Anasazi Heritage Center and McPhee Reservoir

Located in Dolores, about 5 miles from our campground, is the Anasazi Heritage Center.  Everyone told us to visit it, and we were also told that many residents in Dolores work for or have worked on special projects at the center.  We definitely feel that this little town is more upscale, some really nice homes spread throughout the town, and now we know that a big segment works for the park system.

There are 2 pueblos right on sight, we will go back and see
the other one another day - when it is warmer.

We will visit Canyons of the Ancients NM another day

Actual photo of one of the pueblos within the Monument

Lots of artifacts on display 

Fabulous photos of the Hopis

And this is where the reservoir is now located

Photo of discovery of Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde

Located right above the McPhee Reservoir, we learned why it is located here and not somewhere near the 4 Corners area.  When the McPhee dam and reservoir were being built in the 1980s, upon digging and readying the land, they came across many ancient villages and settlements.  Obviously, everything halted and major research was done.

The ancient village they found when developing the McPhee Dam and reservoir

We toured the Heritage Center and was quite impressed with the artifacts on display, which was just a tiny sample.  The Center houses all the artifacts for public display, if you so choose.  But the Center was organized really good, some of the actual photos that the Whetherall family took as they came across the settlements when they were first discovering Mesa Verde (National Park - located in Cortez - about 10 miles from us) were very impressive.  Well worth our time to visit the Center.

The town of McPhee was a thriving lumber community

The mountains we drove through a couple of days ago

After visiting the Center we drove over to the McPhee Reservoir and viewed the lake from lookout points.  It is not a state park but a recreation area with boating, camping, and picnicking.  We could imagine that when summer really comes (it was a chilly 42 when we were there) the place would be very busy.  Even saw a fishing boat skimming along.  Brrrr.

Brrr