Halten Sie jetzt sicher! (Stop safely now!)

I studied German for two years in high school with one of the best teachers I've ever known. Norman Meisner frequently reminded his students that, “Something well learned is not easily forgotten.” I wonder, then, what would Herr Meisner think (were he alive today) if he knew that one of his former pupils was using the skills he taught her to assist German-speaking tourists visiting New Mexico? To be clear, I recall just enough of the language to be a danger to myself and others. Still, there is hardly a day that goes by here at AzRu where I don't say something auf Deutsch.

It's surprising, really, given AzRu's location. Leonard and I assumed that the southwestern U.S. would be the perfect place for us to keep up our Spanish language skills. That has turned out not to be the case. No worries, though. What volunteering at AzRu lacks by way of Spanish practice, it more than makes up for in opportunities to explore the teutonic languages. Not only do I get to try out my German on unsuspecting visitors, our supervisor at AzRu asked me to reformat the German and Dutch translations of AzRu's trail guide. Since these projects entail moving already interpreted text around (so narrative corresponds with marked stops on the trail), I feel reasonably confident that I can complete the jobs without seriously jeopardizing the Park Service's credibility.

Long House at Mesa Verde. The Ancient Puebloans were great planners
and even better builders. 

Other special projects this past week – part of our AzRu training - included two field trips. The first was to Mesa Verde National Park, where Leonard and I, along with a new seasonal interpretive ranger from AzRu, joined Mesa Verde's new crop of seasonal interp staff on a behind-the-scenes tour of some of that park's cliff dwellings. (For more on this, I've included pictures at the end of this post.) The second was a short hike to AzRu's north mesa to glimpse some of the monument's unexcavated ruins. Both experiences, especially our walk around AzRu, left me with a heightened appreciation for archaeologists and the work they do. Where I might look at a loose cluster of river rocks and see, well, rocks, an archaeologist looks and sees remnants of a pre-Columbian city. (Think Sherlock Holmes in hiking boots.)

Changing the anode rod in your hot water heater prevents
damage to the tank. Can you tell which is the old magnesium
rod and which is the new?

It wasn't all fun and games this week. No siree! RV living comes complete with a host of maintenance needs – weekly, monthly, semi-annual, annual – all in the name of avoiding trouble.

One such item on our annual list is that oh so exciting job of replacing the anode rod in Kong's water heater. Changing the rod extends the heater's life by slowing corrosion in its tank. Leonard used a handy spray wand he acquired over the Internet to rinse out the bottom of Kong's tank then screwed in the new rod. Easy!

This spray wand made cleaning out mineral deposits from the
bottom of the tank easy.

Not every project we undertake is planned. On rare occasions, something catches us by surprise, which brings me to the final item in today's discussion: coping with a failed sensor. 

An unsuspecting Leonard, en route to Farmington, noticed that the “check engine” light was on, abruptly followed by a warning to, “Stop safely now.” Before Leonard could pull off to the side of the road, Truckzilla stopped. Just stopped, blocking two lanes of highway traffic.

The culprit? An exhaust gas temperature sensor that either failed or just wore out. The sensor is designed to halt operation of the vehicle's engine in the event temperatures reach the point where a fire is imminent, definitely a good thing if you're truly just about to burst into flames but a royal pain in the rump when no such tragedy is going to occur. Happily, Truckzilla is back in working order. Ford's warranty covered the cost of installing a new sensor, and our Coach-Net policy paid for the tow.

The afternoon wasn't a total loss. Leonard got to make some new friends, including the San Juan County Sheriff's deputy who appeared on the scene to route traffic around our pitifully-stalled pickup; the driver of a local tow company who transported Truckzilla and Leonard to the nearest Ford dealer; the dealer's service department representative who oversaw Truckzilla's repair; and the dealer's shuttle driver who returned Leonard home that afternoon as well as picked him up at our doorway the following morning to reunite owner and vehicle.

No doubt more surprises lie in store this week. I just hope they're happy surprise, or should I say erfreuliche Überraschungen?

National Park Service archaeologists learn much by studying cliff dwellings like these. Building was done using stone
tools and local materials. Talk about "sweat equity!"

Water is a very limited resource in Mesa Verde country. The Ancient Puebloans took advantage of water that collected
in the rock by channeling it into collection areas which they ground out of the pueblo's floor, demonstrating that primitive doesn't mean stupid.

Ladders like these allowed the mesa's original dwellers to move from one level of their village to another. Modern visitors can climb up but not down the ladders. Can you guess why?

Nice digs!

Part of the "Great House," the west ruins at Aztec. The east ruins remain
largely unexcavated.

We arrived in Aztec, New Mexico, home of Aztec Ruins National Monument, 10 days ago. The monument's two volunteer RV sites sit a mere stone's throw away from remnants of what once was a vibrant Pueblo Indian settlement. Its structures, erected in the early 12^th Century and inhabited for less than 200 years, now stand as reminders for their descendants and others to explore.

At one time, as many as 200 Pueblo Indians may
have dwelled in the rooms at AzRu.

Study of Aztec Ruins (“AzRu” in National Park Service nomenclature) continues even today, with excavation of only a fraction of the site completed. I certainly never expected to find myself living amidst archaeological digs and count this experience among the more pleasantly-surprising ones of my life. Awe-inspiring, to say the least.

Understanding Aztec Ruins starts with understanding this: the Aztecs never made it this far north! In fact, the builders of Aztec Ruins completed their work long before the Aztecs prospered. Anglo settlers of the mid-19^th Century, inspired by popular tales of Cortez's Mexican conquest, erroneously labeled the place. By the time anyone recognized the mistake, it was too late. The label had already stuck.

Volunteer training at AzRu is mostly an on-the-job affair, with emphasis on learning how to ring up admissions fees on the visitor center cash registers without prompting an audit by the Inspector General. During lulls in activity, the rangers here take time to explain about the ruins' history in hopes that Leonard and I might learn to answer visitors' questions accurately, or at least fool the poor souls by looking like we know what we're doing. (Let me just say that wearing a uniform goes a long way in this regard.) The process feels a bit overwhelming at times – something like trying to drink from a fire hose – but we seem to be managing alright.

Volunteers from Chimney Rock National Monument  tour AzRu's Great Kiva.
Modern Pueblo Indians use kivas, including this one, in sacred, private rituals.
The Great Kiva is the only structure at AzRu to have been rebuilt.

We work Wednesdays through Saturdays. On our days off, we explore our surroundings, especially the town of Aztec. Unlike our setup at Big Bend National Park, where procuring a quart of milk was an all-day affair, just about anything we might need here is within walking distance (i.e. less than 2 miles away). Town amenities include a well-stocked Safeway, a Starbucks (inside said Safeway), a small assortment of restaurants (mostly locally-owned), a hardware store and an Auto Zone. There are also physician and dentist offices, should the need arise, as well decent cell and Internet signals (thank you, Verizon) and over-the-air television reception. Anything we can't find here is available 15 miles away in the town of Farmington.

Protecting AzRu from damage by wind and rain demands vigilance and skill.
Archaeologists continually examine the ruins to spot areas needing  repair.

Tomorrow, we join AzRu staff on a field trip to southwestern Colorado for a tour of the most famous of all Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites - Mesa Verde National Park. I could learn to “dig” these digs!

AzRu's builders added roofs made from a mix of wood and mud to create beautiful, enduring structures.

 

Unlike the Great Kiva, this kiva will remain unrestored, consistent with current archaeological practice.

 

One of AzRu's architectural mysteries concerns the use of green limestone, like that pictured here. Workers carried the stone on foot from a quarry located several miles beyond the site where the rest of AzRu's stone is believed to have been taken. Why? Only the builders know for sure (and they're not talking).

Aztec's desert climate helps to preserve wood at the site. This support is
900 years old.