School is in Session - Part 2 - Ruins and Scenery - by Ladybug

 I didn't just see cool things on this trip, I learned lots of educational stuff.  Here are some of the words I leaned on this trip. Others are by the pictures later in the blog.
      Cairn - a pile of rocks to mark trails or other things.
      Anasazi - ancient indians that left ruins in the canyons of the southwest.

My Dad and I hiked a very long way.  33 miles in four days. I didn't know I could hike that far until this trip.  I would like to do it again soon.

The first day we found a lot of ruins.  Some were in good shape and some had fallen.  Some were like lookout towers on the cliffs and were impossible to climb to.  Others were where the people lived and could be reached easily.

It got dark early so I had time to draw some of the ruins that we had seen.  I wrote some in my journal too.

There were lots of cool rock formations and pretty views during this trip.  Here are some of them.

My dad and I saw pictograph.  It was fun to try and guess what they meant.  A pictograph is painted and a petroglyph is carved or scratched out of the petrified desert varnish.

kiva - a round, underground building that was used for meetings and protection.  The door is always on the ceiling.  I think that they also had feasts in there.

There were lots of pottery and grinding stones around the ruins.  We left them there so others could see them too.  This was the law for hiking there.

I found some arrowheads out in the river area.  These were used for hunting and fighting.

Some of the rocks looked like painted waves.

Some parts of the creeks were still frozen from the winter and were very beautiful.

My Dad took this while he was going to the bathroom.  He had to take the shot fast before the clouds changed.  It was funny.

This was my friend on the trip.  She has the same name as me.  Cool, huh.

This was the coolest rock thing on the whole trip.  It looks like the little rock in the middle fell from the sky and cracked the big rock.  This was right on the trail.


Thanks Dad for taking me on this trip!