Pueblo La Plata at Agua Fria National Monument

Ten miles on rough forest roads promise a spectacular look at an archaeological site, riparian areas and grassland mesas - all under the park's protection.

Pueblo La Plata is the name of the remnants of a long-abandoned native American settlement in the preserve. Its crumbled stone masonry walls still outline this ancient pueblo's many rooms.  It sits atop the highest point on this section of the Perry Mesa, were you could easily see approaching visitors and intruders miles away.  At the same time, it's above its namesake Silver Creek Canyon and a critical source of flowing water. 

It's a dramatic setting, with a panorama of the flat mesa-top's grasslands meeting the big, blue sky. The prairie is periodically punctured by the cliffs of a defending canyon's walls. You are free to wander in the structure's roof-less rooms, but they're not well-excavated.  Dense grasses and over-grown bushes might house venomous critters.  In any case it's the preponderance of pottery pieces and shards of clay that give the location a deeper, understated beauty.   

Outside the structure, you notice bits of terra cotta in the stony soil on all sides of the pathways. Even the acres of arid brush far beyond seem to hide this shattered craft work.  A closer look confirms that these are the remnants of clay pots and containers, mostly brownish-red but also blackened from kilns or maybe dyes. A few larger specimens still show the curves that rounded out the original vessels, protecting the precious water and grains critical to a people's survival. You wonder about the significance of the various quartz and obsidian pieces, along with the green stones. 

Recent visitors have picked up individual items, arranging them on rocks for what seems like both inspection and protection.  You get the haunting sense you're just scratching the surface, starting a solemn dig into the distant lives of this long-gone culture.  And with my being there literally alone - there were no other tourists, park rangers, interpretive signs or fences - it made the visit feel both soul-searching and educational.

There is wildlife in the area, much of it unique to the mesa grasslands.  While I didn't see any, this is pronghorn antelope range land.  I did see some soaring birds of prey, vesper sparrows, American kestrels, western meadowlarks, house wrens, hummingbirds and a roadrunner.  A vast array of wildflowers were blooming.

You reach the site via Bloody Basin Road off of I17.  While the very beginning of the journey is well-graded forest road, you soon reach streams, rivers, washes, ruts and rocks - the last mile has some of the worse of the latter two features.  You need a very high-clearance truck or SUV, and some grit, to reach this location.  Also, I had some limited literature on the area from a fold-out map and pamphlet I had picked up at the Badger Springs trailhead further south in the park.  There was almost no helpful information at Pueblo La Plata itself.

The Pueblo La Plata archaeological site sits about a half mile hike from the parking area. 

It's an easy hike, and the ruins are quickly visible in the distance.

The remains of the pueblo's masonry walls are overgrown with grasses and bushes.

The view from the mound show expanses of mesa grasslands and the edges of protective cliffs.

A partial iPhone panorama shot from the site looking west and north shows the edge of Silver Creek Canyon on the right.

Pieces of pottery collected from the surrounding grounds.

Probably all the terra cotta-colored items in this shot are fragments of earthenware, while other 'stones' are candidates.

Piece with possible scorch marks.

I can visualize some decorative reason for the black line and  the difference in the reddish hues.

A large collection of varieties and shapes. Note the curves in the largest center piece.

Just to the north of the site, a pathway leads to Silver Creek and its canyon's edge.

A close-up of the canyon's far cliff-side.

An iPhone's partial panorama from the canyon's edge, looking north and above the Silver Creek. The park service calls the dense flora at the bottom an "emerald ribbon of life," poeticizing its critical importance to survival in this arid landscape. 

Wildflower blooms at the Pueblo La Plata.

Western meadowlark photographed at a stop on the bumpy drive in.

Vesper sparrow photographed in between the ruins and the canyon edge.  A vesper is a late day religious service. As I was there in the morning, I won't be able to make a poetic connection.

One of the roughest parts of a rough ride to the site.