| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
-
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 0.75 Miles |
50 AEG |
| | Hiking | 0.75 Miles | | | |
| 50 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Something hit the hood of my truck, startling me out of me slumber. I sat upright, opened my eyes, and saw Randal walking down the dirt path towards the restroom in the predawn light. Predawn light? Crap! It was the solstice, and our plan was to see the sunrise at Casa Rinconada! I quickly grabbed my clothes for the day and tossed them on. Climbing out of my truck, I saw that Randy was back. "Crap, we've only got 10 minutes until they open the gate," I mumbled while I headed towards the bathroom. He agreed. While washing my hands, I heard a truck fire up outside. It was Randy's red Ford - he and Mike were all ready to hit the road. We piled in and made our way down the road. A line snaked from the gate blocking access to the loop road past the Visitor's Center, tail lights glowing like cigarettes in the not-quite-shadow of the cliff. Someone was unfastening the gate as we rolled to a stop, and soon the line began sluggishly moving forward. We passed the major canyon bottom ruins, made the corner at Bonito, and pulled into the Casa Rinconada parking lot behind a large bus labeled "Chasing the Sun Tours". I naturally assumed that the occupants would be French tourists, so I got out ahead of them to where ranger GB Cornucopia was standing. I thought that Mike and Randy were right behind me, but it turned out that I thought wrong. After GB made a brief introduction we headed up the trail to the Great Kiva. Everyone was lining up along the eastern wall, and there was a unique collection of characters. Some were archaeologists, some were retirees, some were New Agers in home-made clothing, and some of us were just Anasaziphiles, intent on the show. Ranger Cornucopia spoke again, explaining the solstice and the issues with interpreting the alignment at the kiva. The window where the light entered the kiva and the niche where the sunbeam actually alighted have both been reconstructed. In addition, a beam supporting the roof of the kiva would have blocked the shaft of sun (maybe - new evidence suggests that the post would have been small enough to let the light past and also would have improved the alignment with the niche.
We had about 20 minutes until the sun poked through the window, and I got to spend 15 of those minutes next to a constant whiner. She alternately complained and yelled at people across the kiva to move because she didn't want them to be in her picture. But when her friend came to tell her about another view on the other side of the kiva, she didn't hesitate to block the sunbeam while walking, or to stand opposite everyone else while looking into the kiva. I thought about using her words against her, but decided to not spoil the solstice with such pettiness. Or something along those lines.
Eventually Randy and Mike made their way over to me - they'd been standing on the other side of the crowd. One of the archaeologists talked about the difficulties of archaeoastronomy with his tour group while Randy and I muttered about the crazies around us. Finally the sunlight dropped into the niche. No one applauded, but another year had begun - the sun was going to head south again. It could go no further. We headed down the slope, back into the truck. Our immediate destination was the nearby staircase (washed out in the morning light), then breakfast. It would also mark the start of a trip where I'd see more Anasazi ruins than any other day previously...
Next - Una Vida: http://hikearizona.com/TL.php?ID=52487 |
| _____________________
"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
