For our three machines, Clay, Rick, and Nick, today could have been a rest day; however Rick decided to ride the route again.
The first shuttle left at 6 a.m. with Hewes, Craig, Cath and Ian. The 2nd shuttles left at 8 a.m. The riders were taken back to where they were picked up yesterday and off they went to complete this segment of the ride.
After all the shuttling was done, I was off to Hovenweep National Monument. This monument allows access to sites along a 2 mile walking trail that shows intriguing information about past cultures inhabiting the four corners region of the Southwest. Over 13,000 years ago nomadic-Paleo-Indian hunters roamed the plateaus and canyons hunting wild animals. Drier climate conditions displaced these people - as larger animals moved elsewhere - and ushered in Archaic hunter-gatherers from the west about 11,000 years ago. These people, eventually to be known as the ancestral Pueblo people, were initially mobile, taking temporary shelter beneath canyon overhangs and in shallow alcoves as they travel in search of food.
The rim trail loop is about 1.5 miles long and enables you to see 11 ruins that are just amazing.
This horse was just chilling on the side of the road as I left Hovenweep National Monument
On the way back to Delores I got 'struck' behind several Race Across America Support Vehicles and riders. The support team was handing out a banana to the rider and it sounded like cheering them on on Road G, Cortez, CO. It was kind of amazing to watch cuz they were going quite fast.
Race Across America is an annual transcontinental bicycle race from the west coast to the east coast of the USA. This is the 33rd running of the race. One of the teams I was behind and had a chance to watch was the Vencendo Desafios Team from Brazil which is a 4 person team.
Mesa Verde National Park was created in1906 to reserve the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo People, both atop the mesas and in the cliff dwellings. The park includes over 4,500 archeological sites; only 600 are cliff dwellings.
A Pueblo potter
After a full day of being a tourist it was back to the ranch for Social Hour and dinner; both of which were quite good.
Tomorrow we are off to Telluride, CO.
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