Saying Good-bye to Chaco Canyon

Moonrise on our last night in Chaco Canyon

On our hike on the South Mesa Trail, there were tracks of those who had been there before we got there.

And a colorful resident who paused so I could take his photograph:

By mid-day it was HOT (after wearing fleece that morning) and we headed back to our campsite to get out of the sun.  The little thermometer that was in our tent said it was more than 100 degrees in there!  No more exploring in the sun for that day!!

Our nice campsite had a couple of large boulders that were arranged just so . . .  We called it the Bat Cave.  Here's my man sitting in the cool shade of our cave. 

We spent most of the afternoon enjoying the relative cool of this spot.  We ate, relaxed, snacked, drank, and planned the next part of our trip here in the Bat Cave.

The Bat Cave even had some color!!

When the sun started to get lower in the sky, we emerged from our cave to fix dinner.  By the time dinner was over and the dishes cleaned, we were starting to bundle up again.

The next morning, we weren't quite ready to leave Chaco Canyon, but it was time to move on to the next part of our adventure.  We were on the trail of more Ancient Puebloans and were headed to Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado.   

We have an idea that we'll be back to the quiet of Chaco Canyon . . .

More Vacation Photos--More Chaco Canyon

Moon setting at Chaco Canyon after the full moon night

There is no hotel/motel at Chaco Canyon.  It's a rustic place--from the road to get there to the "lodgings."  We stayed in the campground there at the Canyon.  There is an area for tents that's in a little side canyon so the tents are better protected from the wind.

Our tent in Chaco Canyon campground

Here is our humble abode for a few days in our little part of Chaco Canyon.

It was chilly in the mornings.  Fleece, flannel, and/or wool was required.  However, as the sun rose and we got moving more, the temperatures rose.

After breakfast, we headed out to explore more ruins at Chaco Canyon.  










Next on our list was Pueblo del Arroyo.  It is another large great house in Chaco Canyon. 

Modern day resident of Pueblo del Arroyo in Chaco Canyon

In the early morning, the sun's rays felt good.  To us . . . and to the lizard next to the trail.

Then we visited Kin Kletso, another great house.

Then on to Casa Rinconada (Round House?) and the trail up to the mesa and to another great house . . .

Looking back at Pueblo Bonito from the South Mesa Trail

After we walked along the trail for a while (it's easy once you get on top of the mesa), we reached great house Tsin Kletzin.  

By the time we arrived, it was HOT!  We ate our snack lunch in the meager shade provided by the ancient wall.  Then we made our way back the way we came.  Back to Casa Rinconada.

This hike was pleasant and not scary at all.  As you leave Casa Rinconada and head up the trail to get up on the mesa top, you need to keep your eyes peeled for rock cairns piled on the sandstone to mark the trail.  And . . . there is one section where you have to shinny through a sandstone chute that requires using hand and foot holds to get up and down that section.  It didn't scare me, though, because it wasn't straight up, wasn't exposed, and the fit was tight enough (my day pack scraped on both sides) that it wasn't likely I was going to fall.  I didn't take any photos of this section because I stowed my camera for that little bit of fancy footwork section.  Didn't want it dangling and hitting the sandstone or pulling me off balance.

My man's name for that section of trail?  The Jenny Craig section . . .

Thanks for indulging my still sharing our vacation photos with you even though it's been MONTHS since we got back.

Vacation Photos--Aztec Ruins, New Mexico

Aztec Ruins, New Mexico

As part of our Four Corners vacation trip, we visited many archeological sites, including Aztec Ruins National Monument in northern New Mexico.  It's a site that was inhabited by the ancestral Puebloans.  We were able to walk around and through a portion of the ruins. 

This complex had about 500 rooms. 

Visitors are able to follow the trail through the West Ruin, built centuries ago. 

Part of the interior.  These people were short and hardy!

Part of the self-guided tour takes you inside some of the small rooms.  I show the photo above to give you an idea of the size of the doors.  That's my man looking through another door into another room.  The ancestral Puebloans were shorter than modern people, but they would have had to duck through these doorways, too! 

A touch of summer color amongst the ruins.  

The ancient Puebloans put windows in the corners!

The Ancient Puebloans built kivas for ceremonial and gathering purposes.  There are thousands of kivas in ruins all over the Four Corners area in the American southwest.  The kiva in Aztec has been reconstructed to resemble what the kiva might have looked like when it was in use by the Ancient Puebloans.  

Have you started thinking about your next adventure?  Will it be before the New Year?  Just into the New Year?  Not until next summer?  

For me, the ideas and the thinking and the planning are great fun.  Imagining.  Wondering.  Learning.  

What adventures are you planning?