Category: US

Bradfield Campground, Dolores, Colorado, Canyon of The Ancients National Monument, Colorado

Moving to Canyon of The Ancients National Monument

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Sunday, August 7, 2022

Only an hour drive from Mesa Verde National Park, I had a little maintenance to do. Someone described the inside of a travel trailer as being a small hurricane. Things get shaken loose. The latch had come loose on the door of the half-closet over my bed. I carry a dowel that I cut to length, then tap it to place with a small hammer, adding some super glue. Then I replaced the screws and made a mental note to leave it closed for 12 hours.

Since we were going into the boondocks with no services, we did several loads of laundry. In Cortez, I washed the trailer while Martha went next door to the grocery store. Once finished, I drove over to the grocery store where we unloaded groceries and filled the cooler with ice and drinks.

Bradfield Campground is on the Dolores River outside Dolores, Colorado. I was a bit nervous as we drove down the mountain on a gravel road. There is a recreation area on the river next to the campground. All campsites are first come-first serve, so I wasn’t sure we would get a spot. After driving around two loops, each with vacant spots, we settled on a site with a good shade tree. As soon as we set up, two boys on ATV’s rode up and down the gravel road, throwing up dust and making a lot of noise. I stood watching, wondering what to do. Finally I walked over to the pay station and filled out my information and site number, filled in my Senior Park Pass, and paid $12 for three nights! three men, three boys and one girl each reeved up their ATV’s with excitement in their eyes. One of the men gave the girl a verbal whipping since she let her machine cut off. He was looking for a jumper cable. I offered mine, but they had one. “Don’t worry sir. We are all going for a ride over the mountain, and will leave you in peace.” We both grinned, and I waved happily as they rode off. It’s hard to get mad when you look at the excitement on those kids faces.

We drove back to the Visitor’s Center to see what Canyon of the Ancients was all about. Unfortunately, it was closed on Sunday. It is a beautiful building with native flowers planted and labeled all around. Martha found a booth next to a path leading up the hill. A very nice volunteer was there to give information about the national monument.

“Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (‘the Monument’) encompasses 174,000 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The Monument is located in the Four Corners region of southwestern Colorado, about 50 miles west of Durango, 10 miles west of Cortez, and 12 miles west of Mesa Verde National Park. The Monument was designated on June 9, 2000 by Presidential Proclamation to protect cultural and natural resources on a landscape scale.

The Monument contains the highest known archaeological site density in the United States, with rich, well-preserved evidence of Native American cultures. The archeological record etched into this landscape is much more than isolated islands of architecture. This cultural landscape contains more than 8,300 recorded sites which reflect physical components of past human life: villages, field houses, check dams, reservoirs, great kivas, cliff dwellings, shrines, sacred springs, agricultural fields, petroglyphs and sweat lodges. Some areas have more than 100 sites per square mile. The number of sites is estimated to be up to 30,000.

This landscape has been used or inhabited by humans, including Ancestral Puebloan cultures, for at least 10,000 years, and continues to be a landscape used by humans today. Contemporary uses of the Monument include recreation, hunting, livestock grazing, and energy development.” From: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/colorado/canyons-of-the-ancients

We drove back to the campground with brochures and a reasonable idea of how to approach it. Things had settled down in the campground, and on a Sunday evening, everyone but one camper had left. Then the next thoughts came into my mind – OK, here we are out in the middle of nowhere. Were we safe here? I scavenged the other campsites, picking up firewood and kindling. I built a fire, but didn’t light it. For one thing it was hot, and the other was it was very dry. I didn’t want to be the one responsible for starting another big fire in the west. Once the sun went down, it cooled off nicely.

Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde National Park

Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

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Saturday, August 6, 2022

We met for our second tour at Mesa Verde National Park. Our tour guide, Michael, in the beginning warned us this is a strenuous hike, climbing several ladders with many steps and crawling through a tunnel. “If you can’t make it up these ladders, we may have to stop the whole tour. If we have to call for help, the whole day will be stopped. So if you have ANY thoughts that you can’t make it, please turn around now. Don’t ruin the day for all the others.” At 75 years old, he was beginning to talk me out of going. I felt a few glances in our direction, but we stood our ground. 

Climbing the first ladder, I was intimidated by his speech, but took it slowly, concentrating on one step at a time. Once we were all up, he took a different tack than other tours we have been on. He asked a lot of questions, and he had answers for questions that I have frequently asked myself. He may have been right or wrong, but I appreciated his frankness.

  • If someone above slips…
  • Narrow entry
  • Excellent rock work

“How many people would fit on this courtyard? Why is this window so small? What could have been on the other side? Why is it so difficult to get in here? Look at the spring in the back. How many can drink from that spring? Why did they leave? Where did they go?”

All these thoughts lead to Balcony House being built in a time where resources were getting more scarce. The water was drying up. Crop yields were dwindling on this thin soil, trying to feed many people. Maybe people were fighting over dwindling resources. This was a difficult place to get into and out of. It could be easily defended. Grains could have been stored here and carefully dispensed through the small window. Maybe this was a last stand place. Maybe ranking officials held court in this courtyard with people sitting on the balconies. Maybe it was very hard times when people watched their children dying. They didn’t want to leave, but they had to go. 

It was interesting, and I enjoyed his approach. It made us realize the importance of this particular site that was built intermittently between 1180 and 1270. They raised turkeys and grew corn, squash and beans. http://npshistory.com/brochures/meve/balcony-house-2013.pdf

Art Store, Colorado, Cortez, Colorado, Mancos

A Day in Mancos and Cortez, Colorado

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Friday, August 5, 2022

We waited until 9:00 to go to Mancos. I had to get a newsletter out and needed WIFI, so we went to the Mancos Library. There were picnic tables and chairs on a covered porch where we found outstanding WIFI. This area is open 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week!

by Joseph Kerski

I was able to download two big updates – Luminar Neo and Proton VNP, both of which I use a lot. I sent the newsletter to the board for review and got replies from two. Then I uploaded two days worth of pictures for the blog. Martha went for a haircut, and then caught up on some things. 

By 11;30 we had had enough and walked a block to Main Street. We went into Fahrenheit Coffee Roasters. The nice owner told us about her different coffees, describing the pros and cons of each. I wish I had recorded it.

Mancos, Colorado

James, in Ace Hardware, had told us about an art store, which was nice. I bought some cards explaining petroglyphs somewhat. Across the street was a very good Indian arts and antiques store, Kilgore American Indian Art. Kelly greeted us and told us not to touch the bowls. She told us how they were made, using no machines. They are all fashioned by hand, using plant-based dyes and local clays.

Kelly grew up working in Kilgore Trading Post, that her parents owned

There was a lot of antique jewelry and baskets. Martha went to the rugs, and after some discussion with Kelly, bought a pretty rug. Kelly grew up working in her parents trading post, …… She speaks Navajo and Hopi and understands their symbols and beliefs. She is an appraiser for other organizations. She photographed the rug and will send a description of the meanings of the symbols.

Martha bought this rug

We went across the street to Columbine’s for lunch and read a local magazine. Louis L’Amour lived here on a big farm, and many of his stories were about this area. 

We drove 17 miles west to Cortez, stopping at an auto parts store to get some engine coolant for the truck, then drove to a crazy welded art field that James told us about. In a pasture in front of his house, he has made figures of all sorts from scrap metal and paint and a good sense of humor.

  • Searching for ruins

It had gotten hot, about 90o. I pulled over to call Sirius AGAIN! My weather app isn’t working, and I think it’s pretty essential to be able to get a weather report. Same story, different day. “I am so sorry for your trouble Mr. Wall. Let me get all your information and I will refresh your radio.” Same result – it doesn’t work. 

Back at camp, we had a light dinner and enjoyed the first fire of the trip. At the top of the mesa, the temperature had dropped to 72 degrees.

Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, Morefield Campground, Mesa Verde NP, Petroglyph Point Trail, Mesa Verde NP, Petroglyph Point Trail, Mesa Verde NP

Hike Petroglyph Trail in Mesa Verde National Park

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Thursday, August 4, 2022

One of the coolest hikes we have been on, we enjoyed this one a lot. What makes a great trail? A great view, features along the way, discovery of something new, history, wildlife, solitude all go into making a great trail. This one has some great features, steps (some carved in rock), slots between huge rocks, walking under shelves where people have walked for thousands of years. The petroglyphs were a special attraction. There were a few others on the trail, but not many. We were reminded of the history of this place passing a wall still standing from a house built 900 years ago. Toward the end you climb up out of the canyon onto the mesa top and walk along a gravel path that leads back around to the museum. It crosses what was once a great, flowing stream with a waterfall into the canyon right in front of Spruce Tree House, one of the great ancient ruins of the park.

Petroglyph Point Trail
Difficulty: Strenuous  
Distance: 2.4 miles (3.9 km) roundtrip  
Elevation Change: 227 feet (69 m)
Trailhead: Spruce Tree House Overlook, by the Chapin Mesa Museum

A rugged and adventurous trail with steep drop offs. Hikers traverse the side of Spruce Canyon, squeezing between boulders and descending narrow stone staircases to reach a large petroglyph panel at 1.4 miles (2.3 km). From here, hikers must climb a 100-foot (30 m) cliff, scrambling up rocks and uneven sandstone steps to the mesa top, before returning through pinyon-juniper forest on the mesa top to complete the loop.

  • Looking back at the Museum
  • Spruce Tree House
Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Morefield Campground, Mesa Verde NP

Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

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Wednesday, August 3, 2022

We were lucky, very lucky to get a tour of Cliff Palace. We knew nothing about Mesa Verde, just that it was a national park, and I wanted to see the national parks and monuments. Perhaps it is fortunate I am writing this three weeks late.

Built approximately 1190, and added to until 1260, it was abandoned by 1300. It is the largest cliff dwelling in North America, and one of the most impressive. It was built late in the Pueblo III period, the most impressive building period. As we saw in Chaco Canyon, people traveled impressive distances, and trade products came from the west coast and Mesoamerica (Central America).

In 1888 Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason would rediscover it. The Wetherill family continuously moved before settling on the Mancos River, starting the Alamo Ranch. Alamo is derived from the Spanish word for cottonwood. Benjamin Wetherill had five sons, Richard being the oldest. The young men enjoyed searching the canyons in winter when ranch work was done. They had discovered minor cliff dwellings.

They had good relations with Indians, and although Richard had only a high school education, he read and studied a lot. “Meanwhile, they befriended the Ute chief, Acowitz. One day, twenty miles down the Mancos from the ranch, Acowitz walked up to Richard Wetherill as he stared at the twisting bends of Cliff Canyon, where he had never been.

At that moment, Acowitz chose to tell his cowboy friend something he had told no other white man. far up Cliff Canyn, near it’s head, he avowed, stood many houses of the ancientt ones. “One of those houses,” said Acowitz, “high, high in the rocks, is bigger than all the others. Utes never go there. It is a sacred place.” From: “In Search of the Old Ones”, by David Roberts.

Continuing: “Almost two years passed. On a bitter day in December 1888, with snow in the wind, Richard and his brother-in-law Charlie Mason rode horseback along the rim of Mesa Verde above Cliff Canyon, tracking cattle that had strayed far from their usual pastures. Twenty-five miles from the Alamo ranch, the cowboys knew they faced a cold bivouac under the pines before they could bring the cattle in.

A looping track drew the two men near the mesa’s edge, where a cliff dropped sheer to the talus below. They dismounted, walked to the rim, and gazed east across the head of Cliff Canyon. Suddenly Richard blurted out a cry of astonishment.

Half a mile away, in the cliff forming the canyon’s opposite wall, loomed an overhang that sheltered a natural cavern fully four hundred feet long by ninety feet deep. Inside it stood the pristine ruins of an ancient city, more than two hundred rooms built back-to-back of stone and mud, dominated by a round three-story tower. So this was the place Acowitz had told Richard about! “It looks like a palace”, murmured Mason.”

I love the way the original park buildings were made to resemble the cliff dwellings. The ancient ones were small, the women 5′ and men 5’5″, so doors were smaller. Windows were smaller before glass. Doors were smaller too, although they may have hung a rug or deer hide.

In 2015 the National Park lit luminaries in Cliff Palace for a centennial celebration. From the Durango Herald:

Colorado, Cortez, Colorado, Morefield Campground, Mesa Verde NP

Business in Cortez, Colorado

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Wednesday, August 3, 2022 

A store at the Morefield Campground has all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast as well as breakfast burritos starting at 7:00. two nice, older guys were working the kitchen. Their computer wasn’t working, so I went to the store to pay. I had the burrito and Martha the pancakes, both of which were very good. 

Shower house and laundry

We went down the mountain and turned west on 160, and found Suburban Propane Supply. They didn’t open until 8:00 and we were a couple of minutes early. Soon a man got out of his car and bid us good morning. He looked a lot like John, my great lab man. He was a retired Air Force airplane mechanic and was born and raised in Cortez and had returned after seeing a lot of other places. 

He asked where we had been, and Martha told him. His eyes lit up when he heard Monument Valley. “Did you go to John Wayne Point?” He is a big John Wayne fan and has (or had) all of his movies until he got divorced. It seems his wife kept some of them. John Wayne was in 250 movies! He talked about the first one, where he just made an appearance.

He said the climate has gotten a lot more temperate here. When he grew up, the snow would get up to your waist, but they don’t have snows like that any more. We asked where a car wash was, and he told us “Third stop light, on your right.”

I gave the truck a much-needed wash, and will return with the trailer Sunday on our way to Canyon of The Ancients. Next up was a haircut. We went into Cortez Barbering where a father and son worked. The son had recently returned to town. Both are excellent barbers!

Next stop was Ace Hardware for a better mouse trap. We picked up a pack rat at Chaco Canyon, and our cheap mousetraps weren’t good enough. He was picking them clean without tripping the spring – at least I hope it is a he! I would learn at Mesa Verde that mice proliferated at these ancient places where they stored so much corn and other grains in rooms. Ancestors of these ancient mice are still there!

This is a big Ace Hardware with a lot of help all over the store. I went to the bathroom while Martha selected a couple of traps. There was one sticky trap that looked good. Our mouse jumps over a short wall into a recessed area, so it would be a good place to catch him.

We asked about breakers, since I might replace a second breaker that is heating up. James took us to the area with breakers, but I wasn’t sure if it was the same as the one I changed.

It was such a nice store, we wandered around looking for possible things we needed. We kept running into James, who was most helpful. Martha asked him about our mouse trap selections, and he offered to show us his favorite. He said the sticky one is good, but then you have to somehow kill the mouse. Good point. 

He asked us where we were from and what we had seen. He worked for AT&T for his career, then moved here to be near the grandchildren. He told us to be sure to see the trading post down the street where they have high end Indian things. 

Taking James’ advice, we walked a block or so to Notah-Dineh Trading Company and Museum. Notah is what the Ute tribe calls themselves, and Dineh is what the Navajo call themselves. It is a very cool store with high quality things and a lot of history. The best we could do was to take in as much as we could in an hour, because we had a tour at Mesa Verde at 2:30.

Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Morefield Campground, Mesa Verde NP

Mesa Verde National Park

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Tuesday, August 2, 2022 

62 degrees at 4:00 am, high of 92

Mesa Verde and San Juan Mountains

Mesa Verde National Park is an American national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States.

Established by Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the park occupies 52,485 acres (21,240 ha) near the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. With more than 5,000 sites, including 600 cliff dwellings,[2] it is the largest archaeological preserve in the United States.[3] Mesa Verde (Spanish for “green table”, or more specifically “green table mountain”) is best known for structures such as Cliff Palace, thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America.

Starting c. 7500 BC Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by a group of nomadic Paleo-Indians known as the Foothills Mountain Complex. The variety of projectile points found in the region indicates they were influenced by surrounding areas, including the Great Basin, the San Juan Basin, and the Rio Grande Valley. Later, Archaicpeople established semi-permanent rock shelters in and around the mesa. By 1000 BC, the Basketmaker cultureemerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 AD the Ancestral Puebloans had developed from the Basketmaker culture.

The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such as corn, beans, and squash. They built the mesa’s first pueblos sometime after 650, and by the end of the 12th century, they began to construct the massive cliff dwellings for which the park is best known. By 1285, following a period of social and environmental instability driven by a series of severe and prolonged droughts, they abandoned the area and moved south to locations in Arizona and New Mexico, including the Rio Chama, the Albuquerque Basin, the Pajarito Plateau, and the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Verde_National_Park

We went to the visitor’s Center for a more complete study. It was crowded, but we worked our way around exhibits and signs. Then we went for the mesa top loop drive, but getting there takes 30-40 minutes on a twisting mountain road and going through one tunnel. Several overlooks gave the big picture of the four corners area of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. We are driving “The Grand Circle” trying to see all the National Parks and Monuments. These parks house some of the most incredible stone, rock, field and cliff structures that were built around 1,000 years ago. All of these sites were abandoned around 1300. As the modern Indians say, “We are still here. We just moved.”

  • Mesa Verde and San Juan Mountains
  • Mesa Verde with San Juan Mountains in distance
  • Sleeping Ute Warrior Mountain
  • Unusual, large building on the mesa top

Mostly, they lived below the mesas, in the many natural alcoves that provided protection and cover. There was more water then, and they developed farming techniques and incredible building techniques. They are known for their beautiful bowls, rock art and baskets. So many questions run through my mind. Why did they live there? How did they live there? How did they climb those cliffs? Why was it abandoned all over the Colorado Plateau? What were they afraid of?

Early Anglo explorers of these dwellings were often so struck with these places, they became obsessed, like Richard Wetherill, Dominguez, Escalante, Jackson, and others. I am reading a book called, “In Search of the Old Ones” by David Roberts. He too became obsessed in his travels and study, looking for answers, but also just being in these sites thrilled him.

For the many tribes still living in these areas, these areas are sacred. They believe these were their original homes, and the spirits are still there. They are not interested in thousands of people walking through these places. They don’t want them dug up for archaeological study. Yet, they often let their cattle and horses graze the land.

Mule Deer in camp

Perhaps cursed by the spirits of Chaco Canyon, our pack rat licked the peanut butter off two mouse traps, so I put Swiss cheese on them.

Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico, Pueblo Alto Hike, Chaco Canyon, Pueblo Alto Trail, Chaco Culture NHP

Hike Pueblo Alto, Chaco Culture National Historic Park

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Sunday, July 31, 2022

Our goal was to hike Pueblo Alto Loop Trail, which is about 5.5 miles on top of the north mesa to another settlement, Pueblo Alto. Continuing across the mesa and around the rim with views of the valley, Pueblo Bonita, Chetro Ketl and Chaco Canyon. 

People have been here for thousands of years, but in the mid-800’s they began to build on a grand scale for 300 years, and it is incredible what they did. It became the hub of trade for settlements throughout the southwest and Mesoamerica, bringing chocolate here. They built roads to connect settlements, irrigated fields, stored water and foods and had ceremonies in their great, round kivas. Many Native Americans feel this was where they came from, and it holds great spiritual value to them. To build such a structured society, there had to be strong leadership and organization. 

The trail starts behind Kin Kletso, one of seven major “great houses”. It quickly climbs up the mesa through a very narrow slot in the canyon wall. Once on top, it is mostly level with wonderful views of the settlements and the large valley. A mile around the rim, we had a great overlook of Pueblo Bonito. It is like a highway on the solid rock of the rim, the trail well-marked by cairns (rock piles). In Canada they are called Inunchucks, the Inuit name for their way of marking sites or trails on the ice.

It was a beautiful morning, beginning at 65 degrees. I almost wore a second shirt, but knew I would soon warm up. It was overcast, a blessing in July in New Mexico. Martha and I rate this the best hike we have taken. It was a perfect day for hiking; we never saw anyone else; the history is amazing, comparable to Machu Picchu; there are many unique features: solid rock canyon rim extending for miles like a highway, slot canyons, canyon steps carved 1,000 years ago, the views, “buckets” holding water, iron deposits. There were very few boring steps. Wonderful hike, and it was the ranger’s second favorite! I think her favorite was the Petroglyphs Trail, but the wash was running too hard to cross.

  • Pueblo del Arroyo
  • Is someone pointing the way?!!
  • Pueblo Bonito
  • Across the top of the mesa
  • Pueblo Alto
  • Pottery pieces to be left alone, as they often mark gravesites
  • Hand holds and steps carved into canyon wall 1000 years ago
  • Chetro Ketyl
Chaco Culture National Historic Park, Gallo Campground, Chaco Culture HNP, New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historic Park Loop Drive

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Saturday, July 30, 2022

65 deg at 6:00 am, cloudy

We took the Loop Drive through Chaco Valley, stopping first at the Visitor’s Center. Behind the center was a 1-mile hike to Una Vida and some petroglyphs. It was pretty impressive. “Una Vida is a Chacoan “great house,” a large pre-planned multi-storied public building with distinctive masonry, formal earthen architecture, and a great kiva. Una Vida exists today in a near-natural state of preservation, free from major vandalism, and with only minor excavations and preservation repairs.” It was built in the mid-800’s AD and had 160 rooms. You can see the two streams that run through Chaco Canyon. There are six major sites on the loop drive, some largely excavated. For many Indian tribes The Pueblans, Hopi, Navajo and others, these are sacred sites where many are buried, and they don’t want further excavation. Some of these were found and excavated in the late 1800’s.

We drove to the next spot, Hungo Pavi, which included several sites, then looped behind to the cliff where there were a lot of petroglyphs. These were pretty amazing structures. Chaco Canyon was the hub of trade throughout New Mexico and beyond. I would like to see Machu Pichu, but this is pretty incredible. It is huge, and the rock work is impressive. Certainly they had the materials, with plenty of flat stones falling off the cliffs naturally, but they way they put them together, using mud for mortar would rival today’s stonework. At times they used tiny stones to fill gaps. In later buildings, they used columns, wooden support beams and flying buttresses. Sometimes they used a double-wall construction. Parts of these buildings still stand 1,000 years later!

The common thread was the kiva, a round building with windows, often aligned with the sun, moon and stars. Several of these kivas are huge! 50 people would fit comfortably. They built roads for commerce with other settlements, often carving steps in the cliffs above. They built irrigation canals and water storage. We talked about the Romans and their incredible construction at the same time. One difference is we know a lot about the history of the Romans. We know little about Chaco Culture. Why did they leave? What did they do in these great kivas? This was a huge, open society where people visited from hundreds of miles away. Artifacts were found from the west coast, Mexico and the north.

We completed the loop drive and went back to the Visitor’s Center.I found several interesting books while Martha talked with a ranger about what hike to take tomorrow. Her favorite hike was out, because we can’t cross the “wash”, which is a river right now, and it is supposed to rain tonight. 

  • Collapsed canyon wall that damaged Peublo Bonito (Beautiful City)
  • Great kiva
  • Great kiva
  • Kivas were covered with timbers and woven materials
  • Plastered walls
  • The great back wall of Chetro Ketl
  • Beautiful Chaco Canyon
  • Gallo Campground
  • Incredible stonework
Chaco Culture National Historic Park, Gallo Campground, Chaco Culture HNP, New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historic Park 1

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Friday, July 29, 2022

We were supposed to take a jeep tour of Canyon de Chelly (pronounced “shay” or tsegi in Navajo), but Bobby VanWinkle came to our campsite, and said the Navajo park chief closed the park to visitors. It is monsoon season and Chinle Wash has been a raging river. A truck sinks gradually in the middle of the river. One native said she had never seen it this high. Bobby knew we could cross safely, but the man in charge wanted to err on the side of safety. I was disappointed, as Bobby is known for his excellent tours, and it is the only way to really see this incredible canyon. I hope we can come back.

Why would it take so long to drive 95 miles to Chaco Canyon? Of course I didn’t want to drive the same road we drove yesterday, so we took the alternate route. We started on Rt. 64 north, a major route. A line of cars and trucks all blinked their lights at us. We are in monsoon season. Was the road washed out? Are there cows or horses on the road? This is open range on the Navajo Reservation, so there are often animals on the road, although I am pretty amazed how they seem to be road-smart. I slowed down, but never did see the problem. I think there were animals on the road.

At Alon we turned south on 12, then turned east on 13 and headed toward some big mountains. Martha said we were on a Scenic Highway. As we started up the mountain, we were surrounded by huge, red rock cliffs, and the road wound tightly through them. A car wisely passed us on a double line. We wound up the big mountain around very tight, twisty turns. I was going 10 miles/hr asking Martha if anything was coming down the mountain as I had to swing wide to get around turns. There are times I think this big, diesel truck is more than needed. Then we come to a steep mountain like this, and I am grateful to have such a powerful truck!

It is certainly a beautiful drive. Cows grazed on both sides of the road, and all the land was in use, divided amongst the Navajo in what manner I don’t know, but it’s pretty cool. Crossing the top of Buffalo Pass at almost 9,000’ and in the clouds, I feared going down would be just as difficult as coming up, but it was easier. At the top it was 62 degrees! At the bottom, we were back into arid desert.

We passed through Farmington, New Mexico and made a daring turn to get into a Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. A trucker had parked out front on the side of the road, and we pulled in behind him, barely leaving room for people to get in and out of the restaurant. As we passed he said with a smile, “I didn’t know where else to park! Oh well, I was hungry. Have a good day.” 

As we drove a very remote road, Martha read the instructions for entering the park. “A four-wheel drive is recommended. If you get stuck on the 16.5 mile, rutted gravel road, you may have to wait a long time for a tow vehicle. If you leave your car, they will not tow it.” Martha called the Visitor’s Center. The lady said, “It is monsoon season, and the road can get washed out. Heavy rains are predicted for the next four days, and you may not be able to get out.” I stopped to fill up with gas and considered the options. I mean it’s a national Park! Can it be that bad? 

Before leaving Martha had called to ask if it was OK to come in from the south. They said it is a VERY rough 20-mile road. Four wheel drive with high clearance is needed, and then came the towing warning. We opted for the north.

At the turn toward the park, we stopped at a food truck and asked if we would be OK pulling the trailer to the park. “Oh yes, it is a good road.” three miles of paved road turned to gravel, but a very nicely groomed gravel road. I breathed a sigh of relief.

From NPS. This is the good part of the road

After 11 miles on the gravel road, a sign said it was the end of county maintenance, and the road turned very rough for the last 5 miles, so rough we were going 5 mph most of the time, crossing sides to find a smoother track. Regular sedans passed coming out. Everyone waved – a sort of camaraderie of the road less traveled. Martha was mad. “How could a national park have a road like this?”

When we FINALLY entered the park, the road became paved. We turned into the small campground and parked in site 20 right in front of some ancient ruins and a petroglyph of a horse. After setting up, we drove to the Visitor’s Center. I showed my Senior Pass and got a 7-day pass to put on the mirror. 

I asked who owned the park. “The United States Government” was the reply. “Why is that road so bad?” I asked. If I interpreted the answer correctly, that strip is not owned by the park and not by the county, but by the Navajo Nation. I asked why the government wouldn’t pay to at least gravel that road. “I guess they have other priorities.” There is a story here I hope to explore, but right now I have one bar of cell phone service.

We read some of the signs around the center, learning this is also a UNESCO site. We watched a 30-minute movie about how the Chaco Indians developed this area into a huge city with very large, well-built buildings from the middle 800’s to the 1100’s. It became a hub of travel and trade with well-engineered roads in all directions. A map showed the many Chaco settlements and buildings throughout New Mexico.

We might have taken the Scenic Loop Drive, but I was tired, so we opted for a drink and dinner. We sat outside, looking at the huge, black cloud approaching. With binoculars, we explored the cliffs and walls, noticing a lot of bird poop. Were they owls, bats or cliff swallows. There were multiple holes where birds could live.

As the storm approached and the winds picked up, we put the awning up and lowered most of the windows. There was a little thunder, but it turned out to be just a good, steady rain. Temperatures dropped to the mid 60’s, which made for great sleeping.

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