Ted. Our buddy, Jeff had promised to show us more interesting sites in his home state so one morning he drove up from Albuquerque, picked us up and took us to one of his favorite destinations; Bandelier.
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| Jeff knows New Mexico! |
Most of this National Monument is wilderness and can only visited on foot. However, one can drive into Frijoles Canyon and explore the cave dwellings of the people now know as the Ancestral Puebloans. Human presence in this corner of the Rio Grande Valley has been traced back 10,000 years.
The canyon is carved out by a stream known as Rito de los Frijoles which flows just a few miles before emptying into the Rio Grande River. The importance of water is readily apparent. The canyon floor is lush with grasses, and ponderosa pines. The desert is clearly visible, though, as cholla, yucca and sage thrive just 100 yards up the sides of the canyon.
Following a loop trail, we visited the ruins of Tyuonyi Pueblo and explored the cave dwellings along the canyon walls. Carved out of the soft volcanic rock known as tuff, these spaces provided relatively safe and cozy homes for the inhabitants.
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| Big Kiva in Tyuonyi Pueblo |
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| Tyuonyi as seen from above |
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| Cave dwellings |
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| "Anybody home?" |
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| Cave interior |
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| Petroglyph |
Jeff had more adventures in store for us later on that day, but the morning was a great start!
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| Got one in a king size? |
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