A small rattler welcomed us to Hovenweep:

Lin and I drove about 100 miles southeast from Moab to the Hovenweep National Monument. According to the information at the Visitor's Center, there are five villages or 'sites' at this location. They are quite spread apart so we only had time to hike around the rim of the canyon near the Center and look at one site. It was 2.2 miles but since we were feeling quite ill from our colds, that was plenty for us! There were a bunch of structures there, all dating to the 1200's. The archeologists estimate that the village was deserted after being inhabited for only about 20 years. So much work just to pick up and leave!

The trail winds around the top of a small canyon and the walking guide that you get at the Visitor's Center describes each structure, estimating how many rooms it had and what its purpose might have been. As usual, they have only a small inkling as to why these villages were deserted when they were but speculate that a drought hit the land and ruined several years' worth of crops. As we strolled, I was struck by the similarity between the masonry here and that at Chaco Culture. It's not as neat here, not as precise, but I could identify the different 'type' classifications we learned at Chaco.