More on the Atlatl

My February 18th posting was about the Atlatl. In my novel The Ruin, this hunting weapon becomes the means the boy Cliff uses to survive in his sojourn. Today I came across a YouTube clip that is both entertaining and sheds light on the significance of this tool in the hands of the Native North Americans. The lecturer calls himself the "Atlatl Doctor". Here is the link. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej3it7Ct76w

Kenneth Fenter

Martinez Canyon and Indian Ruins 2008

This is a view of the canyon that was the basis for the setting of my novel The Ruin. In the distance is Mesa Verde. The direction the lens is pointing, due south. Turn 90 degrees and down in the valley is Cortez and Ute Mountain. My cousin Ruth is reading the book and had questions about ruins. I was telling her about going back to Colorado in 2008 to my 50th high school reunion at MCHS, Montezuma County High School. My wife and I drove up to the Ridge to get photos. I especially wanted to get to this area on the canyon, to take photos. I wrote to her the following account. 
"Lora and I tried to get to the canyon to walk it. All the roads were fenced, fences everywhere, homes on the rim with fences branched out. Access is blocked so that it is nearly impossible to get there. I finally followed one private ungated road that led back to the rim and turned around in a long driveway. We parked in front of the house and waited for a while to see if someone would come out to greet us. I didn't think our blue Prius posed a threat. I didn't dare go knock on the door and ask permission to walk out on the rim, which was in effect their front yard, because of the unchained pit bull sitting at the end of the sidewalk. Finally I pulled on around the drive to the closest point to the rim of the canyon and told Lora watch that dog. I opened the door of the car and left it open and grabbed my camera and walked to the rim about 20 feet away. The dog was at least 200 feet away. Lora had her eye peeled on the dog which had its eye glued to me. I shot continuously for several minutes. The dog didn't move. I didn't push my luck and headed back to the car just as a woman came walking down the road and poked her head in the open car door and started talking to Lora. She lived in the house. Her husband was in the house watching us. I explained what we were doing. We, (the woman, Lora and I) ended up talking for a good little bit. (By that time the husband was standing by the pit bull.)  I told her some history of the places around, about some of the ruins, the canyon, the various farms, the where we had lived, etc. She told about walking the canyon, some of the ruins she was aware of, finding pottery and artifacts. She reassured me that she was a guardian of the canyon and all artifacts were where they had found them. She said I was welcome to go take all the photos I wanted, the dog was OK with that. I had to climb over a fence (that wasn't her's) to go down canyon a little ways to take more photos."

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Fenter