Chaco Culture NHP, Monday 7/6/26

 

Chaco Canyon has to be a destination, in my opinion.  It's located in a remote area of Northwest New Mexico, and it isn't easy to get there.  But it's worth it:  This gem contains the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico; Chaco Canyon was a major cultural center.  Neither of us had any idea of its size, which isn't a surprise -- we thought Petra in Jordan was one building.  Learning all the time!

The very beginning and ending of the 21-mile road (off the main highway) to the park were paved, but the rest of it -- 16 miles -- was slow and excruciating for Smartie (and us!), above.  We were staying in Bloomfield NM and the entire distance to Chaco Canyon was 60-miles, +/-. 

The reason we'd stopped (photo above this one) was so I could pay a personal call to Bossie here.  I told her I admired her red and yellow earrings.

We kept our eyes on this huge stand-alone landmark, which we could see for miles, believing it would mark the entrance to the canyon.  And it did.

In 1966 Chao Culture was designated a National Historic Park, and in 1987 it joined the select list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  We were grateful to be here.

The first step in a place like this is to stop in the Visitor Center, as there's always a wealth of extra information and the rangers can share their insights as to what to see and where to go.  Above, is the layout of Pueblo Bonito, and how it looked at different stages. 

Nowadays people wonder why a site was abandoned, why a population just disappeared.  Perhaps they left to find a better home elsewhere.

We set out on the 9-mile Canyon Loop drive.  Awe was our first impression.

Please read this.  Enlarge it if you need to.

One hundred thousand tons ...

We got an early start, we really did, but the trip took more time than we thought, so the day was already on slow broil by the time we started touring the pueblos (on our own). Truly, these ruins took our breath away. I'll share a few photos, but you have to see this area to believe it.

In all the pueblos we've visited, this kiva is the largest we've seen.

On a pathway, with ruins to my left and my right.

It's difficult to convey how much has been uncovered and restored, the scope of Chaco Culture.  

I can tell you that Pueblo Bonita was the core of Chaco and the largest great house.  It was built in stages between the mid-800's and early 1100's.  Pueblo Bonita reached at least four stories (!) with over 600 rooms and 40 kivas.  That in itself is amazing.

On January 22, 1941, the collapse of a massive sandstone slab called Threatening Rock rained large boulders on Pueblo Bonito. This 30,000‑ton block, about 100 feet high, had been leaning precariously over the pueblo for centuries.  It crushed 30-60 rooms, filling rooms with debris.  Jimmy stands beside one of those HUGE boulders.  Read more here:

 

The round holes held stabilization logs.  Some remnants are visible.  We marveled at all the work, of collecting and shaping and piling one stone atop another to make buildings.

Sitting at a picnic table in the shade of a ramada, we were entertained by these two -- an Antelope Squirrel (Harris'?) and a Canyon Towhee.  Four pics of the same two critters begging for a handout.  Jimmy couldn't resist the temptation.  Lunch was yummy with fresh farmers market peaches and our usual PB&J, plus Gatorade.  It was a nice break from the scorching sun.

A short distance away, Pueblo del Arroyo was planned and constructed in two short stages and, still, it was big.

Impressive!

We climbed several short steep rises.

Looking down into the kivas, etc.

I copied this map from the park service brochure.  Perhaps this will give you a better idea of the canyon.  The red line is the paved loop.  Enlarge to read it better.

No one really knows why the ancients picked Chaco Canyon as a hub of regional cultures.  Maybe the weather was kinder 1,100-1,200 years ago, but the winters here are long with a short growing season, the summers are brutal, and rainfall is "marginal."  Nevertheless, the native people made this high desert valley the "center of their world."

From the brochure:  They created monumental architecture and developed far-reaching commerce and a complex social organization.

We reluctantly left, as the heat had become overwhelming, yet there was so much we didn't see today.  Someday we'd like to return for more exploration, with lots of trails to hike, petroglyphs to study, and many more pueblos to look into.  But not in summer.

I took the above two pics on our way back to the main road.  The horses weren't fenced in and looked wild and healthy.  They weren't afraid of me, even with two foals in their midst.

So, that was our day at Chaco Canyon.  Another long day for us, but a good way to spend a day!  This was the last adventure on our nonexistent bucket list.  We've done all we wanted to do this week-plus in New Mexico.  Tomorrow we'll pull out and point Tergel's nose toward the west.  California, here we come.

Ghost Ranch, etc. Saturday, 7/4/26

 

Happy 250th Birthday, America! 

Look at ol' Tergel, happily squeezed in beside a Juniper in the Ghost Ranch campground.  We were somewhat surprised that the campground wasn't full, but - then, again - most of the sites don't have electricity, though we made sure ours did.  With the daytime temps in the 80's, having A/C is much appreciated.  At least by us!

I trudged up a hillside path to capture this pic of Tergel after the sun dipped below the mountain.  Think everything inside and outside might be covered in reddish dust?  Yup.  That's the bathhouse behind Tergel.  This is a pretty site/sight in every way.

Two nights in a row we were privileged to see skies like this.  Rain was falling, but sorry to say, not much landed on the ground.  We got maybe 16 drops on the windshield.

This old log cabin is the first thing you see upon entering the Ghost Ranch property.  Wait ... it appears old, but it was made expressly for the movie "City Slickers!"  See below.  The "road" into Ghost Ranch from the highway was one of the worst ever -- total washboard -- and it was looooong.

Some basic info: Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre retreat and education center.  A dining hall, library, tours, trail rides, two museums, swimming pool, lodging, camping, group meeting and celebration facilities are available. It's owned by the Presbyterian Church.  And its elevation is 6,500 ft.  We spent six days/nights at the campground, going out daily in Smartie on excursions of our own.  We really enjoyed our stay here.

In 1975 Ghost Ranch was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Of course, Georgia O'Keeffe figures largely in the area.  She had a villa/studio at Ghost Ranch (off limits), as well as a home in Abiquiu, roughly 15 miles south.  She fell in love with the geography and much of her work was inspired by what she saw here.  We stopped by the Welcome Center in Abiquiu and watched a short film on her life.

Wowzers!

The ranch is also known for its concentration of fossils, most notably that of the dinosaur, Coelophysis, of which it's been estimated that nearly a thousand specimens have been preserved in a quarry at Ghost Ranch. So, on one of our days we visited the anthropology and paleontology museums, both well worth going into. Just so much to see!

Coelophysis -- but maybe it wasn't green and white striped!

On Friday, the 3rd, we drove south to Los Alamos to do the downtown historic sites walking tour, stopping first at the Manhattan Project VC. I was expecting more than just a small room, and the volunteers there simply steered us to the walking tour.   Okay.  BTW, Los Alamos is situated at 7,200 ft on the Pajarito Plateau, and its location was chosen for its relative inaccessibility to help protect the Manhattan Project's secrecy.  (think:  up high, middle of nowhere)

Most of the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb) era buildings are gone.  Fini.  Replaced by new and modern buildings, so if you're looking for historical evidence from the 1940's, you won't find much.  Nevertheless, we walked to all the sites and were glad we came.

Creased and in a pocket or purse at one time or another during the day, this gives you a hint as to the walking tour.  The pond at the bottom of the picture from the WW II era looks a whole lot different than the pond today, photo below.

Our first stop was the museum (above) named for Norris E. Bradbury, the second director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and not Ray Bradbury, the author!  And talk about overwhelm!  The best part for us were the two 16-minute movies -- Racing Toward Dawn tells the story of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s beginnings and the challenges/successes of the Manhattan Project, and Mission: Stockpile Stewardship covers the work the Lab does today to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

A ton o' info to take in!  Several rooms' worth!

I bees standing next to a replica of "Little Boy,"

the bomb that decimated Hiroshima.

"In 1943, the government built a secret laboratory at Los Alamos for a single military purpose -- to develop the world's first atomic weapons."

We also walked past this ancestral pueblo site.

The Oppenheimer house wasn't open,

it was being renovated.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, so to speak ...

Look who stopped by!

I believe this is an Ash-throated Flycatcher.

Chimney Rock! Thursday, 7/2/26

Ghost Ranch has several hiking trails on the property.  Since the monolith "Chimney Rock," is sooo visible, Jimmy and I looked at each other and said, "Why not?"  (We might be crazy.)  A paragraph on the Ghost Ranch info packet said we could climb to the top. Even better!  Roughly 4 miles up and back, and rated Moderate, there's a 650 ft elevation gain, from 6,500' to 7,100'.  Yowza!

But first, we got a household chore out of the way -- sweaty clothes in the washer!  In retrospect (and why don't we think of this beforehand?), we should've hiked first and done laundry second.  Or laundry not at all!  Anyhoot, it was 10am when we set off on the trail.  Already warm.

Ghost Ranch has lots of ... everything.  You see horses in a corral above, which you can take out for a trail ride.  Might not do that.  We'd already started up when I took this picture.

Well, there it stands!  Jimmy, too.  Apparently we're going up there, but we have no trail map, so we're unsure about the route.  Doesn't it look fantastic?  Wonder how we get up there?

I knew the higher we'd go, we'll be treated to panoramic vistas.

Lake Abiquiu in the distance.

Colorful and weird.

Plus a balancing act.

The trail's in full sun ... Junipers aren't large enough to provide shade.  We stopped frequently because we weren't in any hurry and we needed to catch our breath.  (Photo ops.) Our trail was a serpentine, steady incline.

Got to admire yard art along the way.

A family of five passed us as we began our trek.  They were younger and could go faster.  We didn't see them again, tho we looked for them occasionally.  Finally we heard voices, and we peered ahead.  Then we looked up.  If you enlarge this pic you'll see a white shirt atop of the mesa not far from the spire.  THAT'S where we're going!  (But, how?)

Looking back, there's our trail!  Overlooking the Piedra Lumbre valley and Cerro Pedernal (the flattop  in the distance), famously captured in Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings.  Abiquiu Lake is further away.

Such vivid colors in New Mexico's landscape. Our path ascends across high desert mesas and colorful sandstone formations, above and below, through the Junipers and Sagebrush.

We continued trudging uphill and even considered quitting as we didn't know how much further we'd have to go.  I found the above scene -- and so many others -- captivating with its overall composition.  It even had teeth!  Look below.

Monster's teeth!

Man, we were getting hot and tired.  Just then the five people were heading down and they told us, "You're almost there!"  Uh-huh, we've heard that before.  We had a treacherous uphill section left to do and we'd be HOME FREE.  You can see the five people on the trail's elbow, above.

The steepest part of the trail began at the red x.

And then, after an hour-and-a-half (!), we were on top of the mesa.  In front of us was Chimney Rock, at right.  There you go! 

Sure, the trail had numbers, but no booklet to go with!  Useless!  The lateral green strip is Ghost Ranch where our Tergel is.  Thank goodness for a brisk wind that kept us from overheating.

We did it!

This is as close as you get to Chimney Rock.

I eased out on the ledge to get this shot.  Carefully.

Jimmy found a spot in the shade of a "grove of trees!"

Looking down.

We did it!  Coming down off the mesa took half the time, but we were dog-tired before we ever got to Tergel.  Needless to say, we took naps and had long lovely showers in the (very nice) campground bathhouse.  Went to bed early, too!  

We conquered Chimney Rock.