Buffalo Mesa Mummy

Chapter 21

Samantha McMillan got out of her yellow 1948 Willys VJ Jeepster and stretched. She rubbed her hand across the smooth fender and smiled. Her father had told her that when she turned twenty one he would buy her any car she wanted. He was surprised when she chose the old Jeepster, instead of a new car, after seeing it advertized in an antique car magazine. 

The vehicle had been shipped from California and completely restored to its original condition. Some of her friends told her she was crazy not to get a BMW or Porsche, but she didn’t care.

The drive to Chaco Canyon from her house wasn’t very long, but she had spent a good part of the evening before studying for exams so she was tired and stiff.

The Chaco Culture National Historic Park was where Samantha had been spending much of her free time. She loved the ruins and more often than not came by herself. Her father had contacts in the Park Service and so she could come into the park even when it was officially closed, like it was today.

Samantha, age twenty two, was a pretty girl with a healthy outdoor tan and shoulder length sandy brown hair. Slim and athletic, Samantha had been hiking the desert and exploring historic ruins for years.

She had almost finished her thesis, which was on the preservation of ancient Native American towns in the western United States.

In her research Samantha had become aware of how much looting of Native American artifacts was taking place all across the country, but especially in her part of the world. She had discovered that it was the very isolation and remoteness of the ruins that attracted thieves. Most of the time no one was around to catch them.

In the time Samantha had spent in Chaco Canyon she was sure she had seen signs of looting and was determined to try and help stop it. She had her camera with a long range telephoto lens and thought that when the park was closed would be the best time to get photos that might help to track activity in the park when no one was supposed to be there. 

Samantha took her day pack and camera out of the back seat, but left the rest of her gear there. She only planned on staying an hour or so because she had study session scheduled with a couple of her friends.

The first part of her plan was to prepare the dirt road that led to the back side of the mesa where the easiest accesses to the ruins were. Using some tumbleweed she swept clean any tracks that were already there. When leaving she would drive beside the road so none of her tracks would be there.

Samantha would return early the next morning to see if any fresh tire tracks had been laid in the soft desert sand. Since the park was officially closed until ten o’clock the next morning she would know if anyone besides her had been in the park. If there were new tracks she would photograph them and have an expert tell her what kind of tires they were and maybe even what kind of vehicle they might be on.

Samantha hoped that at least if the thieves knew someone was watching for them maybe they would stay away. She knew it was a pretty poor plan but at least it was something.

The young woman shouldered her pack and began the hike to the top of the mesa, where a trail led down to the ancient ruins embedded in the cliff face. She would clear the trail of footprints and then check for new ones in the morning when she returned.

As she walked along the side of the roadway dragging the tumbleweed behind her Samantha suddenly noticed some fresh tire tracks in the sand. She squatted down and looked closely realizing a vehicle had been through there a very short time ago. There was a strong breeze blowing across the mesa and some older tracks were almost filled with sand. These other tracks were still very distinct, the ridges tall and thin, and the groves packed tight with no drifting sand in them. The park had been closed for several hours and there should have been no fresh tire tracks.