Dove Creek Country

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. The Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway is a remarkable tour through western Colorado's remote canyon country. Copper, radium, vanadium, and uranium all enticed miners here; local communities on the route are ranching and farming centers.

. Started as an eighth-century pit house village, by the twelfth century the Lowry Ruins contained eight kivas, forty rooms, and some structures three stories high. The site was excavated in the early 1930s, and today visitors can tour the site via a self-guided trail.

. Created in 2000, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument's 164,000 acres contains what might be the highest concentration of archaeological sites anywhere in the United States.

. Six Ancestral Puebloan villages dating to around A.D. 1200 can be visited at Hovenweep National Monument, although only Square Tower is easily reached. The other sites are more remote and are not accessible by car.

. Formed in 1984, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center gives lay people an opportunity to assist professional scientists through an innovative program of "hands-on" archaeology.

. The Trail of the Ancients Scenic and Historic Byway runs through land once inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloan peoples. The 114-mile route across arid terrain is laden with clues of this former civilization; rock art, cliff dwellings, Hovenweep National Monument, and Mesa Verde National Park.

. Covering 125,000 acres and centered along 25 miles of the Mancos River, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park preserves numerous Ancestral Puebloan sites. Visitors, who must be accompanied by Ute Mountain Ute guides, are able to explore these treasures.

. In the heart of downtown Cortez, the Cortez Cultural Center contains Ancestral Puebloan artifacts, Ute beadwork, and hands-on exhibits. The center also presents Native American dances during the summer.

. The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park have long been a source of wonder and amazement for archaeologists and laypeople. The park is open year-round, but several sites are closed during the winter.

. The Southern Ute Cultural Center is a gallery and museum in Ignatius featuring the history, art, and culture of the Southern Ute people.

. Before the Dolores River was dammed to create McPhee Reservoir, archaeologists worked for eight years to record the places and artifacts that would be lost under water. Many of the artifacts are on display at the Anasazi Heritage Center.

. The San Juan Skyway Scenic and Historic Byway tours the magnificent San Juan Mountains, scene of a bustling mineral rush in the 1870s and 1880s. Along the route are National Historic Districts, Mesa Verde National Park, and the San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests.