(this takes place on a slightly larger scale, and out of my home city)

I met Ariadne over the phone, after an anxious attempt to get access to a research library in Colorado. She's a middle-aged woman, the wife of an archaeologist. She wore a blue jacket for the three consecutive days that I met with her. Her hands move when she talks, scuttling across manuscript pages or pointing at lovingly-cradled ceramics, safe in their nests of inert material. I'm going to be coming up your way in May, I said, and I was wondering if you'd help me plan my trip. 

She got quiet for a second, and then said yes. And would you mind if I give you a few other recommendations? Eight or nine or so?  

Late in May, with my itinerary and vague directions in hand, I began the adventure. 

Chaco 

Got swept up in a group of amateur archaeologists. Had a long conversation at the cultural center's bookstore about the SCA and potential postbacc internships before I wander off into the world of healthcare. A lot of horses. A lot of empty, dusty roads (my favorite kind). 

Climbed up a slot canyon for the view of one of the Great Houses:




Chimney Rock

The masonry is different here. It's a mix of that careful core-and-veneer Chaco style and something else, something a little rougher. Different cultures, different histories, but people came together here to make something new. 




Pagosa Brewing Co.

What can I say? Ariadne gives great lunch recommendations. Sat out under the trees at a little picnic table. Peach beer, onion rings. 






Anasazi Heritage Center

An entomologist ("I just really like beetles!") let me back into the research library and set a pile of excel printouts down on the desk.

So I think this is everything we've got that relates to your research question. You know how to use the mobile shelving? Cool? Cool.

I hear talk that Ariadne's husband wrote his thesis here, behind the scenes in this museum. It makes me feel kind of warm inside. 





Hovenweep

Towers everywhere. It's windy and empty and after a week of climbing slot canyons and falling off of boulders (I'm clumsy, alright) without injury I manage to slice my thumb open while pulling my duffle bag out of the trunk. 

I ran into a newer ranger and it turns out he's working on a thesis too. He likes to spend time out here when it's not too crowded to get a better idea of how people might have inhabited these spaces. I get that.




Crow Canyon

Still not to Ariadne, but I'm now inside her social circle. I've read about this woman in a book, before (House of Rain: a very speculative work, but worth reading if you're into travelogues at all). We sat on the porch of the research lab, drinking lemonade and talking about the time depth of Chaco and georitual frameworks and everything except my research question. She got divebombed by little swallows and I think that too this day this is the most interesting conversation I've ever had. Thank you, Ariadne, for making this possible. It's incredible to meet someone you've read about and come to realize that they're every bit as kind and quiet and thoughtful as they've been made out to be. 


The research library

Ran into Ariadne when she was unboxing pottery fragments that hadn't been touched in over a century. I don't think I can sum up the way it felt to have the opportunity to get inside this research library, the ceramics archive, to pick her husband's brain for information, for everything about this trip. The fact that she took it into her own hands to plan it makes this all so much better.

I got the information I needed. I've become very proficient with the wheelie mobile shelving unit things (only almost got crushed by one once). 





Mesa Verde

I had the opportunity to see Ariadne several more times over the course of my stay at Mesa Verde. I've spent enough time researching these sites that my brain is now a little fried, so I'll leave you with a few pictures instead. 




Durango

Went with the intent to go rafting with two friends who live near here. It poured all day, so instead we walked around the two and ate some really excellent risotto at what used to be an old saloon. 


(This is not either of those friends.)



Albuquerque 

I had to catch a plane back to Houston, so there wasn't much time to see the city. Sorry, A. I did catch a wonderful view of the desert on the trip back.


 

Best of luck in everything you do, Ariadne. This trip was incredible.