Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is approximately 174,000 acres, so there are many places which the public may visit, which are not well publicized. Sand Canyon Trail, beginning just 2 miles west of Kelly Place, is highly visited and on some days the small undeveloped parking area cannot hold the number of vehicles of people who wish to go hiking, biking and horseback riding. Here are just a couple places along Road G in McElmo Canyon where you can go to find remnants of the Ancestral Puebloans without those parking problems. Cannonball Mesa: Travel west on Road G along the rocky cliffs and old ranch holdings. About 9.9 miles west of the Kelly Place road sign, you will see a gated turn-off on the right. You may pass through the gate and continue on after closing the gate. Continue on this dirt road (high clearance vehicle recommended), for another 2 miles and you will come to the Cannonball Mesa pueblo complex. You can see more details and pictures on this website: ...

Marc and I were rather surprised when we were initially looking at purchasing Kelly Place, to find that they were selling fetishes.   We were from San Diego—What did we know….? For those of you (like us) who are unfamiliar with Native American fetishes, here is the scoop: The Zuni people (northern New Mexico) have, in their tradition, picked up stones which remind them of particular types of animals.   Over time, they began to modify the stones, shaping them to more closely resemble the animals.   Now, there is an entire generation of artists who carve, inlay and shape a wide variety of rock types to represent many different kinds of animals and also corn maidens.   These are not objects of worship, but objects meant to convey a particular trait such as strength or wisdom in honor of or to assist the owner in this characteristic.   It brings the characteristics associated with the animal to the owner.   Others are meant to remind the owner of o...

Yes, it will take you an entire day and you still won’t see everything—even in winter when some of the park is closed.   In the summer, there are several ranger-guided tours you may take.   They cost $4 per person and may be obtained a day in advance at the park Visitor’s Center near the entrance or the Colorado Welcome Center on Main St. in downtown Cortez.   If you are going with children and don’t have a problem crawling through a short tunnel, Balcony House is the best tour.   You have no other option for viewing Balcony House except for this tour.   We generally do not recommend the Cliff Palace tour because you are never going into the ruin, only in front of it.   You can see Cliff Palace directly just above it off of Cliff Palace Loop or from a distance on the Mesa Top Loop overlook.   You may do the first option in winter if snow doesn’t close the road to Cliff Palace.   The Mesa Top Loop is open in winter.  The above p...

Nearly everyone will have a birthday this year, so this is appropriate for all except those youngsters born on Feb. 29, who age only a quarter as fast as the rest of us.   (I remember my grandmother’s sixteenth birthday!) Birthday wishes are timely here at Kelly Place.   Kelly Place has been in business for 35 years!   McElmo Canyon Research Institute is celebrating 25 years of existence.   And our partner Elderhostel Inc., providing educational and economical vacation packages-- now called Road Scholar, is celebrating 40 years.   Kelly Place has been working with them from our beginning, 35 years ago.   So enjoy your cake and candles this year.   We wish you all very many happy returns!

Red Fox seen at Kelly Place We are frequently asked about the wild animals that may be encountered around Kelly Place. It is canyon country and there are a number of animals which have not been frightened off by the humans. The most notable is undoubtedly the mountain lion. In our ten years on the property, we have never seen one here. HOWEVER, we frequently see evidence that they are around, and not on the fringes either. Sometimes their footprints are right outside our home. When I spoke to the Colorado Wildlife official about the danger, he told me that this is a “good mountain lion” because it doesn’t kill our pets and has stayed out of sight of humans. If they were to move our good mountain lion, it would open up the territory to another which may not be so good. So we live with the mountain lions. We are observant of the correct way to behave if ever we do encounter one. That is to make yourself look large (holding a jacket or shirt over your head) and unusual. I though...

For more free things to do, check out the blog posts for Colorado and Utah. Hoodoos, petrified logs, bizarre geologic formations. Spend a day exploring Bisti Wilderness, New Mexico. Three of the Four Corners belong mostly to the Navajo Nation: Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Both Arizona and New Mexico have sites that are known for the presence of Ancestral Puebloan ruins: Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay") in Arizona and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Canyon de Chelly is located on Navajo land and Navajo people still live and farm in the Canyon. A tour of the Canyon floor, led by Navajo guides, will cost money, but the road which loops around the Canyon offers spectacular views of cliff-dweller ruins and beautiful rock formations. There are overlooks from both the north and the south rims. The history of the Navajos in Canyon de Chelly is both fascinating and sad. When Kit Carson was charged with "rounding up" all Navajos and leading them on the Long Wa...