Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The monument is really in the middle of nowhere. Services include a small visitors cen-
ter, picnic tables and portable toilets. The nearest gas station is 6 miles south in Teec Nos
Pos. Vendors set up nearby sell food, Native American crafts and jewelry and knick-
knacks. The best snack to nosh on is a flat piece of fried dough from a Navajo Fry Bread Cart
(Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park; fry bread $3;
11am-5pm) , to your right as you exit the parking
area.
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Ute Mountain Indian Reservation
Ute people once inhabited this entire region - from the San Luis Valley west into Utah -
and, after a series of forced relocations and treaties from the 1860s to 1930s, control only
this small strip of land in the dry high plains of the Colorado Plateau. The relationship
between Utes and the federal government is one of conflict and ongoing tension; the Ute
tribe won their first rights for potable water on this arid reservation in 1988. The tribal
land includes a number of archaeological sites, including petroglyphs and cliff dwellings,
but can only be accessed through guided tour. The Ute Mountain Tribal Park ( 970-749-1452;
www.utemountaintribalpark.info ; Morning Star Lane; half/full-day tours per person $29/48; by appointment) can
set up tours, which include lots of rough and dusty driving over back roads.
The tribe operates the Ute Mountain Casino, Hotel & Resort ( hotel reservations 800-258-8007; 3
Weeminuche Dr; d $75-95, campsites $30) , near Sleeping Ute Mountain.
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Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep, meaning 'deserted valley' in the Ute language, is a remote area of former
Ancestral Puebloan settlements straddling the Colorado-Utah border, 42 miles west of
Cortez via McElmo Canyon Rd from US 160. This was once home to a large population
before drought forced people out in the late 1200s. Six sets of unique tower ruins are
found here, but only the impressive ruins in the Square Tower area are readily accessible.
For people who love ticking off a checklist of America's national parks and monuments,
this is only a half-day diversion from the sites at Mesa Verde National Park.
 
 
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