The Chaco Culture Historical Park is located in Northwestern New Mexico. This park is very remote. It is nearly an hour and a half from the nearest town of Bloomfield, and getting there involves driving 20 miles on a dirt road. At a visitor center in Chama, we were warned that the road to Chaco becomes impassible in rainy weather, and thunderstorms were predicted. We decided to take a chance and head that way - over 100 miles ahead.
We were so glad we did! The dirt road was not bad at all - a bit of washboard here and there, but it was wide and flat and dusty.
This particular pueblo I am showing here is Pueblo Bonito. Construction began in mid to late 800 AD. and continued until the 1100's.
This particular pueblo, the largest in Chaco canyon contained over 600 rooms, covered 3 acres and had 4 to 5 stories.
You can see (above) the holes where they set the poles for the ceiling / floor between stories.
This is a broader view of the ruins, some of it has not been excavated yet and is partially buried by soil.
Hi Cynthia - Love reading your blog - but this time think you mean northwest New Mexico. It is a pretty special place and well worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteYes, of course you are correct, Lynn. Thanks so much for bringing my error to my attention. I have corrected my mistake in my post.
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia, Just a minor thing - but saw that you had corrected it. I have family in the Powell - Cody area of Wyoming and hope to get up there one of these days - get to Billings and actually see your work in person.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin there sends your pictures of the Beartooth to her dad who is now longer able to get out into the mountains. He herded sheep there in his youth, so has many special memories. Thanks for your inspiration and all that you share. Lynn