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Show 3532E3239 ring break on: 10. needed a place for half of bur group to stay, so we continued on our way to Yolanda Marks'. Here we were greeted with a very warm welcome and told we could stay at her house. After settling the matter of where everyone would be staying the first night, we went back to Nelsons where we would eat dinner. We then split up and Kathy Painter, Bill Painter, Benson Lo from Hong Kong, Moe Thatcher and Janet Smith went to slay at Yolanda's house. The rest of us would stay at Nelson's. Day 2 31796 We were awakened by a very cheerful Pam the next morning and hurried on our way to get dressed and cat breakfast so we could start our day. We started the morning by going to Kces house to see if he was home yet, but no one replied to our knock. So we went to Yolandas house to see what the other half of our group was doing. When we got to Yolanda s, the rest of our group was helping her around the house. They helped clear fields and do other odd jobs that day. Once we kr.w it would be okay to go to Kec and begin work with him not there, w c returned. Our group consisting of Pam, Jim Petty, Alccsa . photos and text by Mary Ann Southards editor When first thought of what I was going to do over spring break the answer seemed simply, I would stay home and do absolutely nothing until I and the journalism staff left for Colorado Springs later in the week. I had seen psters advertising the trip to the Na- jo Reservation and it sounded like tun but I wasn't sure if that was how I really wanted to spend my spring break. One day I was in the SUN Center and Pam Mazaheri, coordinator of the trip, asked me if I was planning to go. The only reply I could come up with was, I dont know." When she asked why I had no answer, the simplest way to redeem myself was to say I would go. At that point I had no idea what I had gotten myself into but I wasnt going to back out. We had an orientation meeting on Monday, March 1. We were given information on what to bring and what to expect during the trip. After the orientation meeting I fell better about I 1 what I was doing and was getting excited about going. I would spend five days of my spring break doing something to help someone I didn't even know, in aculture I was very unfamiliar with. Day 1 31696 Our group of met at the SUN Center at 9 a.m. to pack and head out on our trip. Not long after we had left Price, heads were bobbing and the van was unusually quite as people slept. It was almost as if we all had a hard night 1 1 packing and getting ready. We stopped in Moab for lunch and had the opportunity to become better acquainted with each other. We left and continued on to our destination which was Montezuma Creek We arrived around 4:30 or S p.m. at the home of Nelson and Elsie Rockwell, the people who we would he staying with for the four days. They were not home at the time so we went to Kce Jones' house where half of our group was supposed to stay for the night. Kec was an elderly man who we would be clearing fields for over the next few home and we still days. He Wis in a little more than two hours. After eating what seemed like a ton of sand, we decided it was lime for lunch. We ran for the van and piled in pened next. I was standing atthetopofthe field getting a drink of water I' when I hear Alccsa yell "No! Stop!" I turned just in time to sec the pile of tumbleweed pick up and blow completely over her head. Jim who was a standing little further down the field, soon was sur- - and Janet work together to burn one of the many piles of tumbleweed. rounded by little respect for theirenvironment. Sixteen Room Ruins is an Indian ruin which looks like modem-da- y apartments nestled in a cave. To get to it you have to.cross the San Juan River on a swinging bridge. This was an experience. The walk was dcfinately worth it. The view was beautiful and it was neat to see that people hadnt vandalized it. After seeing the rocks where we had parked the thought of what we would find when we reached the ruins was very bleak but there was very little .V ' ,' ' , 3 Z A y 't' Vv $ -- V 'yp i- v fW1''.-- , r? Vv.:; - Fillmore, Angie Hardy, Kristy Sargent and myself, worked on removing tumbleweed from the fields. When Kce returned he came down and gave us instructions of putting all the tumbleweed into one large pile and burning it. We had almost successfully piled all of the tumble weed into a large pile and was getting ready to bum it when then wind started to blow. Out of the six of us, four had cameras and none of us could get them fast enough to get pictures of what hap- Bill, Chris tumblcwced up to his waist. AIL we could do was stand and stare. The wind died down long enough for us to get a good laugh and then we decided to work with the wind and let it blow the tumbleweed where ever it wanted. Working with some kind of mission in mind we cleared the first half of the field, (with the wind's help,) i i Moe and Janet make : . I; faces at the camera while painting. to enjoy lunch. After eating and sitting in the van for about a half hour waiting for the wind to die down, wc decided it was time lo call it quits. On the count of vandalism to the ruin itself. After spending about an hour at the ruins, wc returned to cat dinner and prepare for a guest that was coming to speak to us (hat night. When wc returned, the rest of our group hod also returned from Cortez and wc shared three, Pam and I went running for the rakes and shovels, fighting the wind the whole way. Wc told Kce wc would return the next day to finish the other half of the field. Wc drove to Yolanda's to gel the rest of our group only to find they had left lo run some errands. So we relumed lo Nelson's and decided wc would go sight seeing at 16 Room Ruins. Leaving a message for the rest of our group ifthey returned, wc went on our way to explore in the wind. The rocks where we hud parked were our experiences. Oncof the most memorable was Benson who had spent the night at Yolandas. He told us about the rooster which had woke him up at different limcs.during the night. To many this would seem like a story that is very lame, but in Benson's words, That dumb cock kept him up." lie also offered lo help kill it lor Yolanda. Our speaker that night was to be Clayton Long from Monliccllo who painted with layers of graffiti left by many people who had defaced the rock to show that they had been there. It made me sick lo see what they had done. It is sad lo think people have so had been the principle of Montezuma Creek Elementary School, lie wasn't able to make it and said he would come talk to us the next night. So wc settled down lo talk with Linda and Evcrcl . III' |