Kivas & Forts

September 18, 2014
La Junta KOA
La Junta, Colorado

Yesterday Dave wanted to relive some of his younger years so we stayed in La Junta a couple days.  In 1956 he stopped over here while on a Boy Scout trip from Delaware to New Mexico.

We visited the Koshare Indian Museum where his group spent the night in the kiva.  This large circular room is about 60 feet across with a self supporting roof made from 620 white pine logs. 

Dave thought it didn't look as big as he remembered, but it might be that he was smaller in those days.

Today we went to the nearby Bent's Old Fort.  It was a sunny day but warm with temps near 90.  It's a fairly long walk from the parking lot to the actual fort.


This adobe structure was built in 1833.  I imagine the site of it was more welcome than a Holiday Inn for the early travelers and traders on the Sante Fe Trail.

This photo was taken from the second story looking into the courtyard.  The machine in the center is a fur compress used to compress the buffalo hides into bundles for transport east.

 Notice the shape in the middle of the main gate under the flag.  A horse wandered in to stand in the shade.  When we were ready to leave, we had to move him out of the way to get through the doorway.  It must have been his private space.