We'll skip the dog walking, coffee, and ablutions and go straight into my day as a volunteer at a National Park.
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| At the entrance. |
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| The Tonto Visitor Center tucks gently into the curve of the hill. On the second story terrace is a screen where visitors can view an 18 minute video about the Salado Indians who lived here. |
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| Just to the right of center is my destination. |
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| Part of the 1/2 mile trail. |
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| I'm getting closer. |
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| The trail is paved, in large part because it is easier and cheaper to maintain than rocks/sand/soil would be. And the pavement makes it easier for visitors to reach the cliff dwelling. One day last week, during my shift, I was radioed that a "party of 19" was on its way up! Grandparents, their three children, and upteen grandchildren. One was a toddler in a stroller, and another was a young boy with a broken leg, in a small wheelchair. |
Remember those diamond shaped, orange signs by the side of the road which warn of "6% grade ahead. Check brakes. Update your will. Call your loved ones." The trail to the Lower Cliff Dwelling is about a 6% grade. I carry with me what other folks refer to as a hiking stick. For me, it is a "contemplation stick" as I drape myself over it whenever I stop to contemplate the beauty of my surroundings....which I do frequently. After all, add a 7 to the 6 in 6% grade and you've got my age. No comments on my IQ, please.
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| Confession: I did not take this photo nor the one below; I "found" them. The cliff dwelling at one time was 20 rooms, with construction starting around 1300 CE. The back part of the dwelling, protected by the cliff, has fared better than the front, which was more exposed to the elements. |
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| The water source is 1/2 mile below, near what is now the Monument parking lot. It's a spring which comes from an underground aquifer. The spring is still the source of water for the Monument and our housing area. Women may have carried the water in pots on their heads. I have no comment. | |
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| Here I am in uniform, in my office. Mother says I look stern, perhaps because it is my very first "selfie." I greet people by saying, "Hi, Keep Your Hands off the 700 Year Old Walls" so I guess stern is good....although I attempt "stern with smile." My job is to keep folks off the structure, answer any questions they might have, and when they want me to, give them information on the cliff dwelling and the people who built it. Three hours a day, four days a week, I get to hang out several hundred feet above the valley below. Not a bad place to have an office. | |
