Lowry Pueblo

Just northeast of Hovenweep is a large area of Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) land called Canyons of the Ancients.
Canyons of the Ancients is a National Monument, but instead
of being managed by the National Park Service, it's operated
by the BLM. It's kind of an odd area because it's interspersed
with juniper forests, sagebrush plains and large swaths of
irrigated farms. After driving through much of this varied
terrain, we came to Lowry Pueblo, which is part of the monument.


The pueblo is covered with a large metal roof to protect it.
It's very similar to the covering at Casa Grande in Arizona.
Constructed almost a thousand years ago, the ruins themselves
were once home to around 100 people.


My favorite spot in the ruins are the multiple rooms and inner
kiva, which are currently located under the roof. It was bright
and sunny today, but with the roofs that would have been
covering the pueblo in historic times, it might have looked
very similar to this view.


A short walk from the main pueblo is the Great Kiva. This would
have been used for ceremonial, religious and community functions.
It's said that the unique figures at the bottom of kiva represent
summer people and winter people.