May 12: Santa Fe & Bandelier National Monument

It was cold and blustery yesterday as we left Taos on a short 73 mile drive to Santa Fe. The occasional snowflake was falling on me as I hitched the trailer. High winds were predicted but thankfully didn't materialize.

We spent our first Santa Fe day exploring Bandelier National Monument, which lies about 40 miles northwest. It consists of a deep, steep-walled canyon in which an extensive stone-and-mud pueblo was built into its walls and on the canyon floor. There are at least 3,000 archeological sites within the monument. The main pueblo area was active between 1100 and the mid-1500s. The Pueblo people had all left the site by the time the Spanish Conquerors arrived in the late 1500s.

The main site on the canyon floor consists of a circle of hundreds of separate rooms, likely as much as three stories high in places. There are three kivas (worship and meeting places) within the circle. The honeycomb of small rooms of the lower floor is still intact. On the canyon walls are the remains of extensive construction. Stone rooms were built against the wall, which had been drilled with holes for timbers to be inserted to accommodate additional floors. Rooms had been developed high up on the canyon walls, and were reached by an intricate network of ladders, carved trails, and stairs. Believe it or not, the National Park Service lets visitors climb long, steep ladders to reach rooms that had been carved into the cliff face. We were able to tour extensive cliff dwellings, the Tyuonyi pueblo on the canyon floor, and the Alcove House, which is reached by climbing 140 feet up a network of ladders and stone steps. The Alcove House is exceptional, as it has a complete, reconstructed kiva that is dug into the ground, roofed over with timbers and dirt, and is entered via a ladder from the top. This is not a climb for anyone with a fear of heights! With some trepidation, Donna made it to the top! She was quite grateful for the railings on the edge of the cliff.

Poor Cooper had to stay in his crate in the truck while Donna and I hiked for over two hours. Luckily, I found a fully shaded spot, and the temperature remained under 70 degrees.