Note to readers : Why I haven’t been blogging:
Blogging on our winter trips was easy. It got dark early, and we had plenty of spare time in the evenings.
This time around, we have all this daylight to take advantage of. I’m lucky if I even get around to transferring the photos from my and Bob’s cameras to my computer every few days, let alone reviewing them to choose some to post. And there are so many to choose from!
Also, I try to give some context and not just post pictures. But since that’s not happening, I will try to just post pictures from some of the highlights of this fantastic trip.
Meanwhile, here’s a post on Native Americans* which I had started over a month ago and never finished.
Bears Ears National Monument and Native Americans
Bears Ears National Monument has been in the news the past few years; you may have heard of it. President Obama established Bears Ears as a national monument to preserve thousands of cultural and archaeological sites of various Native American tribes. Then President Trump reduced its size by 85% to allow for drilling, mining and other destruction.
The reduction in size is being contested, and most "development" of the land has been blocked so far. However, its status is still up in the air. President Biden, while campaigning, promised to reverse President Trump’s cuts to these and other monuments. Stay tuned.
I think the reason there is not a bigger outcry is a public relations problem. “Bears Ears” is just not a catchy name. I don’t care if it is the translation of the Navajo name for the place. Other similar places are impressively named “Canyons of the Ancients,” “Monument Valley,” “Casa Grande,” “Chaco Culture,” etc. it is impossible to take a place named “Bears Ears” seriously. Hire a PR company. Just sayin’.
Actually, as I am sure you all know, this entire country was once thoroughly populated by American Indians until they were killed or “relocated” by the Europeans. This is not very apparent back east, but it is very much so out west. Here are just a few of the many places with Native American / Ancestral Puebloan artifacts we have visited (Ancestral Puebloan has replace the term "Anasazi" which is no longer politically correct.)
Edge of The Cedars State Park, Bears Ears, UT, May 11th
House on Fire, Bears Ears, UT, May 12th
Sand Island Petroglyphs, Bears Ears, UT, May 13th
Montezuma Castle, AZ, May 21st
Homolovi State Park, Winslow, AZ, May 23rd
Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, May 25th-26th
Mesa Verde National Park, CO, May 27th- June 1st
9 Mile Canyon, Price, UT, June 11-13
