It is not one place but a collection of places. There are ruins of castles, villages and simple homes. The first is dubbed Cutthroat Castle. This is disturbing that nothing is protecting these structures from theft or vandalism.
This ruin is the easiest to get to in that a trail goes all the way up to the ruin. You are free to touch and explore it as you wish for the most part. Obviously you must take care as the ruin is built on the edge of a tall hill. The trail leading there is unmarked in places but is the typical sandy trail in this part of the country and the only part that was difficult was where the trail hugs the cliff - just don't look down. I am not superstitious but about 300 yards before arriving within sight of the ruin, there is a peculiar quiet and you seem to know you are about to encounter something very different, something one needs to be quiet in the presence of.
There was no one else here, just the two of us and the dog. We left the site with only the lizards to watch over it.
Hovenweep is an odd place in that there is no map, no trail guide until you happen to find the places where the trailhead is and there is a metal box with an incomplete map inside along with a thumbnail of the history. We both agreed this is a place the park service really doesn't want you to find and doesn't encourage you to explore. This is a place that needs to be a park so that it can receive the equal protection of Mesa Verde that it deserves. The place below is Painted Hand. It is called this because there are petroglyphs of hands on the inside of the round structure. Take a good look at the structure - we walked to this. This was a short but very difficult walk.
This looks like just one ruin but it is not - it is a complex of structures and most can only be seen when in close proximity. There are cliff dwelling ruins along with this tower. If you want to see this one though, be warned that although it is a very short walk, it is very steep and there is a passage so narrow that one must turn on ones side to make it through the passage between the boulders. The dog would not even walk down it. I don't blame her.
Make sure you are wearing hard hiking boots, bring water and wear a hat to protect you from the sun. I brought 2 cameras and getting back up with the long lens made it a little cumbersome. The view is excellent from here perched on the cliff. Once again, there is nothing protecting these ruins and I am sure there is a lot of stone permanently missing from the ruins. The painted hand is inside the round structure and has obviously been touched many times. Really glad we got to see this but I wonder if it will be around for the next generation to see.
The next place we saw was the last one we walked to - it was a very full day of walking and scampering around rocks. This place is called Holly. This will take your breath away. It does not look like Native Americans built this, it looks like some European castle. That same feeling of quiet awe came over us. While the building in the center built on the boulder is astounding and immediately gets attention because of the depth of the canyon, the huge building in the distance grabs your curiosity and wonder next.
The area obviously suffered an earthquake at some time such that the rocks where some of the structure is built shifted, yet the adobe mud on these rocks held and this wall still holds to the now slanted boulders.
There was an odd light across the big structure. The path continues across to it but we decided not to walk further. The day was late and our legs and feet were tired from all the scampering.
There are a few more ruins called Hackberry and Horseshoe. These we did not walk to - it took the entire day to find and explore what we did. I am very happy we got to do this and sad to think the next generation may not be so lucky since these have no protection sitting out under the sun open to all to see, touch and explore.
Get out there while you can, explore the back roads!
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