Bandelier National Monument is definitly the best Puablo Indian ruins that I have seen. They date back to 1000 to 1600 CE. It is situated on the slopes of the Jemez Volcanic field in the Jemez mountains. The peoples of the area carved their houses out of the soft tuff on the rockface multiple stories high. They also built houses and kivas in the canyon floor. Lindsay used to live and work here so it was definitly a treat for me to see the place through her eyes. There are two ways of accessing the site. One way is to take the shuttle bus from White rock (There is very limited parking at the bottom because of a flash flood that destroued most of the parking lot) or you can drive your car to the camping parking lot and hike in and take the bus out to the parking lot again or hike back. We opted for hiking in and it was definitly worth it. Once you get to the main site you can buy your ticket and do the main 1.6KM paved loop. There is is also a trail that extends beyond this loop to the Alcove House. This is devenitly worth a visit (If you are not scared of heights). There are three wooden ladders you need to climb to get to the cove. So be warned.
No comments:
Post a Comment