Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
it was the rug Willard Leighton had commissioned. After touring the country in
an exhibit of Navajo weavings, the expensive rug is finally resting in the Leighton
family's Notah Dineh Trading Post in Cortez, along with the largest collection of
Navajo rugs in the Four Corners area.
Notah Dineh Trading Post, 345 West Main
Street, Cortez, CO 81321, 800-444-2024, www.notahdineh.com.
Every year, hundreds of students of all ages and nationalities work alongside archaeolo-
gists, anthropologists, and folks like Lipe to excavate thousands of artifacts, an average of
75,000 per year. They recently excavated Goodman Point Pueblo, an ancient Pueblo village
that was inhabited during the late 1200s and has been protected by the federal government
since 1889. The site had a large community kiva, as well as a hundred smaller kivas, plazas,
towers, and a wall around it.
From March through November, Crow Canyon hosts adult research programs. In these
weeklong seminars, participants get a hands-on introduction to the history of the people of
the Mesa Verde region. They help on the current excavation project; learn laboratory process-
ing, including cleaning and analyzing pottery; and take field trips to Mesa Verde National
Park and Sand Canyon Pueblo, which was excavated by Crow Canyon several years ago.
“Our programs are the perfect mix of education and reflection,” says Stephanie Ramsey,
Crow Canyon's director of marketing. “Crow Canyon is a good place to get away; it's a hide-
away. Out here, you can see every star. The night sky hits you right in the face. It's gorgeous
and dramatic. In the morning, you sit on the front porch of the lodge and watch the sunrise
from the canyon wall.”
Adult research program tuition for members is $1,050 for a novice and $950 for alumni;
nonmembers add $100. Membership fees are $50 for an adult or $85 for a family. Tuition
includes all lodging, meals, and transportation to and from Cortez. Crow Canyon also offers
educational trips that spotlight Pueblo cultures in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado and
international trips that visit such sites as French caves and the Nile Delta. The educational
trips, led by archaeologists and including visits to museums and ancient cliff dwellings, back-
country hikes, and excavations, range from $1,295 to $1,995.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,
23390 Road K, Cortez, CO 81321, 800-422-8975,
www.crowcanyon.org.
