Take a tour of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - A creation story and winter solstice marker dating back to the Pueblo I period, according to Ute Mountain Tribal Park guide Rick Hayes.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Guide Rick Hayes, a resident of Towaoc, said he has been conducting tours of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park for the last 20 years.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - "Save this world not for yourself, but for your children and grandchildren." Guide Rick Hayes, center, interprets petroglyphs in the Mancos Valley during a tour of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park on Friday August 2, 2013.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Guide Rick Hayes, back right, waits for visitors to negotiate ladders leading down to the ancestral Puebloan ruins at the Ute Mountain Tribal Park.
EMERY COWAN / The Durango Herald<br>An old building now serves as the welcome center for the Ute Mountain Tribal Park.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Guide Rick Hayes, a resident of Towaoc, said he has been conducting tours of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park for 20 years-enough time to figure out all the best places to rest, he says. At right are Saul Medina of San Juan, Puerto Rico, front; Howard Cole of Denver, middle; and Shelly Means of Pine Grove, Colo.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Ute Mountain Tribal Park guide Rick Hayes holds a glazed pottery shard he says dates back to the Pueblo III period.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - A structure for grain storage, according to guide Rick Hayes, in the Ute Mountain Tribal Park.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Ute Mountain Tribal Park guide Rick Hayes cools off during the tour.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Ute Mountain Tribal Park guide Rick Hayes interprets a creation story dating back to the Pueblo I period for visitors to the park. The petroglyph also served as a winter solstice marker, Hayes said.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Guide Rick Hayes, left, shows a kivu at Eagles Nest to Howard Cole of Denver, center, and Saul Medina of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Recent visitors to the Ute Mountain Tribal Park approach Eagles Nest, the final ancestral Puebloan dwelling on the tour.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Visitors to the Ute Mountain Tribal Park can travel the unpaved roads through the Mancos Valley with a guide or follow along in their own vehicles. Good clearance is a must in some areas, as is four-wheel-drive when the weather turns bad.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Guide Rick Hayes, center, said he has been conducting tours of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park for 20 years. At left is Saul Medina of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at right is Larry Means of Pine Grove, Colo.
