trailer running: chaco from above ..... Chaco Canyon II

There are 4 Posts on the heritage sites I was lucky enough to visit . With my usual lack of editing it ended up sprawling across 2 pages ..... so if you are liking it , you will have to go to the next page when you finally get to the end of this one !

There is a great loop trail that leaves from behind Kin Kletso (a smaller pueblo towards the NW end of the canyon ). It quickly climbs up out of the canyon through a funky staircase trail to spill out on to the first level of the eastern Mesa , and winds around to 2 of the settlements above the rim . Appropriately named Pueblo Alto and New Alto . Its about a 10k hike with some challenging moments ( steep steep downs ) but worth every skip of the heart . Up top you get the full impact of the Chaco "place" . And even now , you feel the spirit still there .

squeeze thru to the top

any guesses ?


looking out over Pueblo Arroyo through the South Gap to ....	?

kitty tracks

hanging in there

I have an idea about these steps

this particular road ... the North Road .. went all the way to Aztec

on top of pueblo alto

looking north

if you magnify , you can see the steps going straight up

side view of stairway

The pre Columbus cultures in the SW can be divided into 3 groups ... both Mesoamerica influenced . The Hohokam group had "sports" , as did all the Mesoamerican cultures . The Chaco didn't .... according to the archeologists . I think they could be wrong . People , most people , could never have traveled hear by way of those staircases . I think they were some sort of extreme adventure race !!!