We drove to Chaco Canyon from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

9:20 a.m.
Road In

At the exit off of 550 to Chaco Canyon there is a gas station and convenience store, which probably has restrooms and drinking water. At this point you can also pick up info on an A.M. radio (1610) about the Monument and road conditions. The GPS Coordinates for this intersection are: 36 14.428N; 107 42.383W; at an elevation of 6,850 feet.

The road is paved most of the way, with the last five miles still dirt. At one point you must cross a broad wash that, apparently, can become flooded. On this day it was bone dry. The road is washboarded in some places, but it isn’t too bad.

9:52 a.m.
Visitor Center

After we entered the Monument we drove directly to the Visitor Center, where they have modern restrooms, drinking water, and several covered picnic tables. We visited with the rangers and bought several books and trail guides. Then we went out to visit the ruins.

Una Vida Ruins

Our first stop was the one mile round trip trail to the Una Vida Ruins and associated petroglyph panel. From there we could also see Fajada Butte to the south. As we were learning over the course of this week long trip to New Mexico, most of the ancestral Puebloan ruins have many similar features, yet each is distinct in its design, coloration, and other features. We seem to learn something new at every location. It's an easy walk out to this site, and though it is a short, steep climb up to the petroglyphs, they are well worth the effort. This is a really nice panel at this location.

Hungo Pavi Ruins

Our next stop was the Hungo Pavi ruins, where I spotted a couple of petroglyphs on the cliff above the ruins.

Chetro Ketl

Next we drove to the main area, where we parked. There are vault toilets at this location. From the parking area we followed the marked path to see Chetro Ketl. The ruins there have another example of a Great House, with many kivas of varying sizes.

Petroglyph Trail

From Chetro Ketl we walked along the Petroglyph Trail, stopping to take many photos, of course, of the interesting variety of petroglyphs along the cliff face. Though there are some interesting examples here, the images at Una Vida were generally more exciting. The trail eventually comes to Pueblo Bonito.

Pueblo Bonito

By the time we got to Pueblo Bonito the weather had warmed, so we made a quick trip back to the truck to leave our jackets. Then we spent quite a while exploring Pueblo Bonito, including a quick walk over to the Wetherill Cemetery, where we saw more spectacular rock art.

We had wanted to hike out to the Penasco Blanco ruins, where there are pictographs and petroglyphs along the way, and we had wanted to hike up to the overlook and along the Pueblo Alto Complex Trail, but we were running out of time. We realized that we would have to come back again and focus on the hiking locations.

Pueblo del Arroyo

Our next stop was the Pueblo del Arroyo site. There are a couple of covered picnic tables at this location. This pueblo seems more exposed, probably since it is farther away from the face of the cliffs. It also has some different styles of construction from the other units, and it has a three walled kiva, which is quite unusual.

Casa Rinconada Community

From the Pueblo del Arroyo area we drove to the Casa Rinconada Community, where there are several small pueblos and a great kiva sitting prominently up on a hill. There are restrooms at this site as well, and this site acts as the trailhead for the South Mesa Trail.

Chacoan Stairway

Our last stop was to see the Chacoan Stairway. You can see the steps that have been carved into the sandstone cliffs. It's amazing that the ancestral Puebloans made their roads in a straight line, even if that meant passing up and over and then down a mesa top. It's especially amazing when you realize that there is a canyon not far away that would have made an easier path to the far side. Perhaps there were religious reasons for the route they took.

We stopped back at the Visitor Center to pick up another book and t-shirts, and use the restrooms before we headed up to Farmington.

4:40 p.m.
Gallo Campground

On the way out of the Monument we drove through the Gallo Campground. At this time there are two campground hosts. There is also an RV dump station. The individual camp sites are very exposed, with no shade whatsoever. There are lots of tent sites, as well as a group site. Each site seems to have a picnic table, a fire pit with a grill, and raised tent pads. The tent pads look to be 10 x 10 or 12 x 12. There are two restroom buildings, but no water. Water must be obtained at the spigots outside of the Visitor Center. I think there are something like 37 sites.

We also spotted a small set of ruins along one of the nearby cliff faces, and there is supposed to be a petroglyph panel somewhere near the campground.

4:45 p.m.
As we were leaving Chaco it was 65 degrees and mostly sunny, with some wind. We visited all of the sites in the canyon that weren’t along a trail. We’ll have to come back to do the trails and the petroglyphs.

From there we drove back along the entrance road to 505, and then continued north to Farmington.