466 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 



and Spruce-tree House were discovered in 1883, and Sun Temple 

 was first made known in 1915 and Fire House a few years later. 

 The settlement of the Montezuma Valley by a white population 

 revealed many other monuments of the past in this region, not the 

 least striking of which were towers and great houses along the 

 McElmo and the tributaries of the Yellowjacket, and finally the 

 more instructive of these, preserved and protected, were called the 

 Hovenweep National Monument. 



ITINERARY 



This monument is at present more or less isolated and difficult 

 to approach, as the roads are not of the best. Two roads are 

 available to visit it, one from Dolores, the other from Mancos, Colo., 

 by way of Cortez. The Dolores road crosses the Dolores River 

 shortly after leaving that city and continues westward, following 

 approximately the old Spanish trail past a modern reservoir, 

 Siguaro, a large pile of stones marking the oldest described pueblo 

 of the region. The course of the road is to Dove Creek and Monti- 

 cello, but at Sandstone post office a branch to the left, known as the 

 Old Bluff City road, but little used, leads to the reserve called the 

 Hovenweep Monument. One advantage of this road over another 

 to the south by way of Cortez is that there are no streams to cross 

 and no quicksands to endanger the traveler. The distance from Do- 

 lores is about 45 miles, and that by the McElmo Canyon road a 

 little longer. The Yellowjacket is a treacherous stream, especially 

 after rains, and is avoided by wise travelers in the rainy season. 

 There is no regular hotel on either route, but water is found along 

 the McElmo, and a place to sleep at a store called the McElmo post 

 office. Prosperous farmers are settled along both routes, and the 

 melons, cantaloupes, and fruit of the McElmo have a wide reputation. 



To the Hovenweep and back is a strenuous trip for one day, but 

 it can be made. Should the tourist decide to visit Cannon Ball 

 Ruin he will find it best to sleep at McElmo post office, where meals 

 are served. 



The road to the Hovenweep Monument through the McElmo 

 Canyon is more picturesque than that from Dolores. The two 

 roads have a common terminus, and it is better to go by one route 

 and return by the other. The McElmo or southern route takes one 

 from Mancos, Colo., to Cortez, part of the way the same as that 

 to the Mesa Verde National Park, the branch to which is indicated 

 by a conspicuous signboard. For several miles the Mesa Verde is 

 visible on the left and the road climbing the precipitous cliff is 

 observed very plainly. 



