Anasazi State Park Museum

We planned to follow more trails deep into these parks but the weather changed our mind.  We had a bit of lightening and thunder, rain and wind and these pea-size hail stones as we drove along. 

The rain brought out even more color in the rocks.

Instead of driving muddy roads, we spent time at the Anasazi State Park Museum.  This small museum explains the creation myth of the Anasazi, a Navaho word for ancient enemy, now used as a collective name for the Native Americans who began living here about 1100 A.D.  Many of them believe that man came up from another world climbing a ladder through a hole called a Sipapu and migrated in the four directions living on and developing the land as they were instructed to do.

The University of Utah has excavated this are called the Coombs site and has some excellent artifacts on display in the museum.  This spear point is the oldest known artifact found in this area.

 This ancestral pueblo McElmo black-on-white mug dates back over 500 years.

After viewing a movie about the Hopi culture, we went to see the ruins.  The people who lived here were about 5"4", just like Anna Lee.  They had to duck down to enter the rooms. 

 The buildings represent sipapu with ladders through the roof reminding the people of their origins. 

 Both living quarters and store rooms make up the L-shaped buildings.

The walls were made in two types, Kayenta with slabs of shale and jacal with mud plastered onto pole frames.

While some buildings were erected above ground, there were others that were excavated so that the roof was at ground level.  These were easier to heat and cool therefore considered more comfortable to live in.

This hawk is now in residence at the museum and is being trained to hunt.

The rain continued to put on a spectacular show and continued into the evening.