Indian Country - Chaco Canyon NM

We leave Red Rock Park early on Mother's Day morning. Peter leans over in he driver's seat and asks about a gift to me for  Mother's Day. I reply there's nothing I want more than be headed off to Chaco Canyon with him on a new adventure. He just smiles and keeps driving.

Not much is happening as we pass through Crownpoint, site of the missed Navajo Rug Auction (sigh). A little later we cross over the Continental Divide (one of many times on this trip as we stitch back and forth over it). My Father was always thrilled to cross it on long road trips when we were kids. My brother and I always thought he was a little nuts, but now as an adult it's thrilling to know we're crossing the backbone of the country.

A man leads horses through Crownpoint

Crossing over to the Eastern side of Continental Divide

There's no good road into Chaco Canyon. Yes, there's both a southern access and a northern access, but both are more suited to 4 wheel drive vehicle and NOT one you'd normally choose to drive a motor home over, even a small one like ours. Since we've heard the southern route is currently the better one after a recent grading, we go for it. Still it takes us almost a hour an a half to drive the 20 miles of wash board complete with sand pits every 5-10 miles. Although the road seems endless, it only feels that way and we do eventually make it to Chaco Culture National Historical Monument.

The endless southern access to Chaco Canyon

Yea!!! We made it... and the park roads are paved.

Fajada Butte and the entrance to Chaco Canyon

The first stop we make is at the Visitor's Center to sign up for a ranger led Pueblo Bonito tour the next day and a camp site for our stay. On the way to the campground we stop at the sign explaining how the top of Fajada Butte was used as an observatory of the sun. A dagger of sunlight marks the solstices and equinoxes on a petroglyph.

Visitors' Center

Explanation of the Solar Observatory

Our home for the next few days

Chaco is so full of ancient archeological sites that we can even see two small ones out our bedroom window.

Peter checks out an Anasazi home from our bedroom window

It's believed this home to a farming family

Close up of Anasazi farm house

Una Vida 

After getting our campsite settled we check out the small set of ruins behind the Visitors' Center. We immediately notice the finer stone work than what we saw at Wupatki.

Three story building walls at Una Vida

Wow - Anasazi must have been short

Stone work on walls

The cliff behind the ruins is covered with petroglyphs. We're not sure if the horned animals are antelope, elk or mountain sheep. One looks like a dog or coyote and another looks like a jack rabbit.

Petroglyphs behind Una Vida

Pueblo  Bonito 

The largest (covering almost 2 acres) and best known of the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon is Pueblo Bonito. It's also the most common location for ranger led tours. Pueblo Bonito was planned and constructed in stages between 850 to 1150 AD. Despite having hundreds of rooms, surprisingly very few people (70 at the peak) seemed to actually have lived here as archeologist concluded based on both the lack of kitchen middens and human burials. Instead Chaco Canyon seems to have been a religious and ceremonial center, or to put it in more modern terms - a cross between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Vatican.

Chaco was the most developed culture north of Mexico and Central America. In fact, there's considerable evidence of a healthy trade with the Toltecs of Mexico. In fact, some of the architecture reflects that of the Toltecs, such as the T-shaped doors. How much the Toltecs influenced the Chaco Culture is under debate. Did the Chaco priests engage in human sacrifice? It's possible as obsiden knives were found, but no one knows for sure.  Huge storehouses have been found containing parrot feathers (from Mexico/Central America), sea shells from the Pacific Ocean, water vessels, and turquoise. The few burials found at Chaco seem to be those of rulers or high priests. In one such burial at Pueblo Bonito, the body was covered with thousands of pieces of turquoise.

All the Great Houses and Kiva's in Chaco Canyon are built on strict North/South alignments. Many have both lunar and solar alignments as well.

Linda, a ranger from the Visitor Center, is our guide

Buildings were carefully planned to raise 3-4 stories high

Floor/roof poles are evident for upper stories

From pack rat middens of the time period, Archeologists have determined the area was once covered with large ponderosa pines. However, as the building progressed, roof/floor poles came from more and more distant locations. In the end, the poles needed to be carried from as far away as 70 miles.  One unusual feature of these buildings is the occasional window cut into a corner. These were added after construction was completed and thought to have been used for tracking the sun across a solar calendar painted on an interior wall.

Large holes are evident in missing ceiling/floor poles

Corner window for solar calendar

One of many Kivas found at Pueblo Bonito

The cliff behind Pueblo Bonito was famous for "Threatening Rock" a very large rock face split off from the cliff. The Anasazi had reinforced the base of this rock with a retaining wall and for centuries were able to delay the inevitable collapse. Unfortunately, the Park Service did not take closer heed of this old retaining wall believing it was useless and did nothing to shore it up. In 1941, Threatening Rock fell with a deafening crash heard all over the canyon. In the end over 60 rooms were destroyed by this rock fall. Later analysis by geologists confirmed the Anasazi had the right idea to shore up the base of the cliff as the lower layers are of a softer and more fragile sandstone. Turns out the ancient Anasazi were smarter than the Park Service thought they were.

Destruction of 60 rooms of Pueblo Bonito by Threatening Rock

Even from across the canyon, the destruction is clearly visible

A similar, but smaller Threatening Rock

As we walk through the ruins Linda points out various features to us. She also tells us very little digging is done anymore as the buildings tend to be better preserved if they are kept buried. In fact, when a new dig is authorized for a summer, the walls have to be re-buried by the end of the season.

Original log cut showing stone ax marks

Park Service reinforcement of fragile walls

T-shaped Toltec like door

The stone work is especially sophisticated at Pueblo Bonito and became more refined in the later stages of building. Odd though, this beautiful stonework was covered over with plaster and hidden from view.
Only one room in Pueblo Bonito has been fully restored to give visitors a sense of what the rooms were like both on the inside and outside.

Restored room with plastered walls and wood ceiling

After we had finished our tour, I met a small group of Navajo Junior High kids at the trail head. They had come on a field trip from Gallup, but were afraid to enter the ruins because of possible evil spirits their elders had warned them about. I was impressed they were heeding the warnings and were  waiting so patiently for the rest of their class to return.

Chetro Ketl

This Great House ruin is just a short walk along the cliff from Pueblo Bonito. It has a surprising number of smaller Kiva's, thought to be used as meeting rooms for clan groups. Many of these Kiva's were built one on top of another, much like an upside down layer cake, with each new Kiva being larger than the one underneath it.

Chetro Ketl

Many smaller clan Kiva's chain link together

Evidence of at least two older kiva's below the top one

The back wall of Chetro Ketl is long and straight as compared to Pueblo Bonito's curved D shaped back wall.

Long back wall of Chetro Ketl

The unusual large raised Great Kiva is especially noticeable.

Raised Kiva

Casa Rinconada 

Early the next morning we stop at Casa Rinconada which is the largest of the Great Kiva's. It has a large antechamber (about where Peter is standing) at one end and a smaller one (for the priests to enter?) at the other end. It also has a very sophisticated ventilation system and is thought to have supported a dome roof which took over 300 trees to build.

Grand Kiva - largest at Chaco

The following  3 minute YouTube video by the IRC group at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County shows a computer animation of the construction of this Great Kiva as well as other building techniques:

 

Leaving Chaco

Although we could easily spend more time exploring Chaco Canyon's many mysteries, the check engine light has come on and we need to hightail it to Albuquerque NM were the closest service is for our engine. We are wondering if the rough roads had anything to do with the engine light and debate about taking the shorter but even rougher north access. The campground host urges us to stick to the southern access as a recent school bus driver broke out all the side windows on the northern access trying to bring in a field trip (bet those kids had an earful to say to their parents and teachers).

Sun rays shine down on Chaco Canyon as we leave

Oh no - not this horrid road again!

PS - Despite the bad road and difficult access,  we definitely believe the trip was worth it. Even now Chaco Canyon continues to haunt our imaginations and our conversations.

For more information on Chaco Canyon, watch the following one hour PBS documentary "The Mystery of Chaco Canyon" narrated by Robert Redford: