Thanks for sharing all your Chaco images. It’s one of my favorite places anywhere, even, when like the last time, the Jeep got swallowed by the mud on the drive out of the park. Looks like you picked some dryer days to visit, though, and you’ll have some gorgeous pictures to remind you of your time there!

Thanks for taking us with you, Robin, and for sharing your heart, as always!

ROBIN WRITES: Although throughout history many edifices, even whole civilizations, have been built by slave labor, it is not known whether the Ancestral Puebloan dwellings were built by slaves. There is no evidence of mass graves or slavery. Their are many unanswered questions in regard to Chaco Canyon. Many scientist believe that Chaco Canyon was a spiritual center and it’s inhabitants were deeply spiritual and peaceful people who tended their crops of corn, beans and squash, as well as hunted and foraged in the surrounding area. They were also potters, weavers, and architects. Other scientists believe they were cannibals who ate themselves out of house and home. And yet other scientists dispute this and believe the bones found were connected with ritual or ceremony surrounding their dead.

The Ancestral Puebloan people disappeared around 1300 AD. There is also much controversy as to why they suddenly disappeared leaving almost everything. Some scientists believe it was a completely planned evacuation. Various theories on the Chacoan’s disappearance are: drought, invasion, cannibalism, aliens, and so forth. It is not yet known. Some current Puebloan people now living in outlying areas believe they are descendants of the ancient Chacoan people.

In light of all this I cannot begin to conclude that blood and tears went into the building of the Chaco Canyon dwellings. I’m sure there was much sweat, and probably like any culture there were tears as well as blood from various injuries…anything more would only be speculation on my part. However, I do agree that many civilizations and vast tombs and monuments were and still are built on slave labor.

~ Alex

Robin, your photographs are always full of feeling, and when reading your magical words and looking at these images, I feel like I could almost be there. Thank you for taking us on the journey with you… it is a true privilege.

And thank you, too, for sharing your journey. Very beautiful and inspiring. And your thoughts as you walk through the past… they bring to life the people, the life that once pulsated there. It’s like we were with you, standing next to you. Awesome!

The concept of “The Door” is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses a persuasive and insistent tone to encourage the audience to take action. The lack of rhythm, rhyme and conventional structure also give the poem a conversational tone.

The poem opens with the line “Go and open the door” and is used to begin the following three stanzas. The repetition of the imperative constructs a strong sense of not only urgency and necessity, but it also gives the audience a sense of the poet’s voice and presence as he urges change.

The imagery in the fourth and last stanza is more striking, introducing the idea that even if there is only “darkness ticking” or a “hollow wind” go and open the door. Time is still passing.

Thanks so much for sharing your journey and your gorgeous photography with us.