Huck's Museum and the Promise of Fried Chicken.

Before I can actually tell you about Huck's Museum and Trading Post, I'll need to tell how we got there in the first place. We had just spent several hours hiking and exploring the Old Pioneer Dugway (outside Bluff, UT), and the slickrock ledges above it (that's for another post).  While I had brought along snacks, that wasn't enough for Roy and he wanted to hurry home as I had promised to make him fried chicken.  As we traveled northward, along Route 191, we were passing by Huck's and the OPEN sign was by the road, the neon sign inside was lit.

Now we had often passed by Huck's, but it was either closed, or we were hurrying off to elsewhere.  It was Sunday and we were surprised to see the open signs, but I told Roy I wanted to go in.  He kept driving though and pretended he had not heard me, so I asked him, "Umm, the museum, are we going?"  He replied, "I'm hungry and want fried chicken."  We were now two blocks away when I replied back, "You want fried chicken?  I want to see the museum; it's open, we're here; no museum, no fried chicken!"  Roy slowed the vehicle, checked traffic and did a U-turn back to Huck's.

Huck's Museum and Trading Post

1243 South Main Street (Route 191)
Blanding, Utah, 84511-3204

Phone: (435) 678-2329

The entrance to Huck's brings you directly into the trading post with all manner of knick-knacks for sale; the majority of them are Native American in origin (jewelry, pottery, Kachina dolls, carvings), local books and Blue Mountains Shadows, the magazine of San Juan County.  There are also old time artifacts on the walls, so you're sort of in a museum without being in the actual museum.

Now, as Huck told us later on, he's a hoarder; as soon as he empties out one area, it simply gets piled up again.  No wonder then that you won't notice him right away sitting by his desk, so don't jump when you hear his low, raspy voice say "Hello".  Hugh Acton (aka Huck) is, at first glance, a man of small stature (5'1"), frail and bent from the vestiges of age (87 years old), and cancer of the throat explaining the voice.  It's the eyes that give away that this old man is full of life yet; his tales are knowledgeable about San Juan County, and he is a pip!  Don't underestimate him; he's not dead yet and is still full of surprises!





The fee for the tour is $10 and well worth every penny and while the handwritten sign says "no photos allowed", he might just let you take one.  Huck owns and runs the museum/trading post on his own, and you can hear the love for his labors come through as he tells his tales.  There are mind blowing collections of arrowheads, beads, jewelry, tools, all types of pottery, axe heads (462 on one wall alone!) and sandals made from various plant fibers.  Thousands of artifacts, some of which he reconstructed himself, are housed in glass display cases that he built, designed, and labeled. His collection includes donations from local residents of the county, as well as artifacts from other sites throughout the United States, Mexico, Peru, and around the world. The "Hall of Fame" is a collection of artifacts sent to him by people from all over, who have visited the museum and knew he would appreciate their gifts.  He carefully labels each one with the name of the donor and the location where the artifact was found.

We developed an easy rapport with Huck; the first story he told was of when his father went to the 1934 World's Fair in Chicago and brought home a model of a Grey Hound bus.  "Well funny that." I said, "When I was a little girl, I went to the 1964 World's Fair in New York and have lots of souvenirs still."  His smile got so big, and I bet he was hoping I'd donate them to his museum.  He asked us many a question and was pleased when we showed we knew much about San Juan County.  Huck showed us the golden shovel he was able to keep from the dedication ceremony of the new Four Corners Monument; he was so proud!  By the way, did you know that the Anasazi invented the microphone?  No?  Then you better head on into Huck's and see the proof of it all.  We oohed and aahed, we smiled and laughed till our faces hurt; this was one experience that would remain memorable!

Huck himself must have had a really good time with us; he actually offered to give us our money back as a thank you for making his day...we refused of course.  After we left I asked Roy if he was glad we stopped and I made him wait for his fried chicken.  Oh yeah, he was happy, and that chicken was simply the ending to a great day.

Mary Cokenour

Mesa Verde Springs Alive!

As much as winter wants to keep a grasp on the Four Corners area, spring's persistence wins out eventually; winter at Mesa Verde is no exception.  With this write up, I'll still give a few glimpses at the amazing ruin sites, but they don't truly change with the seasons. 

This time I'm going to focus more on Mesa Verde's landscape, wildlife and plants; the awakening from a deep slumber to a bright new season. With every visit to the park, there are certain viewing areas that we just cannot pass by; the views are spectacular and we want to see the changes.  From the entrance to Far View is a 15 mile trek; the valleys of Mancos and Montezuma stretch as far as the eye can see.

Mancos Valley; while there is snow up on the mountains in the distance, the valley below is beginning to get signs of greenery.



























Montezuma Valley; Sleeping Ute Mountain in the distance has shed his wintery coat of snow; will the warmth of spring give him cause to rise this year?

 

Snow covered mountains, stark landscape and suddenly greenery announcing that spring is here; also keep an eye out for alcoves in the rock face and perhaps a ruin site might be hidden there...or not.

Finally at Far View, you look south and there is Shiprock down New Mexico way; the ever present haze is there, but not so bad the day I took this photo.  I recently read an article in the local paper that the haze is actually caused by all the petroleum rigs in that area.  There are plans to try and do something about the pollution before Shiprock becomes totally shrouded.

Stopping at the museum, we decided to do a few shots of Spruce Tree House from the overlook; the spirits there don't seem to mind as one showed up in another of my photos.




A spirit orb in the upper middle window.

Another one of our favorite sites to visit is Square Tower House; mainly because its location on the cliff face always makes us wonder...how did they get up and down from there!?!  There is an alcove nearby with broken up ruins inside; the canyon views are always breath taking.

One of the enjoyments I had was two horses posing for me.  The April 2nd edition of our local paper reprinted an article about the horses; feral, "trespassing" horses that have been deemed a nuisance.  They are aggressive toward the elk herds in Mesa Verde, especially when competing for spots at the watering holes.  These horses are not protected under the "Wild Horse and Burro Act"; personally I'm not exactly sure why "feral" and "wild" are not the same thing.  Measures have been made to keep the horses from coming into the National Park, and to stay on Ute Tribal land.  I do hope they allow a small number to remain though as they add so much personality to the landscape; what is the southwest without the horse?













Along the route of Oak Tree House, Sunset House and The Fire Temple; Roy and I enjoy wandering through the wooden areas. Not only do we get those canyon views that aren't seen from the ruin overlooks, but there are interesting finds of the natural kind such as Yucca growing out from between rocks, or Desert Phlox growing out of the dry and dusty ground.    Those tiny flowers of the Phlox are a sure sign that spring has taken hold and told winter to hit the road.



Oak Tree House
 

Sunset House
 

Fire Temple
 

 

The Cliff Palace is pretty amazing; but we make sure to search for other amazing formations that Mother Nature created herself.   Have to give credit where credit is due; that woman is awesomely talented!  By the way, if you happen to be standing at one of the many overlooks and this truly foul odor assails your nostrils...no, it's not the person standing next to you.  See that bush with the wide oval leaves and star like flowers; say hello to the Utah Serviceberry. This bush was very useful to the Native American as the berries could be eaten and the strong twigs made into bows.  The smell is a defense mechanism; but birds, deer, elk and the human figured that out right away.






Cliff Palace

 

Another of our favorite spots is the House of Many Windows; there is a ledge area off to the right of the overlook where you can crawl out to the edge and get the best photos of, not just the ruins, but the canyons. 



House of Many Windows

While we enjoy stopping at the overlooks, we always make sure to simply drive the park one last time before heading to either a restaurant for a good meal; or home to fall asleep in our bed in contented exhaustion.  That one final drive gives us the option to see something that we might have missed out on, and Mesa Verde has not disappointed yet.  Near the museum were some rather large cactus bushes (Colorado Buckhorn Cholla) I hadn't truly looked at before.  Funny, they reminded me of those monstrous plants from the 1951 science fiction movie, "Day of the Triffids".  Suddenly though, there was a little song in the air; a lone warbler sitting on a leafless branch heralding the coming of spring.  Nice ending to a nice day.

Mary Cokenour