time for a good supper, after which I washed some clothes…If I had some mail, this would have been a perfect day.

Like Lewis, people hiking the Archeology Trail can not only make similarly keen observations, they too can imagine themselves as ancient children, women, and men.

Outline of Grain Storage Structure

Great Thing #2: The Archeology Trail provides an opportunity to understand the challenges an archeologist faces and a true picture of the kind of scene an archeologist is first presented with. Archeologists do not simply happen upon a scene that tells a complete story about past ways of life. By carefully locating, cataloging, and examining artifacts as well as studying the context in which they were found, archeologists focus on the relationship between material objects on one hand and the makers' behavior on the other. As primary goals, archeologists set out to construct a chronology of the past, understand ways of life that no longer exist, and come to an understanding of how and why human culture has changed over time. This work is most often done with no written record as a guide. The site atop the Archeology Trail is the type of blank canvas that archeologists often first encounter. It is clear that they must depend on their scientific methods and skills as well as a bit of imagination to piece together the story from the area examined. Knowing about the challenges faced by archeologists can allow us to become better interpreters of archeology, more accurately and compellingly telling the stories of such sites.

Great Thing #3: The Archeology Trail gives the visitor a chance to imagine why the site was chosen by the Ancestral Puebloan people for a food processing and storage area. The site atop the Archeology Trail is a logical location to prepare and store food. The small promontory is well above the flood level of the Virgin River. This makes the site ideal for storing of food. There is no threat of food supplies being damaged or lost to the frequent floods experienced just feet below. The small rise also elevates the site above the surrounding area, affording a nice breeze. This could have been helpful in drying food for storage.The 360 degree view also allowed those using the site to see any potential threats to the food supply, be it environmental or otherwise. 

Great Thing #4: The Archeology Trail provides visitors with an opportunity to learn about the challenges of preserving cultural resources. The archeological site interpreted atop the Archeology Trail at Zion is a "stabilized" site. This means it has been excavated and then filled in. It leaves little to actually see. This method, however, is the best way to protect the resource from erosion and illegal collection. The site along the Archeology Trail has the lowest level of protection, in which visitors area not only allowed, but welcome to visit and explore, and learn. There are other sites within Zion with greater protection thus limited or no access allowed. In this case, the knowledge of the site sits in reports. It is our challenge to acquire that knowledge so as to relay it to interested visitors. The site also offers a great lesson in resource protection in what is not there as much as in what was found there.

Rock Rubble in Food Storage Site

Great Thing #5: The Archeology Trail provides outstanding views both up and down Zion Canyon. Ending on a lovely rise above the canyon floor and a good distance from the east canyon wall, the Archeology Trail offers unobstructed views to the north (up canyon) and south (down canyon). Enough said!

Looking Up Zion Canyon

View to the South

Great Thing #6: The Archeology Trail looks over the park shuttle bus system garage, allowing visitors a behind-the-scenes look at a seamless operation as well as the interactions between park resources and infrastructure. The “Watchman Site” was an Ancestral Puebloan food storage location threatened by construction of the park shuttle bus facility. A thorough survey of the site was completed prior to the construction of the bus garage and staging area and subsequent implementation of the Zion's shuttle bus system. The proximity of the Archeology Trail to the shuttle bus facility and the fact that the bus garage, parking area, and fuel tank are all visible from the trail illustrates the tension between resource protection and providing facilities and infrastructure for visitor enjoyment. This is the tension at the very heart of NPS activities since, at least, the passage of our Organic Act in 1916. The shuttle bus system in Zion provides for the enjoyment of the park by current and future generations of visitors. The shuttle system itself was designed to increase the quality of the visitor experience while protecting park resources. The survey and excavation of the site atop the Archeology Trail and adjacent cultural areas prior to construction of the bus facility was part of the NPS effort to leave the resources of the park unimpaired. The view of the shuttle bus facility from the Archeology Trail brings the tension front and center. We can not ignore it nor be lulled into thinking that problems are solved magically. The trail helps to illustrate concessions made to protect resources in an unimpaired state while also providing for visitor enjoyment. Nothing hides here. This, I think, is a good thing. There is no wizard behind the curtain to ignore.

Park Shuttle Bus Facility

Great Thing #7: The Archeology Trail is a great place to look over the lower section of Zion Canyon and understand the process of canyon widening. The process of canyon widening takes place in Zion, primarily where the Virgin River has carved through the massive cliff-forming Navajo Sandstone into the softer layers of the Kayenta and Moenave formations below. The erosive potential of the river is extreme in the softer lower layers of mudstone, siltstone, and clay. As the river undercut into the Kayenta and Moenave, the Navajo was no longer supported and collapsed, widening the canyon dramatically. This wide canyon can be easily seen from the Archeology Trail.

Wide Canyon and Watchman Campground

Great Thing #8: The Archeology Trail provides an outstanding view of the Moenave, Kayenta (including the Springdale Sandstone), Navajo, and Temple Cap geologic formations. From the top of the Archeology Trail, one is afforded an opportunity to see all of the rock layers exposed in the lower section of Zion Canyon, representing about 200 million years of sedimentation. The Archeology Trail itself is entirely within the Moenave formation, a mixture of siltstone and sandstone forming the lower slopes in the area around the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. 

Layered Geologic Formations

The Archeology Trail itself is entirely within the Moenave formation, a mixture of siltstone and sandstone forming the lower slopes in the area around the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. From the trail, one can see the Springdale Sandstone, the lower, riverbed sediment member of the Kayenta formation. This is the short cliff-forming material that one ascends when walking to the top of the nearby Watchman Trail. The Springdale is also seen well in all directions from the Archeology Trail.

Watchman Trail Mesa of Springdale Sandstone

Above the Springdale Sandstone, the remaining slope-forming Kayenta formation is clearly visible. The Kayenta is made up of muddy flood plain deposits. The dramatic high cliffs of Zion so evident from the Archeology Trail are the Navajo Sandstone, the lithified remains of the world's largest erg or sand dune desert. Topping the geologic layer cake is the red or pink Temple Cap formation, laid down in a combination of marine and nearshore sand dune environments. All of these marvelous geologic formations can be seen and well-understood from the Archeology Trail.

Great Thing #9: The Archeology Trail is a good vantage point from which to see the riparian zone in relation to other areas in the canyon. Gazing at the floor of Zion Canyon from the high point on the Archeology Trail, one can clearly see the course of the Virgin River, lined primarily by Fremont cottonwood trees. Cottonwoods will grow only in the riparian corridor or other areas with a ready supply of water. They are easy to distinguish from this vantage point, with their somewhat silvery and shiny appearance in summer, and their leaves that flutter in even the slightest wind. One can see how lush the riparian zone is and can compare it with the drier, more sparsely vegetated uplands visible from the trail’s promontory.

Riparian Zone and Zion Canyon

Great Thing #10: The Archeology Trail ends on a small rise above the canyon floor and is often refreshingly breezy. Though only eighty feet above the floor of Zion Canyon, the small terrace atop the Archeology Trail is high enough to frequently offer a nice breeze. While the air on the canyon floor can seem extremely still, the wind at the high point of the trail can be very refreshing. This breeze may have played a role in the selection of the site by the Ancestral Puebloan people. It may have aided in the drying of grain and other foods stored there and kept damaging insects at bay.

Promontory As Seen From Below

Great Thing #11: The Archeology Trail is a short walk that offers excellent views of sunrise and sunset. Many, many visitors to Zion want to know the best place to see sunrise and sunset. This can be problematic in that Zion Canyon runs primarily north and south. The enormous sandstone cliffs often mask the comings and goings of the sun. As it turns out, the promontory on the Archeology Trail affords one a lovely view of sunrise and sunset. 

Fading Light on the Watchman

As the sun begins to drop behind the canyon walls to the west, fading light can be seen on the features on the eastern side of the canyon such as the Watchman. As the sun continues its descent into the western sky unique shadows are cast across Zion Canyon.

Canyon Wall Shadow on Bridge Mountain

Great Thing #12: The AT&T cell phone signal is pretty good from the top of the Archeology Trail. The importance here may be very selfish, but with a strong signal it means that while on the Archeology Trail I could more reliably communicate with you than is possible anywhere else on the canyon floor. I might even be able to send you a picture by text or successfully post to Facebook. I have had a number of visitors approach me asking where they can get an AT&T signal. Now I have a good, and positive answer.

Your Author's Cell Phone Photo

Singing the praises of the Archeology Trail at Zion has been a beneficial exercise. On one hand, it is classic bforist behavior, advocating on behalf of the proverbial underdog. More importantly, it has caused me to experience and therefore think of the site in a very different light. I am hopeful that I can draw others into the exercise. I am certain that there are sites in the parks and protected areas where my friends and colleagues work that are, like the Archeology Trail, the perceived ugly step-children of the park. When we take the time to get to know the sites, we understand it very differently and are then able to share it joyfully with our visitors.

I invite you to join in the conversation, sharing your own thoughts about Zion's Archeology Trail, a similar site where you work, and the transformative ways those sites can creep into our consciousness.

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The post above was written to accompany a temporary display in the new "Naturalist's Corner" in the interpretation office at Zion National Park. The Naturalist's Corner was initiated this year as a way to engage in on-going education as a staff. I have been given the responsibility for it during the months of July and August. I chose to focus on the Archeology Trail for the reasons described above. Included in the display was a blank sheet titled "More Great Things About the Archeology Trail. My colleagues added seven more items to my initial twelve.

Below are Seven More Great Things About the Archeology Trail at Zion National Park and, in some cases, my comments.

Great Thing #13: The Archeology Trail provides visitors an opportunity to route find on a safe, small scale.
 --Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: I think that the Archeology Trail also provides us, as park rangers, with a great opportunity to assist visitors in route finding. The true art is in describing how exactly to find the trailhead. Perhaps I need to commit myself to creating pictures which might help. We have also bandied around the idea of painting animal tracks on the sidewalk and parking area at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, with a different species directing people to each of the trails that radiate from there. Perhaps bare human footprints or yucca sandals would be the appropriate symbol directing visitors to the Archeology Trail. The trailhead is immediately to the east of the only entrance to the main Zion Canyon Visitor Center parking lot. From the stop sign at the lot entrance, you will need to cross the lane and walk about 50 feet to the right. You will then see the sign marking the beginning of the trail. Alternatively, as you approach the entrance of the Zion Canyon Visitor Center parking lot from within, you will see a yield sign on the right. There is a small trail to the right of the yield sign that takes you directly to the Archeology Trail trailhead.]

Zion Canyon Visitor Center Parking Lot Yield Sign
and Archeology Trail Trailhead

Great Thing #14: The Archeology Trail provides me with the opportunity to change my attitude about the Archeology Trail (I'm thinking about it, at least). 
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: Exactly my point! We all have attitudes that can, and often should change. As I have hoped to help my colleagues in that process, I welcome them to help me in myriad ways. Through collegial discussion we can all challenge our assumptions, change our attitudes, and strive for excellence in our work. By doing so we can better protect the resources we are charged with AND serve our visitors well.]

Great Thing #15: The Archeology Trail takes interpretation for visitors to discover the points raised. Perhaps we need more interpretation up there. This would make a good interpretive writing assignment for someone. As well--perhaps a rove.
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: Great Thing #15 originally suggested that I might provide some in-service training or be the one responsible for a potential interpretive writing assignment, etc. That portion of the "Great Thing" was crossed out with an "oops, sorry!" added. I am hopeful that said Anonymous Park Ranger reads the blog.]

Great Thing #16: As relating to #13: having an experience of route finding may help us connect to peoples of the past and their experience of exploring new places because they, of course, had no trails. ==actually, they did use trails that they and their forbearers would use note "Moqui Steps! 
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: For information on what may have been the most sophisticated set of trails and roads from Ancestral Puebloan culture, check out information on the Chacoan Roads on the website of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Moqui steps are steps carved into rock by Ancestral Puebloan peoples along the many trails and roads they used.]

Moqui Step at Hovenweep National Monument

Great Thing #17: It reminds us how cultures are dynamic, flux & change, and WE weren't & aren't the only way it's ever been. It allows us to realize the choices we make actually are choices--culture is so arbitrary. That means we can make better choices about how we live. 
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: If our cultures change and we can make better choices, then we can also make better choices in order to change our culture: in how we interpret park resources and serve visitors. The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency with a very strong and significant institutional culture. I mentioned the cultural notion of "ranger playgrounds" earlier in this post. Similarly, I can not tell you how often I have heard rangers joking about the visitors, and the times I have willingly joined in. I have been making a conscious choice lately to step out of any conversation that makes fun of or is derogatory toward park visitors, and when appropriate, calling such behavior out. I find this disrespectful behavior quite offensive. It does not truly provide comic relief. This is part of our culture that simply must change. Similarly, giving visitors advice as if we were speaking in a mirror does not truly serve the visitor. We have visitors with a full range of interests, abilities, and previous experiences. We truly honor the visitors and the park resources we deeply care for when we take a moment to step outside ourselves, try to truly hear the visitors, and provide information and advice for THEM, not ourselves. Indeed, culture can change.]

Great Thing #18: This trail provides a good view of the new "temporary" parking lot which reminds me of two things: one, Edward Abbey's rage over development in National Parks and, two, Joni Mitchell's paving over paradise. This reminds me of the fundamental we, as park service staff, are here--to keep these beautiful places from being turned into fields of asphalt. 
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: Amen!]

Great Thing #19: You can wear your favorite outfit and hiking shoes on this trail. 
--Anonymous Zion National Park Ranger

[Author's note: Well, I have to say that this one took me by surprise. It is my hope that the reference to a favorite outfit and hiking shoes implies that "you," meaning the "royal we," can head onto the Archeology Trail in uniform as part of our regular roving duties. By doing so, we are all presented with opportunities to interact with the place and our visitors in a positive way. I am a firm believer in being out where the visitors are. Knowing that a minority of park visitors participate in ranger-guided activities, I believe that the informal contacts on the trails are often the only opportunity a visitor might have to ask questions and interact with a ranger.

I must add, though, that this "Great Thing #19" could be a reference to one of the historic National Park Service  uniforms. I recall sharing a story (emphasis on STORY) with some of my co-workers here at Zion about said uniform, a wannabe park ranger doing archival NPS photograph work in Charles Town, West Virginia, in the very same room where the historic uniforms are stored, an unlocked storage chamber, shall we say, "interpretive dance," and an unknown (to your author, at least) security camera. On this matter, I am confused about the truth. Nonetheless, someone in that outfit on the Archeology Trail would be very snappy!]

NPS Harpers Ferry Center Historic Photo #001064

Rock Art: A Tribute to Hovenweep's Beauty and Ranger Chris Nickel

Hovenweep National Monument is an exquisite land of rock, sculpted by nature for millions of years, altered by ancestral Puebloan people for centuries, and both protected and made accessible to the American people and our guests by presidential proclamation in 1923. It is also a place of beauty, mystery, fascination, and inspiration. Rock art, in its many and varied forms, is abundant here.

When we think of rock art, we most commonly think of the intricate, evocative, and mysterious ancestral Puebloan petroglyphs and pictographs.  There are several fine examples of each type at Hovenweep.

At the Cajon unit of the National Monument, there is a panel of pictographs, paintings on the rocks, in an alcove beneath the canyon rim.

Pictographs at Cajon

It is hard to know the significance of any of the rock art here. It is widely accepted though, that rock art is not graffiti. Rock art is more likely a record of travels or migrations, a marking of territory and special features such as springs or ceremonial sites, or used to track the passage of days, seasons, and celestial events. The three most visible pictographs at Cajon are of a deer, a very typical pottery type design, and what may be a scorpion or centipede. The deer may represent a clan of residents. The pottery design could be simply that, a sketch of the decoration commonly used by those people. The scorpion or centipede may represent crawling animals or clans. That pictograph could also represent a ladder made of a single pole with log rungs. Regardless, the Cajon pictographs are fascinating and hold a beauty and mystery of their own.

Close-Up of Cajon Rock Art

At Hovenweep’s Horseshoe site, there is a fine collection of handprint pictographs that are well protected by an overhanging cliff upon which stands Horseshoe House. The handprints at Horseshoe are considered “positive” images, made by applying paint to the hands and then making prints on the canyon wall.

Handprints at Horseshoe

Handprints may simply be a record of who was there, a family or kinship group gallery, or a message to descendents.

At both the Hackberry and Square Tower units of Hovenweep, handprints can be found that were made in a different fashion creating “negative” images. Paint was sprayed over a hand resting on the rock wall, leaving an outlined painting and empty space where the hand was.

Handprint at Hackberry

Little Ruin Canyon Handprint

Petroglyphs are found in two locations at Hovenweep. Petroglyphs are etchings in the rock, often on sections of rock that have been stained with “desert varnish” which is made of clay and oxidized minerals (primarily iron and manganese), processed by microorganisms.

Desert Varnish

At the Square Tower section of Hovenweep, the petroglyph panel is directly below the round tower structure at Tower Point. Found there are a snake, a lizard, three images of macaws, a T-shaped doorway, an open spiral, and a geometric symbol. The open spiral is often thought to be a symbol of migration, and is consistent with the oral histories of present day Zuni and Hopi peoples who tell stories of their ancestors’ migrations leading to their present-day locations.

Petroglyph Panel in Little Ruin Canyon

The petroglyphs at the Holly Unit of Hovenweep are particularly unique. They are etched into a wall beneath an overhang of a broken boulder on the canyon slope. There are three sun symbols made up of numerous spirals and concentric circles. At sunrise on and around the summer solstice a dagger of light shines through a narrow gap formed by the upper edges of two additional boulders and passes through the petroglyphs, and at its most intense, connects the centers of the spiral and concentric circles which are several feet apart. The Holly Solstice Panel is one of several calendrical features found at Hovenweep.

Summer Solstice Petroglyphs at Holly

I am convinced that Hovenweep’s ancestral Puebloan structures should be considered rock art as well as the pictographs and petroglyphs.  Exceptional craftsmanship is clearly demonstrated in the shaping of both rock and structures. When one looks closely at the rockwork in any of the towers or other buildings at Hovenweep it is easy to see the way the sandstone rocks have been pecked and shaped, in many cases looking more like fabricated bricks than native stones.

Masonry Detail at Cutthroat Castle

Many of the building blocks used in structures like Hovenweep Castle are so brick-like in shape that beautiful square corners are created. The rockwork and masonry in these 800 year old buildings indicate a level of skill that is far from primative.

Hovenweep Castle from Little Ruin Canyon Bottom

One of the towers at the Holy unit of Hovenweep National Monument is square however the corners themselves are rounded. Again, the evidence that the rock was carefully worked is clear and the very detailed and exact nature of the ancestral Puebloans’ construction techniques are apparent. Round, square, or some other shape, the towers of Hovenweep are testament to the expertise of their builders.

Masonry Detail at Holly (Rounded Square Corner)

The vast majority of the remaining Hovenweep structures are built on canyon rims, on the solid foundation that bedrock provides. Several of the towers are built on boulders which stand on the canyon bottoms or on talus slopes. Perhaps most unique is a round tower at the Cajon site, built on, around, and fully incorporating three boulders on the canyon floor. Such construction, to me, indicates an intimate knowledge of the land, the rocks, and very sophisticated building techniques.

Round Tower Incorporating Boulders at Cajon

One building that makes almost whimsical use of a boulder on a canyon slope is Eroded Boulder House in Little Ruin Canyon. It seems clear that the ancestral Puebloans had an architectural aesthetic. The towers and other structures of Hovenweep are, indeed, another form of rock art.

Eroded boulder House, Little Ruin Canyon

Yet one more set of changes to the land created by the ancestral Puebloans at Hovenweep holds beauty and intrigue for me. When first created, they were purely functional. With the centuries, they have, for me, taken on the quality of art. At the Horseshoe site, there is a "Moqui Step" carved into the rock, a simple aid to make climbing out of the canyon easier.

Moqui Step at Horseshoe

At both Little Ruin Canyon and Cajon, there are depressions in the rock used for grinding corn and other seeds as well as for sharpening tools. These carvings in the bedrock, like art pieces, reveal something of their creators.

Grinding Depressions at Cajon

In my nearly three months at Hovenweep I have found great beauty in the rocks. Like the "rock art" left by the ancestral Puebloan people, there is also Nature's geologic "art." The upper layer of Dakota Sandstone creates a gently undulating surface. In its potholes and curves it is easy to visualize its origin, being deposited on the bottom of a shallow sea.

Potholes in Dakota Sandstone

Dakota Sandstone

Beneath the surface layer of sandstone is the only other rock formation at Hovenweep, the Burro Canyon Formation. This is primarily a conglomerate rock, laid down as river bottom sediment.  In seeing the variety of pebbles cemented together in discernible layers it is easy to visualize that rocky Cretaceous river.

Burro Canyon Conglomerate, Little Ruin Canyon

Burro Canyon Conglomerate at Cutthroat

At the point immediately beneath the sandstone there are some deposits of shale which were laid down in muddy deposits as the river filled and became a marshy environment.

Burro Canyon Shale at Horseshoe

In one of my last days at Hovenweep I noticed a small rock arch, formed as the porous and layered sandstone eroded due to repeated freezing, thawing, and other action by water and wind. Though the void beneath the arch is only about six inches high and the span is less than three feet, it is another example of the beauty found in this exquisite land of rock.

Miniature Arch at Horseshoe

We mark the trails here at Hovenweep with either cairns (piles of rocks) or rock borders. This is critical for visitor wayfinding and for resource protection. In particular, we work heard to protect the unique cryptobiotoc soil crust which is particularly robust at Hovenweep. The biological soil crust or "hidden life" is a symbiotic relationship between fungi, moss, lichens, cyanobacteria, and the mineral soil itself. The knobby black to brown crust slows erosion, makes nitrogen and carbon available for plants, and helps to retain precious moisture. It also grows very, very slowly. One misplaced footstep can undo decades worth of biological work. We are vigilant about keeping visitors on the trail so as to protect the cryptobiotic soil crust as well as the other natural and cultural resources preserved at Hovenweep.

Trail Border Protecting Soil Crust

In some places the rock borders have an artistic and aesthetic appeal all their own.

Rock Border and Trail at Horseshoe/Hackberry

On Saturday January 29^th, I was working with my fellow volunteer, Petra, and our Resource and Visitor Protection Ranger, Chris Nickel. That morning we laughed about the trail borders which Chris was referring to as “our rock art.” He planned to be on the trail that afternoon for the first time in the two months I had been at Hovenweep. For eighteen months Chris had been in the position of "Acting Chief Ranger" for both Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments and it was earlier that week that the position was finally filled and the new Chief Ranger had reported for duty. Chris shared his joy in returning to his single, dedicated position at Hovenweep and celebrated that he could, once again, perform his duties to his standard. One thing Chris intended to do while on the Little Ruin Canyon Trail that day was to check the effectiveness and aesthetics of our "rock art." In anticipation of his patrol, he produced some before and after photographs from previous seasons in the park. It was very clear that he was using the term "before" to mean "bad" or ineffective and the term "after" to mean "Chris's way." Out of respect for Chris and in celebrating his joy in getting into the field, we did not question his expectations of the trail marker conditions. We did hope that our work met his standard of perfection. 

The Way "Rock Art" Should Be!

Chris set the tone that has made Hovenweep such a positive and pleasant place to work. Early in my time here Chris sat down with me so he could share his “perspective on the park.” He made it clear that the most important aspect of our work here was the protection of the many and unique natural and cultural resources. He also emphasized the importance of providing the highest quality visitor experience and that the only thing that might limit the activities of our visitors would be our vigilant protection of the park itself. Hovenweep, as a very small unit of the National Park System, works. It is a positive, affirming, stimulating, beautiful, and challenging place. I say this in thanks to Chris, to our Lead Interpreter Todd Overbye, and to our Maintenance Supervisor Alan Shumway. Together, these three men oversee a small team that has been an amazing joy to be part of.

It is with great sadness that I report Chris Nickel's passing. On that beautiful, almost balmy Saturday afternoon, Chris left the Visitor Center to get a bite to eat at his residence and then head onto the trail to oversee his special domain. Early on his hike, Chris collapsed and died. We don't know what happened but believe that he did nothing more than sit down and die. HIs death has left a huge hole in the Hovenweep community and our collective heart. The only sense of consolation or peace in this tragic incident is that Chris passed while overseeing a place he loved and cared deeply for. It is in tribute to him, his work ethic, his solid commitment to resource protection, and his special way in the world that our park community has been rededicated to carrying on and holding close to the lessons he provided.

My dear friend, colleague, and fellow volunteer Petra is better and more economical with words than I am. Her tribute to Chris cut right to the heart of who he was and the impact he has had.


The Provenance of Stars


R.I.P. Chris Nickel: friend, colleague.

Your kind, dryly witty, meticulous, nature-loving, pistol-packing      soul will forever walk the trails at Hovenweep National Monument.

The smell of sage will always remind me of you now; and I will always be convinced that shooting star I saw was you, laughing.

From the pleasure of working for and with Chris, and out of the saddness of losing him, I can only say, "thanks!" My work will always, to some degree, be guided by him.

In Honor and Memory of Ranger Chris Nickel