To get to the Holly group, we entered Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Even reading the map at the kiosk, it was hard to figure out what was what.  I could only assume there was an overlap.

We took a bumpy dirt road.  We began to wonder if we were lost.

 But then Angie spotted something out the window.

So we knew we were close.

Then a sign confirmed we were on the right track.

It was a really a great trail out to and along the rim of Keeley Canyon.  Probably .3 mile long, not far at all.  The views as you came around a bend and the structures appeared out of the landscape was just an amazing experience of discovery and awe.

This house actually split in half as the ground beneath the boulder washed away and the boulder shifted, spilling much of the walls and the upper levels into the canyon.  It is aptly named Tilted Tower. 

Look at this amazing tower.  Look how it is built so perfectly into the boulder upon which it rests.  It stands beside a spring and was built from the inside.  Handholds were pecked into the boulder base for access and entry.  It is called Boulder House.

The group is named for James Holley who was a rancher in the area in the late 1800’s.

The way these structures were positioned near water showed how important water was to them, providing life for their crops and for themselves.  They were protecting it and praying for it to continue to flow.

But it didn’t flow.  During a 23 year regional drought, the occupants of this canyon left around 1300 AD.  These buildings have weathered for seven centuries here in the high desert.

Then the trail became Petroglyph Trail and it ended on a boulder.  We looked and looked until we spotted a sign.

Staining made many of these rock art symbols hard to detect, but we could tell there was more there than our eyes could see.

One of our friends told us that these symbols were supposed to tell who they were, what they were doing, and why they left.

Petroglyphs were carefully pecked and scratched into the rock using stone tools.  They used a hard hammerstone or a pecking stone and sometimes antler in a hammer and chisel method. 

One cannot help to wonder what they were trying to tell us.

So we took the trail back.  It was a little uneven and rocky but so worth it.

What’s amazing is that even after centuries, we come to view the remainder of their labors and connect with the essence of who they were… and after so long, we can.