Week 37: I started my artist residency at CANM!

Monument Valley, Utah to Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado

Hi friends! Hi fam! It’s hard to believe that one week ago today we had a flat tire after leaving Prescott National Forest in Arizona — so much has happened since then!

Let’s dive in!

Monument Valley, Utah

Sunday night we camped at Goulding’s RV & Campgrounds in Monument Valley, Utah. We got there after dark due to that darn flat tire so when we woke up to this view we were super excited:

What a view to wake up to!

This was the actual view from our camp spot — whoa!

I went for a little walk before breakfast and spotted some cool red rocks, too!

Then it was on to the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park Visitor Center where we had this amazing view of the Three Sisters:

I had to text the picture to my two sisters :)

Inside the gift shop there was a penny pressing machine so I got one for my MIL who collects them.

I wish we’d have had time to do the 17 mile dirt road, but we had to head on down the road.

We didn’t get very far before I had to stop for a photo:

That classic view!

And then we stopped for another:

And of course we had to take one from Forrest Gump Point:

We took a couple of goofy selfies, too! :)

I hope to go back to Monument Valley on a sunny day with blue skies and sunshine, but those moody gray clouds are still kinda cool, right?

Mexican Hat and Shiprock

Then it was on to Mexican Hat:

And Shiprock (or the “rock with wings” translated from Navajo: Tsé Bitʼaʼí) — Jason always wanted to see it!

After a quick stop at the (closed) Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center we headed to a dispersed camping spot in San Juan National Forest just down to the road.

I couldn’t pass it by without stopping!

We set up camp and then we just had to go for a little walk in the forest to stretch our legs — loved seeing the moon come up between the trees. So peaceful.

Walter in the forest!

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM), Colorado

I started my artist residency at Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center on Tuesday — I was so excited I couldn’t sleep! I got to meet most of the staff and sign paperwork, which makes me an official volunteer at CANM!

A bit about CANM from the Mesa Verde County website:

Covering over 176,000 acres, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM) protects the highest concentration of cultural sites in the United States. Created on June 9, 2000 through Presidential proclamation, CANM is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its headquarters are located in Dolores, CO at Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum. The number of cultural sites is estimated to be as high as 30,000, and through the years over 8,400 of these sites have been recorded by archaeologists and 13 of these sites have been stabilized and preserved for visitation.

Visit with Respect

Wednesday morning we had an orientation at the Visitor Center, including a screening of two films — one of them I had already watched on YouTube — it’s so good I’m including it here:

Then we had time to explore the museum on our own. Here are just a few things that really caught my eye, starting with some mugs:

When we sold our house in Austin, Texas to travel full time, getting rid of my mug collection was one of the hardest things I had to do. I gave most of them to friends and family so I could still visit them in the future! (I just got to visit my Original Pantry mug at my friend Sally’s — hi, Sally!)

These mugs in the museum are just so amazing.

Another thing that caught my eye were these blades and points that were probably made from obsidian that came from Valles Caldera National Preserve — where I had my very first artist residency! Read more about that one here.

Also! The call for entries for the 2025 Valles Caldera Artist-in-Residence program is now open if you’d like to apply! I can’t recommend it enough! Let me know if you have any questions about my time there — I’m happy to help!

This replica of a stone palette also caught my eye!

Later I had a special private tour with the museum curator of the collection — just so amazing.

Walking in the Footsteps of the Ancients

On Thursday we were lucky enough to visit some cultural sites with Supervisory Park Ranger Amala.

Our first stop was Lowry Pueblo, a 1,000 year old Ancestral Puebloan village.

We found so many pottery shards here, picking them up to examine them and then carefully putting them back where we found them.

I can’t wait to come back here with more time to do some sketches.

Next we visited Painted Hand Pueblo, which was built in AD 1200s.

I kept thinking to myself how much I would love to live here. What a view!

There are indeed painted hands found throughout the site. My pictures didn’t come out, so I’ll just have to go back here, too!

Amazing texture!

I also found this shard by a juniper and loved how the texture played against the bark.

Our last stop was Sand Canyon Pueblo, with this view of Sleeping Ute Mountain.

What a special day!

SNOW!

The forecast said we had a 100% chance of snow on Friday — and whoa was it accurate!

The view from the van of the snow!

I was like a kid at Christmas! It was like a winter wonderland!

First Public Outreach Program

As part of my residency I’m required to give one public outreach program — but I love doing them so much I’m doing two! The first one was yesterday (Saturday) and it was so much fun!

Since it was Valentine’s Weekend, I decided to do a project where we would make Valentines to the monument and say what we love about this special place.

The Visitor Center has a heated entryway — so nifty!

I wondered if anyone would show up after the big snow, but I shouldn’t have worried because we had a great turnout!

I did demos sharing watercolor techniques and how to use a waterbrush, and I just love what everyone came up with. Just so much fun.

Look at all of that watercolor magic!

Just so much fun!

My second public outreach program will be a nature journaling workshop on March 1st, and I can’t believe how fast it filled up! I had a few suggestions to record it and I’ll see what we can do. I’m hoping for better weather so we can have part of it outside.

On a sad note, one of the attendees was one of the many who had their job offer for the park service rescinded. Now they don’t know what they’re going to do since they moved here for the job. (Note: it was not at CANM.)

If you haven’t heard the news, the Trump administration has arbitrarily fired thousands of workers from already understaffed and underfunded public lands and conservation agencies, including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, focusing on people still in their first year probationary period. Read more here and here and here.

My heart goes out to all of the employees who have had their jobs terminated, and all who had their job offers rescinded.

Escalante Pueblo

Today (Sunday) we put on our new hiking boots and the gaiters that I bought when we were back in Austin and hiked from the van past the Visitor Center to Escalante Pueblo, just under a mile away.

The site was covered in snow, but we still were able to see many of the old walls:

We also had an amazing view of Sleeping Ute Mountain and the valley below.

I’m happy to report that the gaiters and our new boots worked great!

We also got a great view of the McPhee Reservoir from the overlook:

All too soon the sun started setting and we started the trek back to the house.

Feeling so lucky to have this view in my backyard for the next few weeks!

We have a view of the reservoir from the house too — just not as high up.

That’s it for this week! I’ll leave you with this new friend we found in the backyard.

A bunny in the backyard.

Thanks for following along on our adVANtures — we’ll be back next week with more from my residence here at CANM. Until then, hope you have time to get out in nature this week and find peace. — Lisa and Jason