Today I went to Chaco Canyon, NM. I came there intending to do the guided tour, but the folks at the ranger station were understaffed, and so the 10 o’clock tour didn’t happen. However I did the self-guided tour to Pueblo Bonito, which means ‘Beautiful Town’ in Spanish. A picture of what Pueblo Bonito would have looked like when it was inhabited is below. Pueblo Bonito started construction around 850 A.D. and contunued to around 1150 A.D. and was used until it was abandoned around 1250 A.D. From beginning to end, Pueblo Bonito was the center of the Chacoan World, and was the largest of the the various Pueblos in Chaco Canyon. I entered through a less than 5-foot door in the the wall, which was probably not there when there were in-habitants, because the way you entered a house was through an opening in the ceiling, and then through a door into the next room, and back up a ladder to the second level, and so on until you get where you want. When you look at the picture below, you will notice many circular buildings, some of them with smoke issuing from their centers. Those are called kivas, and they where gathering places for the people for meetings, counsels, dancing, religious rites, and possibly much more. After I left the pueblos, I went to The 4 Corners, and touched New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado at the same time. I didn’t stick around for long after that though, because it was around 100° outside. However, I did find a shop in Utah that sold handmade traditional Navajo Bows, Arrows, Buffalo antler knives, and the like. After that I drove to Cortez, where I will spend the next 1-2 days. See you tomorrow.
