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| he Ancestral Puebloan Primer |
Almost 2 decades ago when Dad moved from the East Coast to the West, I joined in for the ride. Being a pretty smart guy, Dad realized the only way to make the cross county driving trip with a 6 year old (me!) and still be sane at the end would be to make a lot of stops along the way and visit "cool" stuff. I don't remember all the stops, but I know we stopped at the Petrified Forrest and Mesa Verde, where we both became fascinated by the ruins of the ancient Native American culture then known as the Anasazi. Recent years have led to the revelation that the term "Anasazi" isn't the most politically correct name and has been replaced by "Ancestral Puebloans."
Over the years, my dad and I made a number of return trips to the four corners area to explore these magnificent ruins in a seemingly inhospitable land. And about 4 years ago now, the opportunity arose for my dad to leave the coast behind and spend his time in and around the Four Corners area, volunteering at some of the most culturally significant sites of the Ancestral Puebloan. Leading tours of visitors by day, Dad would retire to comfort of his trailer at night to research and write what ultimately became this book.
As he finished writing, Dad sent me the files to proof-read and edit, then with my corrections approved I laid out the pages and assembled the book. The result is a compact easy to read, yet full of information volume that bridges the gap between overly simplified literature and signs at the majority of the parks in the Four Corners and scholarly writings meant to be read only by other scholars. The Ancestral Puebloan Primer can be found here on Amazon.com.
We are currently working on a follow up book, America's Southwestern Treasures, which focuses more on what there is to see and do at these amazing sites as well as offering suggested itineraries for those looking to make the most of their time in the Southwest. Treasures should be available by late spring 2010, check back here for updates.
We are currently working on a follow up book, America's Southwestern Treasures, which focuses more on what there is to see and do at these amazing sites as well as offering suggested itineraries for those looking to make the most of their time in the Southwest. Treasures should be available by late spring 2010, check back here for updates.
On a similar note, a few years ago, I had the opportunity to go spend a week visiting Dad while he was still volunteering at the National Monument at Aztec, NM. I was lucky enough to get a personalized tour of both Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon from my dad and I've recently uploaded a gallery of photos I shot while I was there. You can find them here in my Ruins of the American Southwest gallery. They were all shot with my little point and shoot camera (this was probably 2 years until I upgraded to my new fancy DSLR) but some of them turned out quite nicely.
