One of the best things about retirement is being able to do the things you want to do. One of my clients spends his time seeking ancient treasures. Here’s a recent email string from him:
Interesting week. We had one search for a family of four who had managed to lose the route and ended up in an adjacent canyon. We used a night plane flight to locate the couple and their daughters (their flashlights) and evacuated them the following morning using a chopper out of Moab.
Below is a ruin I stumbled on while on a canyon patrol. It held a magical find – a completely intact ceremonial kiva. It had an intact roof and still had its ladder, although the leather holding the rungs had either rotted or been eaten by insects or rodents. The rungs had all fallen to the bottom of the ladder rails. It took 2 hours to route down to the bench from the rim above.
EJ,
This is another ruin I located high in the drainage of a vast mesa top.
Amazingly intact pueblo complex. Much of the roof structure was intact and the attached kiva was complete w/access ladder. The ladder rung binders – likely leather – had rotted or been eaten and the rungs were laying at the bottom of the ladder posts.
E.J. Smith