December 27 ~ Number 25 Haunted Places

Before I forget. tomorrow I'm the guest blog at www.sommerleigh.com Go there and see what I have to say about the New Year. Also, all 71 of you, please follow Sommer, not like she needs my help, but consider this, she is the bravest blogger around. She's turning her space over tome for a day. Check it out, would you please.


How was your Christmas? Mine was OK. Not spectacular but OK. Kind of glad it's over. I spent 'Boxing Day', yesterday, in bed sick as a dog. Too much Christmas fun and goodies. I almost can't wait until January 2 when it's back to healthy eating and lifestyle. Why do we have to do that, wait for a specific date? Maybe it's just me.


Enough of that. We'll surely be talking about it come next week.


Let's talk about haunted places instead. Today on the AOL Homepage they were talking about Ghost Towns, I've been to a few(even a few AOl mentioned. Although St. Elmo,CO hardly qualifies as a bona fide Ghost Town. People still live there for 'cryan out loud'.). One of my most favorite haunted places is Hovenweep National Monument.


Hovenweep is located in the Four Corners area of the US. You know that spot where Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico all meet. There's a cool monument there also. You can stand in all four states at one time, well, if you have big feet you can. Anyway...Hovenweep is off the beaten path (at least it used to be) in that general area. It's a Ghost town of sorts a deserted Anasazi Ghost town.


When we used to live in the 'High Country' (above 10,000 ft 'High Country') we liked to go out to the desert in the spring. Winter was still going strong up to home, but in the desert it was warm and sunny. There are other more famous Anasazi sites like Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, or Canyon de Chelly, but they tend to be more crowded. Hovenweep is a little out of the way and more deserted. (When I Googled Hovenweep to try to life a picture I see there is a new visitors center, so maybe it's not the same. In the days when we went there,it was an old rusty mobile home that the ranger lived in during the summer months only. In the springtime it was us and the Spirits.)


This one spring we went out there and our car broke down. There was nothing for miles and nobody around. Trying to make the best of it we hiked and camped and had a good time for two or three days. We had brought everything we needed. Rick has an old wooden flute (recorder). At night we would sit around the campfire and he would play. That's when we saw the spirits come out and dance just off our fire. (I was not the only one to see them this time.) After that first night, when we would hike around the ruins during the day we could feel them watching us. Nothing scary just a presence. Every night they would be back for the music.


Finally, Rick hiked out to the highway to hitch a ride into to the nearest town for help. We got someone to drag the car into Blanding, UT where we spent three days waiting for repairs. Not as fun as the time at the ruins, but we did meet some interesting people there also (all of them alive).


Man, some days I miss the American West. If your in the area drive on out to Hovenweep. If your lucky enough to be there alone in the spring, maybe you'll meet some of our friends. You'll also be close to my favorite spot on in the contiguous 48, Monument Valley. Maybe one day I'll tell you about some of our travels there.


Here's a picture of Hovenweep Castle.

Enjoy to the flute music of Carlos Nakai.