9:20 a.m.
Frijoles Canyon
When we entered Bandelier National Monument it was 47 degrees and raining lightly. The sky was completely overcast.
We parked near the Visitor Center and went in to visited with two female Rangers. They gave us some good information on the trails and sites, we bought a book and trail guide, then headed out to explore the ruins. We had the entire day to visit the Monument, so were in no hurry.
We walked through the Tyuonyi ruins and along the cliff faces. Though we’d been here before, it was still interesting to see these sights again. Since our last visit we’ve been to more ruins and so looked at things differently. We also spotted rock-art this time, which I don’t know if we saw on the previous visit. Over time one’s interests change and develop; become more refined.
We walked the 1.5 miles out to the Alcove Ruin and climbed several long ladders to visit the reconstructed kiva up there. It was a pleasant walk through the tall trees, with views of the ruins along the cliff face almost the entire way. There were a few other visitors walking around, but not many. Often we were the only ones in our immediate area. I think the weather kept many people away.
Near the Visitor Center there are restrooms and drinking water, as well as a gift shop and small snack bar, which makes sandwiches and burgers and has chips and soft drinks and lots of other snack and fast food type items. Because it was raining we opted for a hot meal and a covered picnic table instead of a picnic. The prices were a bit high (but not really bad), but the New Mexico Burgers we had were good and worth the price.
While we were eating a gross beak and some little fluffy gray bird kept trying to coax food from us. They would come right onto the table. We felt like they would have hopped right up onto our plates if we had allowed them a scrap of food.
1:03 p.m.
We finished our exploration of the main areas of Frijoles Canyon, and the main part of Bandelier. It was mostly cloudy with light steady rain at times, and 57 degrees. It felt colder than that in the wind, which would come and go, interspersed with occasional sunshine. We headed north, up to Tsankawi Unit of the Monument.
1:33 p.m.
Tsankawi Unit
When we arrived at the Tsankawi Historic site the sun was still shining, but it still felt chilly. We kept on our jeans and rain jackets to keep us warm, as we headed out for a 1.5 mile walk.
This is a fee area, but our National Park Pass lets us in for free. There are no rangers at this location, but there is a fee collection station, drinking water, sheltered picnic tables, and flush toilets set up in what look like typical Porti-potties.
From there we followed the trail up on top of the small mesa. Along the way we got to walk along the same path that the Natives used when they lived up on top. The worn paths are quite interesting, and once you realize what they look like, you can spot them all over the landscape. There is also a short ladder and a narrow gap up through a tight crack in one area. All fun. Up on top there are great views of the surrounding landscapes through the few pinyon and juniper scattered about. Mostly there is low scrub.
The ruins have not been excavated, so all that is visible are the large mounds where the dwellings have been covered over time. Some stones are visible, and if you know how to read the surface you can see where the depressions indicate dwellings or kivas. We saw many pot shards scattered around.
By this time the clouds began piling in. We were at about the half way point in the hike, where the trail begins to descend, and you come to another ladder. Below that are several cave dwellings and some rock-art. You can also see many more of the foot paths that the Natives used as they went up and down the sides of the mesa to tend their crops below, or get water.
About at this point there were a few claps of thunder. We were glad we’d gotten off of the top and were walking along beneath the cliff, but we were still exposed. We stopped to photograph a few faint petroglyphs when the rain began. Then it began sleeting or hailing. I’m never sure how large sleet has to be before it’s considered hail. These little ice balls were about the size of the head of a pin and they were coming down steady and collecting in some areas.
We had something over a half-mile to go to get back to the truck, and it seemed as if the rain would continue, so we put the cameras away and headed back as fast as we could. I know we missed a lot of petroglyphs along there, because I could see some of the more prominent examples as we hurried along. But it was too wet to stop and take a look, and I didn't want to get either of the cameras wet. Digital cameras just don't mix well with water.
Even though we had on rain jackets, our jeans got soaked through. It was very cold and we were glad when we finally made it back to the sheltered picnic tables at the entry station. Of course, just after we got to shelter, the sun came out. Figures.
3:24 p.m.
Anne made a dash to the truck and brought back dry clothes for both of us. Since there was no one else around (we’d only seen one other couple along the trail, and they were already heading back when we spotted them below us), we quickly stripped down and changed into dry clothes. We felt much better once we got on dry, warm clothing.
While we were looking at the cave dwellings, and after the first of the thunder had come through, we heard what we determined was high powered machine gun fire. It sounded like one of those modern weapons that can shoot some large number of rounds per second. It must have been coming from the Los Alamos site. The sound was impressive and frightening at the same time. One would not want to be the target of such fire power.
After we changed we jumped back into the truck and headed back to our motel in Santa Fe. It was about 4:30.
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