About an hour north, I broke off the highway to visit tiny Jemez Springs and soak in the mineral waters at the rustic, riverside village’s municipally operated bath house.
Then it was on to the day’s main event. Chaco Canyon National Historic Park. Twenty miles off the highway, thirteen miles of which are rutted and unpaved, the park is not easy to get to. But the arduous drive has a huge payoff at the end.
A wide, shallow canyon opens up, guarded by sturdy Fajada Butte. Atop the butte, boulders aligned with the stars told ancient astronomers the seasons. These dates written in stone had great ceremonial and agricultural importance to the Chacoans, one of the most advanced early North American cultures.
Between about 800 and 1200 A.D., Chaco was the nexus of a far-reaching Pueblo network of over 150 great houses radiating out from the canyon. The numerous great houses in Chaco Canyon--the ruins of which are still preserved to this day--reached up to four stories tall and had hundreds of rooms.
While we have evidence of the Chacoans architecture, artwork, and craftsmanship we can only guess at the meaning of it all. Evidence suggests the canyon was a ceremonial and commercial hub with a rather small permanent population.
Cocoa and macaws found in the ruins suggest inhabitants had contact with South America. Fire beacons set at intervals high above the canyon floor enabled communication with outlying pueblos. But how and why no one can say for certain.
It is also impossible to say for certain why the great edifices were abandoned by about 1250 A.D. although analysis suggests draught played a role.
This incomplete backstory filled my mind as I descended into the canyon. Frozen snow sprinkled the rocks adding a chill to the ghostly emptiness. I stopped first at the visitor center where I learned I’d be about the fourth visitor that day heading into the canyon then proceeded around the canyon’s stops.
A (paved) nine mile loop visits five different sites. I hiked around and through the ruins of a few of the great houses, but lingered the longest at Pueblo Bonito. This was the largest great house and the ceremonial, administrative, and commercial heart of the lost empire.
Then I climbed through a crack in the canyon wall up to the rim where I followed a mile-long trail out to an overlook of Pueblo Bonito and back. Glorious views of the strange, sparse land and swirling, spaceship clouds abounded. Chaco Canyon is an astounding, barely-known place. I believe it deserves greater awareness in our continent’s history as well as in travelers' itineraries.
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