Animals we have meet on our journey so far...

Hello from Flagstaff, Arizona, one of the few places in the US that are always on standard time.  But doing their own thing is what Arizona is known for!

I (Dean) have been thinking of putting together a posting of the animals, birds, and insects we have met along the byways so far on our trip.  Not all have been identified so if you can help that would be appreciated.  Please send a comment if you can identify the unidentified.  Thanks  (This is what I am doing instead of going golfing today.)
 

Dog Dayz of summer


 

Tundra Swan




Caribou




Pronghorn Antelope



Elk

Bison and touring group



Black Bear



Coyote

Mule or White Tail Deer

Campsite Deer family

Bighorn Sheep



Stone Sheep



Squirrel

Marmot

Osprey

Wild Turkey



Raven posing



Vultures

Humming Bird

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Great Herron

Sandhill Cranes dancing

Sandhill Cranes in formation

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Hawk (kind?)

Hawk (kind?)

Hawk (kind?)



Hotspring Lake Chub



Lizard (kind?)

Lizard (kind?)

Bettle (kind?)



Bettel (kind?)



Dragonfly 1

Dragonfly 2

Dragonfly 3

Wasp

Butterfly

Spider web

Skagway window bear

Hotsprings kids

Durango music and 'It's a small world' feeling

Friday, Sept. 24

I (Dean) had another small world experience yesterday.

Yesterday evening we attended a fundraiser for the local blue grass/country group’s spring Durango Meltdown weekend. We heard live Irish, country, and blue grass groups playing on the loading dock of the Durango Brewing Company. Food was being served in tents and there were chairs and tables all around (Anchorites think Galway Days, open mike jam, and the governor’s picnic all rolled into one.) AND $2 pints of Durango Brewing’s micro brews. The entry fee was a donation of $10 per person.  Local music is alive and well in Durango!!

While waiting in line for a pint, I recognized Joe, a fellow Anchorage ARCO worker from 25 or so years ago! He is living in Dallas now but was in Durango for a float trip with his friend, the Brew Company owner, so came to the fund raiser for the evening. I wonder who we will meet next from our past?

(Also, my apology to my brother Bob. Sorry I forgot your birthday yesterday. Hope it was great! We had a fun celebration in Durango. Would our blog followers also wish Bob a Happy Birthday via email? bpging@bellsouth.net  Thanks)

Mesa Verde visit




Cliff House from accross the canyon.

 

Yesterday we had a very nice day long visit to Mesa Verde which is 35 miles west of Durango.  We got up early and were on the road by 8 AM.  Two ranger led tours are available this time of year so we saw the Cliff House (above) and the Balcony House with the rangers.  (Several winters ago we cross country skied in Mesa Verde and saw these dwellings with Twyla and Greg.  We even saw some wild horses this trip also.) 

The ranger talks are very informative and we learned that only about 15% of the ancestral Puebloans actually lived in the cliff dwellings.  Most lived up on the mesa as seen at Far View (below).

Large house complex on the mesa at Far View site.

It was fun accessing the dwellings and getting around in them.  We concluded that there was a natural selection process built into the building architecture.  If you are to large or not sure footed you lived on the mesa, otherwise your life expectancy was probably short.  Just climbing and scurrying around at 7000+ feet can be exhausting.


Kiva roof structure

  



How old is this wood?

  










We saw many Kiva structures in all the locations.  They are the round buildings.  These were the central living space for a family group and were kept warm by the central fire pit.  The space was roofed by placing wood beams along the perimeter and then across the top leaving the roof supported with no internal vertical beams.  The smoke hole in the center was also the entering and leaving place via a ladder.
How old is a structure?  The wooden beams are cored (a piece of cork is used to replace the core hole as in the picture) and the growth rings compared to the area's master list to establish when the wood was cut thereby establishing the structure's age.  Carbon 14 or other radiocarbon methods are not as accurate.
 

I'm watching you!  Don't even think of steping on this wall.

 

I'm watching you.  Have you taken enough water with you? 



  





The mesa wild life was fun to watch them watching you.

How many ways do you know to use the Yucca plant?  When the ancestral Puebloans were finished with it, all of the plant,even the odor, was used!