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Homolovi Chapter News
Last update: April 26, 2008
April 26, 2008- It has been a while! Today Justin Setalla assisted his daughter, Ranger Gwen Setalla, to put in the
park's Hopi Garden. Hopefully our water line will soon be repaired so we will be able to water the garden. We have
tried to recreate a typical Hopi garden located below a spring. Our "spring" is fake but the idea is the same! One day I
noticed an elder placing a paho (prayer feather) next to the garden spring and I commented that it was a fake spring.
The elder's response was that ALL water is sacred!
The guys tried to repair the water line today, but the river is still too high. They were even out there with shovels, but
it did not work! Looks like we are going to have to rent a track excavator. This is probably going to cost us $2000.
However, since that is what it costs for one day of hauling water to fill our storage tank, this will be worth it!
February 12- The weather is lovely! Visitation has picked up a little bit. Maybe people are getting Spring fever! A
photographer was here from the Arizona Republic (the Phoenix newspaper). They are planning to publish a story on
Homolovi in March for Archaeology Month. They did a video interview with me which will be on their website in March.
February 9- Yes, our water line separated. However, we had topped off the storage tank and visitation has been low,
so I think we are still OK. We are just waiting for parts for our tractor so we can repair the pipe.
February 6- It is a beautiful day. Cold, but lovely. There is still a bit of snow on the ground but we are in a warming
trend. It is suppose to get up into the 50's in Flagstaff tomorrow, so it could be in the 60's in Winslow!
Peter Pilles (Coconino National Forest Archaeologist) has agreed to be our speaker in March. He has also agreed to
lead one of the Hopi Workshop field trips in June. We are also working on a field trip to Honanki in late March.
February 5- The sun is out but it is COLD!!! We ran out of propane at the Visitor Center in spite of BEGGING the gas
company to fill our tank. Kenn is going to pick up a couple of space heaters so we don't freeze.
Park roads from the entrance to the visitor center are still snow-packed but I expect it to melt quickly now that the sun
is out. If you are planning to visit the park today, just go slow on our roads! It is beautiful today. I got some nice
photos this morning & will put some up as soon as I edit them. Tonto, Lyman, Fool Hollow, and Riordan were also
closed yesterday. Check the ASP web site for updates on closures.
There was a meeting today of park manager Karen M Berggren, Hopi project director Susan Sekakuku, and Northland
Pioneer College professor Michael Lawson. The plans for the June workshop series are looking great! We will be
confirming speakers and getting insurance concerns clarified. There will be a lab fee for the field trips since at least
the Hopi field trip will include a traditional meal. We will also be needing to pay some use fees for visiting various
sites. Keep checking the "schedule of events" page for details.
February 4- Woke up this morning to 8-10 inches of snow! It had snowed all night and the forecast was for snow all
day. We have a steady snowfall, low visibility, and snow-packed roads. Since ADOT cannot blade our roads (parking
lot is too tight a turn for their big trucks) and the park does not own a blade, I closed the park. It simply was not safe
for staff or visitors.
February 3- We may have had a water line separation. We will not know for sure until we can access the riverbed.
However, we topped off the tank before the flooding & visitation has been nil, so water usage is low. I expect us to be
ok until we can repair the line. There is a storm moving in. We had high winds this afternoon- 43mph.
January 31- Beautiful morning- the sun is out and there is just a light powder of snow on the ground. It will probably
melt by 10. The river is down to 1,880 cfs. The flu has hit the local schools.
January 30- 3:30pm: The river has gone down a lot- it is now at 4,820 cfs. Looks like our water line is intact.
Lyle Balenquah stopped by today. The Hopi village of Sipoulovi has received a grant to document the Hopi Migration
routes- especially the trail from Homolovi to Second Mesa. This an exciting project, and Lyle has agreed to speak at
our April meeting. I asked him to wait until then since our Jan-March meetings are often cancelled due to bad weather!
Dennis Roshay called. He will be speaking at the Feb. meeting and has some great videos of petroglyph sites in our
area.
We actually had snow today. It was coming down hard at noon with a visibility of about 10 feet! Just a dusting stuck,
though. This was right after I told some visitors that it snows all around us but rarely here at Homolovi!
January 29- More precipitation and the snow pack is melting. The Little Colorado River is at 13,700 cfs and 17.45 ft on
the bridge gauge. It reached the fenceline next to the Homolovi I parking lot but did not impact the archaeological
site. No campers- I wonder why?!
January 28- Finished online registration form for Suvoyuki Day Fun Run (July 12)
January 27- Our campground hosts departed to return home. They have been a great help & we will miss them! Kenn
is taking applications for volunteer hosts. Az State Parks now has a 6mo/yr limit on the time a person can be a park
host at a specific park.
January 26- Snow has hit! It is cold and foggy. As usual, not much precipitation at Homolovi, but snow and ice at
Flagstaff, the Hopi Mesas, the White Mountains, and Gallop. We are surrounded!
January 26- Karen attended state AAS meeting. The Homolovi Chapter has been active this year, but we spent more
than we made, including over $2000 in donations to assist Az State Parks. Karen picked up the annual publication for
distribution to chapter members. This year the publication is Catclaw Cave, Lower Colorado River, Arizona by Barton
Wright. This was his master's thesis from 1954 which had not been previously published.
January 24- Karen & Chad attended park manager's meeting in Phoenix.
January 20- we are developing our activities schedule for 2008. The Hopi have received a grant to help us sponsor a
series of Hopi artists on Saturdays from June-August. The chapter is going to donate funds so that this series can
start May 17 and go through at least September. We are also working on the schedule for Suvoyuki Days, July 12-13.
We are really pleased that Sipoulovi Village is partnering with us on this event. Saturday will be at Homolovi and
Sunday will be at Sipoulovi (Second Mesa)
January 17- Arch Society meeting: Prof Michael Lawson of Northland Pioneer College spoke on the railroad
photographs of George Sanders. In the late 1800's, the railroad hired Sanders to photograph the construction of the
railroad through New Mexico and Arizona. At the same time, Sanders photographed the nearby pueblos. Michael
shared unpublished photos of Acoma, Laguna, and Walpi. During that time period, photos were being taken by the
Bureau of Ethnology. However, those photos were usually posed and all sign of Anglo cultural material removed.
Sanders, however, photographed the pueblos "as is". One photo showed traditionally dressed women with a
manufactured chair, an Anglo style broom, and other trade items. Michael also shared his discovery of receipts for
purchases of trade goods by John Wesley Powell. There were detailed list of beads, knives, etc for "trade to the
Indians". Some of the ladies in our audience gave Michael some help. One list included "lawn". He commented that
he was not sure what that signified. The members of the Winslow Quilters who were attending promptly gave him a
detailed description of this textile.
Jan 15- Chapter purchased two sets of solar lights for the visitor center sidewalk. This will be a great help for our
evening programs! If these work, the chapter plans to purchase additional lights. We will be removing these after
each evening event. The park is working hard to cut utility bills and to recycle. Maybe someday we will get a grant to
put in solar panels and/or a windmill. We certainly have plenty of sun and wind!
January 9- Doug Gann of the Center for Desert Archaeology stopped by with an updated version of the HII audio tour.
This is quite popular! It can be downloaded from our web site (link to the Center for Desert Archaeology). People can
load this onto their MP3 players or we have loaners at the park. The tour was created with a grant from the Arizona
Humanities Council to the Hopi Tribe and includes Hopi music and comments by Hopi individuals and archaeologists.
January 8- Reporter stopped by. She is working on a series for the Arizona Republic which will appear later in the year.
January 4- We have water!
January 3- Waterline is repaired- dropped off water sample at lab, so water should be back on tomorrow afternoon if
the tests are negative. (NOTE: The park water line goes under the Little Colorado River and connects with the City of
Winslow system. Therefore, when the river comes up we are subject to waterline breakage. The park rangers can
repair the line, but it was just too cold! To help out, the chapter purchased neoprene boots and gloves from the
Flagstaff dive shop. This helped a lot!
park's Hopi Garden. Hopefully our water line will soon be repaired so we will be able to water the garden. We have
tried to recreate a typical Hopi garden located below a spring. Our "spring" is fake but the idea is the same! One day I
noticed an elder placing a paho (prayer feather) next to the garden spring and I commented that it was a fake spring.
The elder's response was that ALL water is sacred!
The guys tried to repair the water line today, but the river is still too high. They were even out there with shovels, but
it did not work! Looks like we are going to have to rent a track excavator. This is probably going to cost us $2000.
However, since that is what it costs for one day of hauling water to fill our storage tank, this will be worth it!
February 12- The weather is lovely! Visitation has picked up a little bit. Maybe people are getting Spring fever! A
photographer was here from the Arizona Republic (the Phoenix newspaper). They are planning to publish a story on
Homolovi in March for Archaeology Month. They did a video interview with me which will be on their website in March.
February 9- Yes, our water line separated. However, we had topped off the storage tank and visitation has been low,
so I think we are still OK. We are just waiting for parts for our tractor so we can repair the pipe.
February 6- It is a beautiful day. Cold, but lovely. There is still a bit of snow on the ground but we are in a warming
trend. It is suppose to get up into the 50's in Flagstaff tomorrow, so it could be in the 60's in Winslow!
Peter Pilles (Coconino National Forest Archaeologist) has agreed to be our speaker in March. He has also agreed to
lead one of the Hopi Workshop field trips in June. We are also working on a field trip to Honanki in late March.
February 5- The sun is out but it is COLD!!! We ran out of propane at the Visitor Center in spite of BEGGING the gas
company to fill our tank. Kenn is going to pick up a couple of space heaters so we don't freeze.
Park roads from the entrance to the visitor center are still snow-packed but I expect it to melt quickly now that the sun
is out. If you are planning to visit the park today, just go slow on our roads! It is beautiful today. I got some nice
photos this morning & will put some up as soon as I edit them. Tonto, Lyman, Fool Hollow, and Riordan were also
closed yesterday. Check the ASP web site for updates on closures.
There was a meeting today of park manager Karen M Berggren, Hopi project director Susan Sekakuku, and Northland
Pioneer College professor Michael Lawson. The plans for the June workshop series are looking great! We will be
confirming speakers and getting insurance concerns clarified. There will be a lab fee for the field trips since at least
the Hopi field trip will include a traditional meal. We will also be needing to pay some use fees for visiting various
sites. Keep checking the "schedule of events" page for details.
February 4- Woke up this morning to 8-10 inches of snow! It had snowed all night and the forecast was for snow all
day. We have a steady snowfall, low visibility, and snow-packed roads. Since ADOT cannot blade our roads (parking
lot is too tight a turn for their big trucks) and the park does not own a blade, I closed the park. It simply was not safe
for staff or visitors.
February 3- We may have had a water line separation. We will not know for sure until we can access the riverbed.
However, we topped off the tank before the flooding & visitation has been nil, so water usage is low. I expect us to be
ok until we can repair the line. There is a storm moving in. We had high winds this afternoon- 43mph.
January 31- Beautiful morning- the sun is out and there is just a light powder of snow on the ground. It will probably
melt by 10. The river is down to 1,880 cfs. The flu has hit the local schools.
January 30- 3:30pm: The river has gone down a lot- it is now at 4,820 cfs. Looks like our water line is intact.
Lyle Balenquah stopped by today. The Hopi village of Sipoulovi has received a grant to document the Hopi Migration
routes- especially the trail from Homolovi to Second Mesa. This an exciting project, and Lyle has agreed to speak at
our April meeting. I asked him to wait until then since our Jan-March meetings are often cancelled due to bad weather!
Dennis Roshay called. He will be speaking at the Feb. meeting and has some great videos of petroglyph sites in our
area.
We actually had snow today. It was coming down hard at noon with a visibility of about 10 feet! Just a dusting stuck,
though. This was right after I told some visitors that it snows all around us but rarely here at Homolovi!
January 29- More precipitation and the snow pack is melting. The Little Colorado River is at 13,700 cfs and 17.45 ft on
the bridge gauge. It reached the fenceline next to the Homolovi I parking lot but did not impact the archaeological
site. No campers- I wonder why?!
January 28- Finished online registration form for Suvoyuki Day Fun Run (July 12)
January 27- Our campground hosts departed to return home. They have been a great help & we will miss them! Kenn
is taking applications for volunteer hosts. Az State Parks now has a 6mo/yr limit on the time a person can be a park
host at a specific park.
January 26- Snow has hit! It is cold and foggy. As usual, not much precipitation at Homolovi, but snow and ice at
Flagstaff, the Hopi Mesas, the White Mountains, and Gallop. We are surrounded!
January 26- Karen attended state AAS meeting. The Homolovi Chapter has been active this year, but we spent more
than we made, including over $2000 in donations to assist Az State Parks. Karen picked up the annual publication for
distribution to chapter members. This year the publication is Catclaw Cave, Lower Colorado River, Arizona by Barton
Wright. This was his master's thesis from 1954 which had not been previously published.
January 24- Karen & Chad attended park manager's meeting in Phoenix.
January 20- we are developing our activities schedule for 2008. The Hopi have received a grant to help us sponsor a
series of Hopi artists on Saturdays from June-August. The chapter is going to donate funds so that this series can
start May 17 and go through at least September. We are also working on the schedule for Suvoyuki Days, July 12-13.
We are really pleased that Sipoulovi Village is partnering with us on this event. Saturday will be at Homolovi and
Sunday will be at Sipoulovi (Second Mesa)
January 17- Arch Society meeting: Prof Michael Lawson of Northland Pioneer College spoke on the railroad
photographs of George Sanders. In the late 1800's, the railroad hired Sanders to photograph the construction of the
railroad through New Mexico and Arizona. At the same time, Sanders photographed the nearby pueblos. Michael
shared unpublished photos of Acoma, Laguna, and Walpi. During that time period, photos were being taken by the
Bureau of Ethnology. However, those photos were usually posed and all sign of Anglo cultural material removed.
Sanders, however, photographed the pueblos "as is". One photo showed traditionally dressed women with a
manufactured chair, an Anglo style broom, and other trade items. Michael also shared his discovery of receipts for
purchases of trade goods by John Wesley Powell. There were detailed list of beads, knives, etc for "trade to the
Indians". Some of the ladies in our audience gave Michael some help. One list included "lawn". He commented that
he was not sure what that signified. The members of the Winslow Quilters who were attending promptly gave him a
detailed description of this textile.
Jan 15- Chapter purchased two sets of solar lights for the visitor center sidewalk. This will be a great help for our
evening programs! If these work, the chapter plans to purchase additional lights. We will be removing these after
each evening event. The park is working hard to cut utility bills and to recycle. Maybe someday we will get a grant to
put in solar panels and/or a windmill. We certainly have plenty of sun and wind!
January 9- Doug Gann of the Center for Desert Archaeology stopped by with an updated version of the HII audio tour.
This is quite popular! It can be downloaded from our web site (link to the Center for Desert Archaeology). People can
load this onto their MP3 players or we have loaners at the park. The tour was created with a grant from the Arizona
Humanities Council to the Hopi Tribe and includes Hopi music and comments by Hopi individuals and archaeologists.
January 8- Reporter stopped by. She is working on a series for the Arizona Republic which will appear later in the year.
January 4- We have water!
January 3- Waterline is repaired- dropped off water sample at lab, so water should be back on tomorrow afternoon if
the tests are negative. (NOTE: The park water line goes under the Little Colorado River and connects with the City of
Winslow system. Therefore, when the river comes up we are subject to waterline breakage. The park rangers can
repair the line, but it was just too cold! To help out, the chapter purchased neoprene boots and gloves from the
Flagstaff dive shop. This helped a lot!
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The Homolovi Blog 2008
