Cortez — Hovenweep National Monument — Yucca House National Monument— (Shiprock, N. M.) ; US 84. Junction US 160 to New Mexico Line, 27 miles. Narrow graveled road; during winter, ask road conditions locally.   

One of the routes through the Indian country of Colorado, this highway crosses the western section of the Consolidated Ute Agency. Somewhat off the beaten path, it offers more than the usual in the way of wild, rough scenery and human color. On side roads are two national monuments, Hovenweep and Yucca House, established for the preservation of ancient pueblo dwellings.

US 84 branches south from US 160 in CORTEZ, 0 miles (6,198 alt., 921 pop.) (see Tour 11c).

At 3 miles is the junction with a dirt road.

Right on this road is MCELMO, 25 miles, a store and filling station.

At 27 miles is a junction with a dirt road.

Right here through rough and picturesque country into HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT, four groups of prehistoric dwellings probably of the same culture as the ruins at Mesa Verde (see Mesa Verde National Park) and Yucca House (see below). Two of the groups are in Hackberry and Keely Canyons in Colorado (see below).

The KEELY CANYON GROUP, 3.5 miles, includes five large buildings set on the rim of a canyon spur and clustered about its base. Other smaller structures are scattered along the canyon walls. After centuries of weathering, the ruins still evidence fine masonry.

The HACKBERRY CANYON GROUP, 5 miles, is distinguished by the HORSESHOE HOUSE, a ruin formed by two concentric walls, a curved outer wall on the north, about four feet from a curved inner wall and connected with it by partitions. The compartments between these partitions are well preserved.

The ruins of Hovenweep (Ind. deserted canyon) are of special interest to archeologists for their fine state of preservation and for certain architectural features found in no other buildings of this culture, chiefly the multiple chambers in some of the towers. Nothing comparable to this construction has been noted in other dwellings of an approximate period, or in modern pueblos.

West of the junction with the Keely Canyon turn-off, the dirt road from McElmo crosses the Utah Line, 28.5 miles, 42 miles east of Bluff, Utah (see Utah Guide). The RUIN CANYON GROUP of the monument lies (L) just across the line; to the south is the CAJON CANYON GROUP of 11 buildings centered about Hovenweep Castle, with walls 66 feet long and 22 feet high.

US 84 traverses Montezuma Valley, walled in by great cliffs; in the distance (R) is Sleeping Ute Mountain (9,884 alt.) (see Tour 11c).

At 9 miles is the junction with a dirt road.

Right on this road to YUCCA HOUSE NATIONAL MONUMENT, 25 miles, created to preserve what archeologists believe are the remains of a prehistoric village. Huge mounds of dirt cover the ruins, the two most conspicuous being Upper House and Lower House. Little preparatory excavation has been done (1939), but buildings constructed of fossiliferous limestone, probably taken from an outcrop along the base of Mesa Verde, have been revealed. Preliminary work reveals that the inhabitants had a highly developed artistic skill, using exceptional patterns both in pottery and weaving.

The highway crosses the northern boundary of the CONSOLIDATED UTE AGENCY (see Tour 11D), 10.8 miles, a barren stretch of grassland. This division of the agency is that of the Ute Mountain, or Weminuche, Ute, distinguished from the Southern Ute by the fact that their tribal land is held in common. The Southern Ute are mostly farmers, but this branch of the tribe remains a nomadic people, living in tents and driving sheep across the sage. Occasionally, as the highway winds cross this forbidding land, a Navaho hogan, or conical mud hut, is seen. Usually the only opening in this primitive habitation is a doorway covered with a canvas flap. Except for the few educated in Government schools, these Indians speak little English, although most of them can converse in broken Spanish. They object to being photographed, and visitors attempting to photograph a child, especially a boy, often have their cameras smashed. Trading with the Indians is almost impossible, as they invariably raise prices to strangers. To a greater extent than the Southern Ute, the Weminuche cling to old customs; they still do most of their cooking over a campfire and preserve meat by cutting it into strips, salting it, and drying it in the sun.

The Ute Mountain Ute elect their chief and have organized cattle associations, but they have not yet come under the Indian Reorganization Act entitling them to a written constitution such as governs the Southern Ute Agency (see Tour 11D). Since 1913 their chief has been John Miller, now (1940) about 70 years old.

At 11.6 miles is the junction with a graveled road.

Right on this road to TOWAOC (toy-yak), 3 miles, headquarters for the Ute Mountain reservation, consisting of the agency buildings, a hospital, and the UTE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL (open), attended by sixty day sfudents.

At 24.6 miles is the junction with an unimproved road.

Right on this road to the MANGOS CREEK TRADING POST, 2 miles, where the Ute sell Indian jewelry and souvenirs.

US 84 crosses the NEW MEXICO LINE, 27 miles, 18 miles north of Shiprock, New Mexico (see New Mexico Guide).