Episode Details
Back to EpisodesWe Follow Ancient Pueblo Trails From The Visitor Center To Sunny Alcove
Description
We hike Canyon of the Ancients National Monument from the Dolores visitor center to the Sand Canyon Trail, chasing big views and even bigger history. We connect Sleeping Ute Mountain’s origin story and geology to Ancestral Puebloan ruins like Sunny Alcove, Corncob House, and other cliff dwellings hidden in dry alcoves.
• arriving at the Canyon of the Ancients visitor center and museum basics
• walking the Dominguez Escalante Pueblo trail and spotting room blocks and a central kiva
• linking Sleeping Ute Mountain myth to laccolith geology
• scanning the landscape toward the La Plata Mountains, Mesa Verde, and McPhee Reservoir
• summarizing the Dominguez and Escalante expedition and why their journals matter
• heading to Sand Canyon Trail near Cortez and using spur trails to reach viewpoints
• visiting Saddlehorn Pueblo, Corncob House, Double Cliff House, and Sunny Alcove
• reflecting on how people lived in cliff alcoves and how modern names get assigned
• wrapping the hike with distance and time plus favorite-site picks
If y'all liked it, go ahead and give it a thumbs up. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, leave those below, or if you're on the podcast, make sure to use that link and drop us an email. Let us know what you're thinking.