Structures still remain on the great plains of eastern Colorado of the American farming families of the past. A lone decrepit structure in a field of golden grass whispers of a fertile productive time.
Pueblo Pintado Two Story Ruins
Hidden on the Navajo Reservation in northern New Mexico is the Pueblo Pintado historical ruins. 16 miles east of Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Pintado is the easternmost of the Chacoan great houses in the immediate Chaco Canyon area. Archaeologists call Pueblo Pintado a “Chacoan great house,” a civic and ceremonial center utilized by many surrounding communities. The structure is a massive L-shaped building, open to the SE. The building is terraced, from 3 stories on the outside corner to the single-story enclosed kivas (round, semisubterranean ceremonial chambers) on the interior corner. About 20 single-story rooms enclose the plaza and a large enclosed kiva. The entire great house contained 90 groundfloor rooms, 40 second-story rooms, and 5 third-story rooms. A hundred feet southeast of the building is a subterranean great kiva 58 feet in diameter. Most of the construction occurred at A.D. 1060-1061, during Chaco’s peak construction period, with a later reoccupation in the 1200s.
Exploring Anasazi Nogales Cliff House Ruins
Nogales Cliff House in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. Our hike led us up a steep hillside to a hamlet of minimally excavated Anasazi Gallina houses as well as a series of garden terraces. The residents of this settlement must have enjoyed their rooms with a view over the Llaves Valley. Teig definitely enjoyed the hike and we had this awesome view along the long forgotten garden terraces to the larger cliff dwellings. It is so exciting to be able to explore the hidden archaeological treasures.
Nogales Cliff House Ruins
Nogales Cliff House in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. It is situated in an alcove formed by sandstone cliffs. This well-preserved ruin is a structure that was probably built around 1,000 A.D. by a Pueblo Indian Group specific to this area called the Gallina Anasazi. It was abandoned some time in the 1,200’s.
Chaco Canyon Pueblo Alto Ruins
Exploring the Pueblo Alta trail on the mesa at Chaco Canyon leads you to a wonderful ruin sitting lonely on the crest of a hill. Pueblo Alto Ruins are the highest ruins in the park and don’t have the pressure of tourists as the others because you have to climb a winding trail up the canyon walls then a couple mile stretch of the legs to the ruins but it is well worth the trip. I made it there in the early afternoon on a beautiful fall day just before Thanksgiving.
Cliffs above Pueblo Bonito
Teig and I spent an autumn day exploring Chaco Canyon National Monument in northwest New Mexico. We hiked the desert mesa and learned about the Anasazi Indians that settled the area between 800 and 1400 ad. We decided to hike the cliffs above one of the main pueblos. We were surprised by this beautiful view from a few hundred feet above Pueblo Bonito. We truly love New Mexico and it’s wonderful history, culture and landscape.
Crosses in the Mission Ruins
We came across this wonderful spanish ruin while hiking on the Withers Canyon Trail in the Comanche National Grasslands. It is very rewarding to find these jewels of American Western History in Colorado while exploring our wonderful state. This section of the hiking trail was once part of the Santa Fe Trail and this ancient mission was a site where the spaniards worked to convert the local indians to catholicism.