The Four Corners area is high on our list of places to go back to, because we didn’t see nearly enough of the area during our first visit. We did get to explore Chaco Canyon, a National Cultural-Historical Park.
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The Chaco buildings were a center for Pueblo cultures about 850 to 1250 A.D. It was during that time that the Anasazi (ancient ones) began to settle into a more urban culture after what had been a nomadic existence. Tree-ring dating establishes that there was a severe drought in the area beginning in 1150; by 1250 the buildings and area were abandoned. Nobody knows for sure what happened to the Chacoan people, but Pueblo Indian people of today trace part of their ancestry to Chaco. The area is a spiritual center for Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Zia, and other Rio Grande Pueblo people.
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In the visitor center, we learned that archaeologists working in the Chaco buildings have uncovered evidence of advanced engineering and astronomy projects as well as artistic and architectural achievements.
We toured Pueblo Bonito, a 600 room Kiva (ceremonial structure). All of the rooms were for public use. It was built over the course of 300 years. Nobody really knows where the homes were or where the people went when the area was abandoned.
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Some of the doorways that we went through were very small, so exploring the Kiva can be a little bit daunting.
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Chaco is one of the few places where our RV is too big. It was 50 miles from the RV Park where we stayed (in Bloomfield, New Mexico) — and then a very rough road down into the canyon. There is a small RV park near the monument, but ours wouldn’t have fit into the spaces. It would be nice to stay there and have more time to explore and less on the road. But you can’t have everything, and 99% of the time, our home is perfect for us.
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Here are some close-ups of the Kiva construction.
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