Chaco in March

[Argonaut20]

My wife and I decided to revisit Chaco Canyon this March. Since last we were there, much research has been done on the sites and civilizations that are Chaco. The Chaco culture was evidenced by large multistory buildings (called great houses) and the occurence of large community kivas (usually round ceremonial structures). The Chaco culture extended south to Gallup, NM, north to the San Juan drainage, east to the edge of the Colorado Plateau, and west into Arizona. Evidence of 400 miles of prehistoric roads connecting many of the sites has been found. It all came to an end about 1250 AD for reasons that are not known.

The campground is open on a first come first served basis. There are tent only spaces as well as RV spaces. There is also a small ruin right next to the campground that you can wander through.


Open country with large canyon walls around the campground.


On the way to the Visitor Center you see the landmark that is the Fajada Butte.


A brief walk from the Visitor Center is the Una Vida ruin. Here is an example of the stone work that is typical of the ruins here.


A word about the weather here. This day, the clouds were rolling in as a low entered the area. Walking around in the ruins was comfortable, but the evening found the wind blowing and a rain/snow mix. Our furnace came in handy, believe me. The next night .....17 degrees cold. More about that later.

 

[Argonaut20]

The first ruin on the Chaco Loop Road is Hungo Pavi. In this photo you can see the stairway up the canyon wall that leads to one of the roads. The stair is about 1000 years old. Not what we are used to, but it worked for the people here.


Next up is Chetro Ketl, truly a large ruin. If Pueblo Bonito is about 3 acres in size, Chetro Ketl is not far behind.


Walking into Chetro Ketl you come across a wall that shows evidence of having had columns when it was built. The spaces between the columns were filled in by later people. This is interesting as Chetro Ketl is the only Chaco Culture site with this column feature, but a similar column feature is found at the Casas Grande ruin in northern Mexico. Chacoans had to get their macaws from somewhere, right?


Portions of Chetro Ketl are still 3 stories high which gives an idea of how impressive the site must have been when inhabited.


Inside the plaza of Chetro Ketl is one of the great kivas, a sort of community center with religious connotations.


The roof was supported by four large wooden posts and you can see the stone surrounds for the posts in the picture above. The posts were 18" to 24" in diameter and were products of a forest some 70 miles away. All the wood used in the ruins was carried here by human power. No horses, no oxen, no wheeled vehicles, just people power. The rectangular features attached to the post surrounds may have been foot drums or??? The square openings in the wall are niches whose purpose is not clear.

 

[Argonaut20]

Walking over to Pueblo Bonito you see remains of a large rock fall into the building. Aptly named Threatening Rock towered over Pueblo Bonito for 1000+ years and finally fell in 1941.


The good part of this is that you now have a place to look out over Pueblo Bonito without having to climb to the top of the mesa. All 3 acres of it.


As you walk around the ruin you find walls that are still 2 or 3 stories high. The stone work varies in style which enables archeologists to put dates on different additions to the town.


You can also walk inside the rooms in the ruin. There are doorways in the level above and post holes in the wall for the small poles that supported the floor for that story.


Another of the large kiva structures here, similar to that shown for Chetro Ketl.


This ended our first day of walking the ruins so we returned to the campground to be greeted with our rain/snow mix and blustery wind. Believe me, the wind blew all night long at about 15 - 25 mph. Rockin' at Chaco.

 

[simimike]

Great pics and report. Thanks for posting

Mike

 

[Argonaut20]

Day 2 dawned bright and chilly windy. Of all the great things to happen, the tire pressure monitor indicated a low tire (I had already concluded one was down, but not THAT low) which, as all travelers know, must be changed in very inhospitable conditions. No way was it going flat on a nice warm morning. After getting the truck back on its feet, we headed off to Pueblo Arroyo and Casa Rinconada.

Pueblo Arroyo is D shaped like Bonito, but oriented East rather than North. Why? Good question. It also has some different features from the other greathouses such as a triple wall tower and a keyhole shaped kiva.


Keyhole shaped kivas are more Mesa Verde than Chaco, but then the Mesa Verde folks did move in when the Chacoans left. Wall masonry is different as well, though still multistory.


Across the Chaco wash, er... Chaco River, ummm... arroyo, on the other side of the canyon is Casa Rinconada, one of the largest great kivas known. It sits at the top of a mound.


The interior is similar to the large kivas at Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl, just larger.


It is thought to be a community gathering place and has small ruins nearby to bolster that idea.


Driving back toward the visitor center we saw a herd of about 12 elk. We had seen evidence of them everywhere we went, but finally saw the actual animals. With the calm that comes to those who travel, we managed to get not one picture of the elk.

The last night we spent at the canyon was calm and cold. The ranger said it got down to 17 degrees. I am prepared to believe it. When we went to push the bed extension back so we could make coffee, the extension would not slide. There had been condensation from the previous day gather under the mattress and it froze the mattress to the camper. The mattress gave up some of the nap when I pried it loose. We slept OK thanks to the furnace, but it was cold!

Overall, this was a great trip. Plenty of walking around to do just staying on the canyon bottom. There are trails that take you to the top of the canyon and more ruins plus beautiful vistas. The prehistoric roads radiate from Pueblo Alto on the top.

As an aside, we talked with a couple who had come in from the south (through Crownpoint) whose RAV 4 was being loaded onto a wrecker. Apparently that route is very rocky and they had hit a rock and destroyed the transmission. Take care if you come in from the south.

 

[Marc]

Nice report and pics. keep them coming.

marc

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Great report Argonaut. Thanks for the pics!

 

[gsbfree]

Looks like a very cool area to explore... Thanks for the report and pictures.

 

[Ted]

Like the others have said, great report. We visited Chaco a few years back and were amazed by the way their construction techniques developed. This place is a must for any Southwest wanderers. Thanks Argonaut20.

 

[brett13]

The CG is open? I thought it was still closed- it had been closed for about a year as they struggled to complete a septic system upgrade. Is the part of the CG tucked into the rocks/boulders open too?

 

[ski3pin]

Argonaut20, thanks for the great photos and report on Chaco. It sure whets the appetite to visit!