Bandelier National Monument, NM

[Tom&Shelly]

This could have been a day trip, but we wanted to test our new teardrop, so we spent two nights, hiking a three mile loop around some ancestral Pueblo villages on the morning of the full day.

There are remnants of thousand year (or so) old ancient indian villages all over the Southwest. Sometimes these people are called the "Anasazi", but it turns out that term means something like "ancient enemy" to the Navajo. So at Bandelier, where the NPS has help interpreting sites from modern Pueblo, they are called the ancestral Pueblo.

The visitor center and the ruins are in a small canyon. One side of the canyon consists of volcanic tuff, which is relatively soft rock. Entrances to small caves were widened and plastered with mud, making them relatively secure homes and storage areas.



Enemies couldn't attack down the shear cliff sides, and so they would be forced to come up the valley, where they could be fired down upon.



You can see where they dug holes into the rock to hold log roof beams where they extended the building out of the cliff. Evidence of stone building exists, but I wonder if some of the extensions were log cabin like structures, since logs are so plentiful and easier to work with? Of course, the wood work rotted away over the years. The ancient Pueblo also built stone buildings on the canyon floor



The trail from the visitor center goes up-stream for about a mile and a half, terminating with a neat climb up some ladders to a lone house on the side of the cliff



Lots of great natural views too. The trees are mostly oak and ponderosa pine.



Not much wildlife to be seen, but we managed to get these two mugging for the camera



The first part of the trail is now paved (for wheelchair access?) Last time I was there, in 2010, it was packed dirt. They had a fire in the area in 2011, and then floods in 2011 and 2013, and the evidence of flood carried logs is still there.

The Juniper campground is above the canyon, in juniper trees. Very clean, at least this past week, early in the season. Includes flush toilets and hot water for cleaning. There was a kitchen sink cleaning station between the restrooms. An ideal site to test our teardrop



We didn't explore them, but there are also longer trails through the park.

Tom

[TimC]

Thanks for the photos Tom. Bandelier is now on my ever-growing bucket list of places to visit.

Teardrop turned out well. Very impressive.

[QueticoBill]

So many things to see in NM. I happened upon
The Abó Unit of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument sits west of the town of Mountainair, New Mexico, and it was breath taking. Near Bandelier is Tent Rocks National Monument, also wonderful.

[Sparksalot]

Cool trip, thanks for sharing.

[pchast]

Thanks for the pictures.
Taking us along on the ride.

[RJ Howell]

Not much about the entire Rt4 run that isn't interesting! We day drove along it doing a large loop from/back to Cochiti Lake Rec Area (near Tent Rocks). Our intent was to pack up and move over to Bandelier. Were we camped we could see the area and the 3 days of storms passing over it. When (not if) we go back in the area, we will camp over there.

Wasn't all that impressed with Cochiti Lake Rec Area.. Plenty of amenities, just not our style of camping. We choose it to run into Albuquerque for the Ballon Fest and day trip surround areas. Honestly, would have been better to stay at Walmart in town (or closer) for the Ballon Fest... Live n learn.

Safe Travels!

[Tom&Shelly]

Glad you all enjoyed the post! Bandelier is well known here in New Mexico, but not as famous elsewhere, so I'm glad I can mention another place for everyone to consider.

Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is also a great place to visit. It consists of three sites (including Abo) of ancient villages around Mountainair NM. Two have buildings made of red sandstone, one of limestone.

For us that's a fun day trip (about an hour away), but I can't comment on camping around there.

Tom

[Tom&Shelly]

A year or so ago, one of my uncles sold his house, bought a van and has been on the road, with his dog, ever since. Came to the Southwest for the Winter and finally made it to our cabin for a few days. Yesterday we took a day trip up the Jemez along NM 4 and around Bandelier.

A few nice sights (and sites) along the way:



That first is one of a pair called the Gilman tunnels. Shelly says the remake of 3:10 to Yuma was filmed there, with one of the tunnels dressed to look like a railroad tunnel. Gray skies gave us some nice pictures with the Winter colors of this region.

A little further up, we found the Soda Dam, which should be a cautionary tale to civil engineers who want to build a dam out of soda!



The weather was rain and snow off-and-on along this part of New Mexico and, sure enough, after stopping for a good lunch at Los Ojos (bar and grill), we drove up a few thousand feet and found Valles Calderas looking like this



(No elk in sight this time, though that's one of the attractions.) The plows had already cleared the inch or two of snow, so driving was fine



There were bad forest fires in 2011, and you can see the results in the background of that last shot.

Pretty, and (knock wood) maybe the last snow we see in these parts until next Fall.

It's a nice drive anytime of year (excepting during a real snow storm) and would make a good side trip for anyone camping at or near Bandelier.

Tom