6/12/08 Chaco Culture National Historic Park

On Thursday the 12th, we visited Chaco Culture National Historic Park, a series of architectural ruins built between AD 850 and AD 1150 by Ancestral Puebloan peoples. In the park, we toured Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and hiked the petroglyph tour which passed Kin Kietse and Casa Chiquita. With that said, most of our time was spent observing petroglyphs and taking a ranger-led tour of Pueblo Bonito.

Our one and a half hour guided tour through Pueblo Bonito was led by an AMAZING guide! Sadly, I don't remember her name, but I do have her picture. Surprisingly, I don't believe she was even an actual ranger - she was a volunteer. Her insight into the Pueblo Bonito ruins really gave meaning to a pile of bricks that would otherwise have been, at the most, neat to photograph. Her understanding and appreciation for the Ancient Puebloans was obvious as she enlightened us on all aspects of the structure including original construction, later discovery, excavation, and now preservation. We walked through Bonito, and in almost every room she was able to expound on every nook and cranny.

After Bonito, we hiked to a series of petroglyphs in the northwest corner of the park. It was very hot, but the payoff was huge - real petroglyphs! (and some unfortunate graffiti). We took our time through the glyphs - Angela sketched as I photographed. Incidentally, we saw a small snake and an interesting lizard (neither yet identified) on the trail.

Our campsite in the park was excellent, a raised patch of sand with a giant sandstone wall as backdrop.