Long thought to be one of the most beautiful pieces of American landscape, it’s high time in the minds of many that Chimney Rock be celebrated the right way by being named a national monument.
And that’s just what’s happening! According to a recent report from National Public Radio (NPR) on Sept. 20th, “Southwestern Colorado’s 4,700-acre Chimney Rock Archaeological Area will on Friday be designated a national monument, according to Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. The designation, which President Obama will approve and that has bipartisan support, will help preserve the site.”
Chimney Rock is inarguably one of the most awe-inspiring locations you can visit across the US, and a trip to this location is nothing if it’s not spiritually moving. Anthony Clavien notes that the Denver Post recently published a piece which the writer described what indigenous native Americans (Pueblo Indians) used this sacred site for–that is, to watch what they referred to as “lunar standstills”–an experience germane only to Chimney Rock, wherein the moon seems to stand completely still between the stoney fixtures of Chimney Rock. This miraculous occasion pops up only about once every twenty years.
Interested in seeing a lunar standstill from the now monumental Chimney Rock in Colorado? Well, you’ll have about a ten year wait–the next standstill will occur on the winter solstice of 2022.
Anthony “Siggi” Clavien 