Week 42: the one with the alarm!
Don't worry, everything turned out okay!
Hi fam! Hi, friends! How was your week? We spent most of the week dispersed camping at Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM) near Cannonball Mesa in Colorado.
There was a bit of excitement around here — read on for more!
Hiking to Cannonball Mesa
Monday’s forecast called for clouds with only a 4% chance of precipitation and 65 degrees F — the warmest it’s been for a while! So we decided to hike Cannonball Mesa and look for the cultural site (Cannonball Pueblo) that we’d heard about.
We packed plenty of water, snacks and the Garmin inReach and set off right from the van. (No worries family and friends — the inReach works off of satellites, so we can get help even if we don’t have cell coverage.)
Right off the bat there were incredible views of Sleeping Ute Mountain — so cool being able to see more of the mountain than we do at camp:
We started scanning canyon rims for evidence of Cannonball Pueblo, and when I spotted it off in the distance and my heart lifted. It’s so amazing to think about people living here over 800 years ago.
They always chose such beautiful places to build their homes.
We couldn’t find much about the site, although J was able to find this research paper from Crow Canyon Archeological Center, and I found these images from the Library of Congress. Here is a plan view of Cannonball Ruins from the paper, described as a late Pueblo Ill canyon-rim village. The southern portion was excavated by Morley in 1908.
The blob shape towards the center of the plan marks a seasonal waterfall. I can only imagine what it must have been like being in the structure below while the water was running!
There is a fence around the perimeter of the site — we’re guessing it’s to keep cows and horses out — but the gate is unlocked so you can still go in and explore.
It’s such an incredible feeling walking in the footsteps of the ancient Puebloan people and visiting these places.
These sandstone blocks were made without using metal tools. So impressive.
When you stop and look at the craftsmanship you start to notice little details — like the special, colorful rock used above. I wonder what it signified to the builder?
There are mountains in all directions — that peak to the left is Bears Ears National Monument in Utah and I hope we get to go there someday.
As we explored the site a kind of happy peace came over me thinking about living somewhere like this with mountains all along the horizon. I imagine that the Ancient Puebloan people came to know these mountains in all their moods. And I’m guessing they had friends and family and could look to the direction of their homes following the line of the mountains.
What landmarks to live by.
And Then the Alarm Went Off!
After we were done exploring the cultural site we decided to hike to the farthest edge of Cannonball Mesa to take in the view — and what a view it was!
What a view, amiright? It felt like we were standing on the edge of the world.
We had a snack and were getting ready to hike the 4.5 miles back to camp — the furthest we’d been from the van all day — when Jason got an alert from the Ford app on his phone:
“Vehicle alarm triggered! Door ajar!”
Oh no.
NO.
F*ck!
We looked at each other and didn’t know what to do. Since we sold our house travel full time in the van, everything we own is in there except for some momentos we have at J’s parent’s house in Ohio.
We quickly made a plan: J would run back to the van since he’s way faster than me — ever since I had 6 surgeries for a torn ACL I can’t run very far without horrible pain — so he gave me the Garmin inReach, his water — after tanking up — and off he went.
Here’s the story from J’s point-of-view:
Once I got in coverage about 20 minutes later I called 911 and the dispatcher said there was welfare check requested on the camper van by someone who saw it parked there for a while, and the sheriff’s office had opened the van to check for dead bodies. I gave them our info and the deputy called me back a few minutes later, repeating what the dispatcher told him and saying he would wait for me to get back to the van since they weren’t sure if the van was in some lockout mode and the door was open.
I continued running several more miles back to the van and met the deputy. I inspected the van for damage - there are a few scratches where they used their tools to unlock the driver’s side cab door, and the deputy left afterward after chatting for a bit — he seemed like a nice guy. I asked him if he talked to the law enforcement ranger (or any of the other rangers) at CANM since they knew we were here, but he said no.
The deputy told me they hiked around the hills around the campsite looking for us (or our bodies!), and even found a bottle of hot sauce perched on a boulder up the hill. Weird! I showed him the collection of odd trash I had picked up around camp, including a old lace doily table cover and an almost-new hatchet.
I cleaned up the small mess the deputies had made and washed dishes while I waited for Lisa to get back. We kept in touch and updated each other the whole time, and I tracked her via the Garmin inReach updates.
What an experience! At least no one was stealing our stuff!
And now back over to Lisa:
As I watched J take off at a run I was so worried — what would he find when he got back to camp? What if the perpetrator(s) were still there?
I hoped they didn’t find my wedding ring or the turquoise ring my Dad gave me — the rest was just all “stuff” and could be replaced.
As I was hiking along as fast as my legs could carry me I happened to notice a pottery shard that we hadn’t seen on the way there — it seemed like a sign that everything would be okay.
About a half hour later I got the text from J that it was the police doing a welfare check — what a huge indescribable relief.
I started to enjoy the hike back and really take the landscape. I can’t remember the last time I got to hike this far alone — I didn’t see another soul the whole time.
There’s something about hiking in solitude with the only sound being the wind, the birds (I saw several flocks of bluebirds), and the crunch of your own footsteps. It’s so different from covering the same ground with another person, even if you’re not talking to each other.
I really love this life we get to lead — and I know the odds are that something will probably happen to the van someday — but still wouldn’t want it any other way.
And then…!
I heard thunder off in the distance and started hiking even faster! I had a jacket with me, but still I didn’t want to get caught out in a storm.
I stopped once to take a “juniper break” — it was the first time I ever used a horse print to pee in LOL! (Sorry if that grossed anyone out, but I thought it was funny! Of course I had my Kula cloth with me — one of the greatest inventions of all time.)
Speaking of horses, I finally got to see part of the herd that’s been hanging around near camp — we’d seen plenty of evidence of them since we’ve been here — aka piles of horse manure :)
It was reassuring to see J’s footprints from time to time — I kind of pretended like I was a tracker like Henry Standing Bear on Longmire.
I was so happy to see the van back at camp! Whew!
I checked my time — I did the 4.5 miles back in about 90 minutes — not too bad at all — for 10 miles total on the day. J told me later he checked up on my progress a few times but he knew I’d make it — he said I’m tough. That really made my heart wing.
Wednesday update: this morning a pickup truck pulled into our camp spot and a guy got out, walked up, and started looking in our fire pit! Jason went out to talk to him (with me staying in the van filming everything) and he told us he was the guy who called in the welfare check and he was checking on us to make sure we were okay, and he apologized for any inconvenience. He was a younger guy and left pretty quickly — he must have sensed that we were pretty unhappy with him. As soon as he left we thought of all kinds of things we wished we’d have said while he was here. (Isn’t that how it always goes?!) We’re guessing he’s a local rancher living on one of the inholdings around here. We still don’t know why he called a welfare check — we were out and about in camp almost every day — he just might not have seen us. Seems suspicious.
Now we’re strategizing on how to prevent this in the future, and better protect the van when we go hiking. Maybe we leave a post-it note in the window while away with contact information? We’re researching security systems and cameras, too.
What a Sunset!
I got back to camp around 6:30 pm, over an hour before sunset, and called my Dad to see if any of the deputies had called him since his contact info is in the glove box that they’d dug through. He said he hadn’t heard anything — so that’s good. Then we let J’s mom know what had been going on, too.
And then! The sun started lighting up Sleeping Ute Mountain and I just HAD to hike up the hill to get some photos. Whoa!
First there was a golden glow:
That turned to this amazing pink:
And then looking back towards the van the sky was aglow:
What a day of highs and lows!
Waffles!
Tuesday dawned super windy and there was a wintery mix of snow and rain when we woke up — brrrr! We were both feeling sore from yesterday and decided to take it easy.
I’d been craving waffles for a while so this seemed like the perfect day for it! We used our trusty Stuffler waffle maker — it’s a luxury item for sure when you live in a tiny home on wheels and space is at a premium, but I just love having it!
Horsing Around
Wednesday we had some visitors — three wild horses showed up! This was the first time we ever had wild horses in camp. We couldn’t stop watching them. I think they’re the same ones I saw from the hike back from the mesa.
I’ve been meaning to write about Sleeping Ute Mountain, so now seems as good a time as any. Sleeping Ute Mountain is on the northern edge of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Reservation and is sacred to the tribe. Read more about the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe here in this National Geographic Traveler article. It describes what it’s like around here way better than I can. We really wanted to camp at the tribal campground and take a guided tour but they’re closed for the season darn. Next time!
Rally for Public Lands
Friday J and I went to a rally for public lands at the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CANM) Visitor Center and it felt good to show our support!
If you haven’t been following the news, the Trump administration illegally fired thousands of employees across the National Park Service (NPS), Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
I was the artist in residence at CANM (on BLM land) when the firings took place, so I could see firsthand how it impacted the rangers, and a Native American intern who was working on documenting the history of their tribe at CANM was fired, with the reason given that they were a “DEI” hire. It was heartbreaking.
The administration has been ordered to rehire NPS employees, but they filed an appeal so it hasn’t happened yet. These organizations are all chronically understaffed and underfunded. And the Park Service and record high visitation in 2024!
After the illegal firings, the administration issued executive orders to open up public lands for mining, drilling, and logging. Here’s a really good article about the impacts this will have.
I’ve been calling my senators and reps to protest — the @5calls app makes it super simple.
Public lands have always played a big role in my life, but even more now that we travel full time. 99% of our nights are spent on public land.
I’m gonna keep doing what I can and not give up hope that we can stop the destruction.
San Juan National Forest
We spent Friday and Saturday nights back in San Juan National Forest. It’s so beautiful here at 8,000 feet. There was still SNOW — I love how it made the aspens seem to glow.
That’s wrap for this week! And what a week it was!
See you next week! — Lisa, Jason & Walter-the-Van
What a week. So glad that you hadn't didn't have much damage after the incident. The susnset photos are amazing
What an eventful week Lisa and Jason!
Miss you Lisa.
Love reading your weekly updates