Learning about the Pueblo people at Bandelier National Monument

May 14, 2013
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Trailer Ranch RV Resort



One of the things we really wanted to see in this area was the cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people.  There are a few different areas one can visit but we heard that the ancestral sites at Bandelier National Monument were some of the most interesting because of the geological formations. The park was only about an hour away and absolutely a fascinating place to explore.



Our knowledge of the Pueblo people was pretty limited, so this adventure gave us a chance to learn more about their history and lifestyle. Archeologists believe they are descended from hunter and gatherers who lived in the Southwest over 10,000 years ago. They settled this area known as Frijoles Canyon around 1200 AD with their peak population around 1325 AD. The Pueblo people were distinct from earlier descendants as they were farmers (vs. nomadic tribes) who grew maize, beans, and squash on the surrounding mesas. They chose this canyon for their villages because of its year-round stream for a reliable source of water, Ponderosa pines for ceiling beams in their home, and volcanic cliffs for natural dwellings protected from the elements.



A three-mile hike of the park takes you to see the stone wall remains of an ancient plaza, several kivas—underground structures where important ceremonies took place, and the remnants of several cave dwellings. There are several Pueblo villages in the area but today’s descendants of the Pueblo people, out of respect for the ancient homes of their ancestors, do not want all these sites excavated .



The round structure above shows the largest Kiva on the trail. Kivas were a special place where the tribe would make important decisions and share knowledge. When in use, this kiva would have been covered by a rood made of wood and earth. The inhabitants of the village would enter the sacred area of the kiva using a ladder through an opening in the roof.



This large circle is the site of the village plaza that was once two stories high with over 400 rooms. IN addition to being a central place for village work including tool and pottery making, the village housed approximately 100 people. These village rooms on the canyon bottom were occupied at the same time as cave dwellings. Archeologists are not sure of the distinction that existed between living in the village vs. the caves. Theories suggest that the choice may have been based on family, work roles, custom, or simply preference.

The cave dwellings were, for us, the most interesting part of the park. Many had ladders, based on the original design but bolted to the rock wall, leading into the caves which you could climb to explore the inside. These cave rooms, called cavates, were dug out of the relatively soft volcanic rock with stone tools.The Pueblo people mud-plastered and painted the walls and the ceilings were smoke-blackened to harden the volcanic tuff and make it less crumbly. You can still see evidence of the soot-blackened ceilings and petroglyphs when you climb inside. Pretty haunting—in a sacred way—to sit inside and imagine life here 700 years ago.









Most cavates had stone rooms built in front of them, but many of these are no longer standing. You can see some evidence of the original stones added to the caves on this cliff wall.






The photo above shows a reconstructed stone room, called a Talus house, added to the cliff dwelling. We were impressed with how well the park is laid out with special attention to protect and preserve this sacred place. I did read, however, that some of the caves have to be replastered and smoked to remove graffiti—so sad. 



After walking the self-guided trail, you can continue on another 1/2 mile through the pinon-juniper woodlands to see the Alcove House, a cave dwelling that housed several families and included its own kiva for ceremonial purposes.



To actually enter the Alcove House, you have to climb four ladders 140 ft. above the canyon floor. Vic doesn’t like heights and I wasn’t so sure about the ladders, but once we arrived we were inspired to go for it. Other than being strenuous to climb, separating the distance with four  separate ladders made the height seem less intimidating.



Once we entered the ceremonial cave, which is quite large, we were alone there and had a chance to rest in the refreshingly cool space. (The day we had was perfect for hiking with temps in the mid 70s.)This cavate included a fairly large kiva inside which was under construction as evidenced by the orange barrier. We tried to imagine these tribal people holding ceremonies in the cave away from the hustle and bustle of village life.





I couldn’t resist the temptation to take a photo in the style of bloggers Pam and John of Oh the Places They Go—who often memorialize their hikes--to more challenging places than this-- with a photo of their legs and boots dangling from a scenic overlook.  We really enjoyed sitting in our private cavate and philosophizing about life.



Then it was time for the descent down the ladders. It was easier than going up and not dizzying at all if you didn’t look down. Like the true gentleman Vic is, he went ahead of me in case I lost my footing.





On the walk back, you could take a different trail through the woods, away from the cave dwelling, giving you a better look at the forest ecosystem. We were disappointed not to see much wildlife here at all, but I did hear a rustle in the leaves and managed to photograph this whiptail lizard, the official state reptile of New Mexico.



I had envisioned many more cacti in New Mexico than we have seen so far, but we were delighted to see this blooming cholla or buckhorn cactus along the path.






I wondered about birds in the area and was happy to see this sign showing that most species one might encounter were fairly common ones. (I hate thinking I am missing a rare sighting.) We saw several turkey vultures, of course, and I think I heard a flicker and an owl, but no sign of them.



The path took us across Frijoles Creek where two park rangers were building a new walking bridge.  I asked about the current drought conditions and flash floods that occur in the canyon later in the summer. They explained that they do controlled burnings to help prevent major fires but you might recall there was a devastating fire near here in 2000 at Los Alamos (about twenty miles away). The fire destroyed over 400 homes and threatened further disaster by coming close to the nuclear material stored there. That fire started as a controlled burn but high winds and drought conditions caused the fire to spread. The other potential threat is the flash floods. The park workers said they have not any deaths in the canyon, but they now have an early warning system that gives them about an hour and a half to let hikers in the near vicinity know they need to evacuate. The forest fires increase the danger of the floods because there is little growth to slow them down. They have markers on several of the trees to show how high the water reached during the last major flood. Nature trumps all.



Sometimes when I am walking in the woods, I can be rather oblivious to the diversity of my surroundings. I appreciate going places that help teach me to appreciate the subtler distinctions of the ecosystem. I never heard the term “ecotone” before and it made me wonder how many places might actually qualify for this distinction.  Identifying trees and shrubs, other than ones that I once planted in my yard, is not something I am able to do very well.  It would be great if parks had brochures that help with plant identification. On another note, this sign refers to the tribes here as Anasazi, a term they were identified with in the past, but is no longer used as it means “ancient enemies.” The people who settled here in the Frijoles Canyon are now known as the Ancestral Pueblo people.



Thus ended our day in the canyon and mesa country that is part of the Pajarito Plateau, a place where volcanic eruptions 600 times more powerful than Mount St. Helens shaped the landscape more than one million years ago and where native peoples 600 years ago carved pictures of their dogs in the compressed volcanic ash.



P.S. We had the great pleasure of meeting fellow bloggers Lisa and Hans of Metamorphosis Road in our park the second day after we arrived. As I was walking up to their picnic table outside, Lisa casually said, “Hi, Pam” as though she knew me. How welcoming. We had happy hour together twice and have not only enjoyed getting to know them and hearing about their adventures, but look forward to more fun  together over the weekend as we are staying an extra day—yay!

Sante Fe arrival and a daytrip to Taos

May 10-13, 2013
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Trailer Ranch RV Resort



We took three days to travel 690 miles to Santa Fe, our next destination after leaving Austin, with our first stop in Abilene and our second in Amarillo. After searching for Passport America parks, Harvest Host sites, or other decent and inexpensive campgrounds in the Abilene area, we spent our first night in a Walmart Supercenter parking lot. Vic went inside and requested permission and they told us to park anywhere that was out of the way. We were the first to arrive but ended up having a couple other campers and a few trucks near us.  To make it easier to walk the dogs, we parked next to a grass strip  and there was plenty of room for everyone even with our slides out.  Not my favorite experience overall especially when you arrive mid-afternoon, but we hunkered down and made it work. It helped that the temps were only in the high 60s, cool enough not to need the air, so we only needed to run the generator a short while. Fortunately, neither of us is bothered much by noise when sleeping so that was not a problem either. I guess my main concern was feeling safe and the well-lit parking lot with others doing the same made me feel fairly comfortable.

Our trip from Abilene to Amarillo took us about six hours (about 300 miles) with a stop at a rest area for lunch. Our intention was to stay at the Bar Z Winery, a conveniently located Harvest Host site in Amarillo, but when we arrived at the entrance the dirt road leading into the place was not something we wanted to deal with as the motorhome was relatively clean. I was disappointed as we have really enjoyed our “free” stays at wineries. (Vic says they are never free after I start wine tasting.) Plan B became an overnight stop at the Oasis RV Resort, a super convenient park Good Sam park on I-40 for the cost of around $30.

Day three of our little run took us from Amarillo to Santa Fe, 280 miles, mostly on I-40. Encouraged by the change of scenery from the vast open tumbleweed spaces of West Texas to more mountainous desert terrain, we started to feel closer to “home” even though neither of us had ever been in the state of New Mexico. For an RV park, we looked for one in close proximity to the downtown area.  I first start with the RV Parking App on  my iPad which is my favorite way to see a map listing of all the parks in a designated area. Then I often check other blogs and and RV Park Reviews to narrow down the choices. In this case, we settled on the Trailer Ranch RV Resort which is only four miles to town and fairly quiet for being situated right on Cerrilos Road, a major thoroughfare with lots of chain restaurants and stores. The price was a little high for our budget at around $40, the Good Sam rate for a premium site, but we liked the feeling here right away and decided it was a good choice for our exploration of the area.





The park has an adobe wall that surrounds it and the community center, office building, and even some of the few “park models” are all done in an adobe style. Nice touch.



Originally, our plan was to spend three days in Sante Fe and three in Taos, but after doing some research on the distance to Taos and the attractions we wanted to see there, we decided to make Sante Fe our home base and explore Taos from here. With weather reports looking iffy in terms of rain later in the week, we chose to take a daytrip to Taos the first day we were here. (Rain is something everyone is praying for as we learned New Mexico is currently the driest state in the nation with rainfall at 29% of its normal rate; consequently, locals have said the state is not as pretty as it normally is in late spring.) 



The campground office was very helpful with maps and suggestion for exploring the area. With their recommendation, we took what is called the “High Road” to Taos, a scenic route that takes you through several Pueblo Indian villages in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The drive reminded me of traveling in the interior of Mexico at times with the blend of indigenous architecture and art and evidence of reservation life poverty. One thing we didn’t do is stop at the many points of historic and cultural interest along the way such as churches, cemeteries, and art galleries as we were a little too anxious to get to Taos and check out the area. In retrospect, I would recommend printing a guide for where to stop and what to see as all I had was a map and my smart phone with limited reception. The scenic route took about two and a half hours without stopping in contrast to the main route which takes about a an hour and a half.



Our first stop in Taos was their outstanding Visitor’s Center—we have been to many and this one stands out for having an excellent staff, delicious samples of local coffee, beautiful examples of local art, and brochures and maps for everything imaginable. With their guidance for what we estimated would be a four-five hour visit, we chose to have lunch on the plaza, walk around the downtown square, take a drive out to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and then head back south to Sante Fe along the Rio Grande with a stop at the Orilla Verde Recreation Area to see about possible kayaking and the BLM campground there. We had also intended to visit the Taos Pueblo site, a Native American community that has been inhabited for the past 1000 years, now designated a World Heritage site. We definitely would have gone here, but I neglected to mention that we took the dogs with us on this daytrip as it looked like it would be a long day. Dogs are allowed at the Taos Pueblo but the caveat is there are local dogs that run free and we did not want to deal with possible issues that could arise from this situation, so we chose not to go. If you do go, the cost is $10 per person plus $6 per camera including any cell phone—interesting--and also somewhat of a deterrent for us especially since our time there would be limited.







The square was quite charming and relatively small compared to Sante Fe. (The population of Taos is only around 6000 compared to about 70,000 in Sante Fe.) One of the things that really stood out to me were the lilacs planted all around the plaza. Most were not yet in full bloom and many were small, but they are my all-time favorite flower so this girl breathed in deeply.



In an effort to capture the local flavor, I found myself taking lots of photos of the architecture and interesting art pieces in the downtown area. One brochure listed Taos as having 95 art galleries, 98 restaurants, and 5 bookstores—pretty amazing for the small town feeling you have walking around.









The blend of three cultures is apparent everywhere: the Pueblo Indians with their adobe buildings, the Hispanic culture with its Catholicism and religious items such as Dia de los Muertes icons, and the Anglo culture which made Taos the first art colony in the West.





Add to this mix the old cowboy ranching lifestyle coupled with those who come here for hiking, skiing, and other recreational activities. I think with a longer stay (and some new ski equipment), I could fall under the fabled Taos seduction that must have drawn Georgia O’ Keefe and other famous inhabitants to this magical place.





After spending a couple hours downtown, we headed northwest of Taos about ten miles to see the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, a scenic site we had never even heard of before. Along the way, we wanted to check out Taos Monte Bella RV Park, a campground that another full-time couple stays at for the month of February ($475 + elec)  to go skiing at the highly touted Taos Ski Valley. The campground is only about fifteen miles from the ski village and is located in one of the prettiest settings we have seen at the base of the snow-covered Sangre de Cristo mountains. 



At the Visitor’s Center, we saw postcard photos of the Gorge Bridge and Vic was not relishing the idea of driving over it, but at least it was just in the Jeep and not in the motorhome. He actually covered the left side of his face to avoid looking out as he drove over the bridge on the return trip.







The bridge is tenth highest in the nation, with a span and depth of 600 ft. above the Rio Grande River. There are parking areas for viewing on either side of the bridge, but the better view requires driving to the south side.You can also walk the expanse of the bridge along a sidewalk with a 3 ft.railing and several platforms that jut out away from the road allowing for an even better—and scarier—view of the deep gorge below. Unfortunately, this high platform has become a popular place for suicides, a dark consequence of building such a stunning architectural feat.





Another sad aspect of seeing this site was the stark evidence of the drought as the river levels were so low—at least three feet below average. Normally you would see kayakers and rafters from the view on the bridge, but there is not enough water for boating.


We learned there are hiking and biking trails from the bridge area to nine miles south in the village of Pilar, plus there is a scenic road you can take along the Rio Grande south to Pilar. We did not choose to take this road, but, again, it sounds like an interesting way to go. Here are the directions for doing so: About 4/10 of a mile after the bridge, where the green sign on the right side of the road says Pilar, take a left turn, onto Rim Road. Drive about 6 to 8 miles on this paved road, parallel to the gorge, until you hit the T-Junction.Take a left turn down to Pilar--slow down, and be careful: before you know it, it's a dirt road, and it drops down, rather steep, all the way down into the gorge. You don’t need a four wheel drive.



Our next stop was the Orilla Verde Recreation Area, a popular area for hiking, kayaking, and camping so we thought it worthwhile to check out. The  visitor’s center for the recreation area was already closed by the time we reached this spot, but we took the additional one-mile drive to the campground which we found quite a delightful place. There were only about five RVs in the Pilar Campground with about nine sites with hookups available. We felt confident the sites were large enough for our 36’ motorhome and the road in was easily accessible, so $15 a night (water and 50 amp) would be a good possibility for a future visit, especially if the water levels were higher for kayaking.



The drive from Pilar back to Sante Fe took another hour. We arrived a little weary, but excited for the rest of our stay in this area with the recognition that this is certainly another place where a month stay would be most enjoyable. We were also excited to look for the arrival of fellow bloggers, Lisa and Hans of Metamorphosis Road, whom I discovered would be staying at our same park!  Stay tuned for more news of our meeting and future Sante Fe adventures.