Day 13 Route 66 - Santa Fe (side-trip to Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos) 114.5 miles

---

This morning we woke to news from home that an earthquake had rocked Victoria. Meanwhile, here in New Mexico, a wildfire rages out of control in the south-eastern part of the state. Route 66 cuts across NM much further to the north so our travel plans have not been disrupted, but with a fire in Colorado too (north of NM) the air quality is very poor. With the heat and the altitude as well it is hard to breathe!

After breakfast we drove out of Santa Fe north on Highway 285/84 for our day trip to Bandelier and Los Alamos. As we headed west on 502 there were signs up saying that we would have to take a shuttle from White Rock into Bandelier National Monument. At this stage we weren't even sure what there was to see at Bandelier so we were hoping to be able to acquire some information about the park before deciding whether to visit.

When we arrived at the parking area in White Rock a shuttle was there. With no time to find the visitor information office we took a leap of faith and gathered up our cameras and our water bottles and jumped on the bus seconds before it departed!!

As we drove out to Bandelier, the driver explained that the shuttle is necessary at the moment because the park is still recovering from a fire last year that was followed by severe flooding. The flooding caused a lot of damage to roads, bridges and parking areas in the park so currently they are ferrying visitors in.

A volunteer guide met us and gave us a brief introduction to the park letting us know that not only were we about to enjoy the spectacular Frijoles Canyon, but the abandoned cliff dwellings of the Pueblo people. Wow, glad we jumped on the bus! He asked us to pay our US$12.00 at the booth (that's US$18.00 redeemed now!) and mentioned that a guided tour had just set off and we should be able to join it if we wanted to.

We hooked up with the tour being conducted by Park Ranger, Therese, and learnt lots of interesting things about the former inhabitants of the cliff dwellings and village of Tyuonyi (pronounced QU-weh-nee). Because it was so hot, lots of other visitors were getting tired of standing around in the sun and they headed off to complete the trail a bit more quickly. We were so glad we persevered when the Ranger pointed out the winter and summer solstice markers. We found that really interesting.

At the end of the Therese's talk by the walls of the village, we continued on to do the loop of the cliff dwellings. This was quite strenuous with lots of steps and then ladders to climb up to some of the cliff dwellings. All worth it though because it was really interesting and the view back down over the village and canyon was excellent.

We returned via the nature trail which was a much easier, flat, shaded walk. As we walked the trail we were very excited to see a humming bird!! By the time that we realised it was a very small bird, rather than a large insect, it was gone and all we managed was one very bad photograph to recall the experience. I believe it is very difficult to photograph humming birds in the best of circumstances so it would have been a miracle to take a decent photo on the spur of the moment.

We had some surprisingly good salad rolls at the Bandelier snack bar before taking the shuttle back to White Rock. The bus driver had mentioned the White Rock Overlook so we drove out there to take a look. WOW! Fantastic views of the Rio Grande as it flows through White Rock Canyon and Mortandad Canyon.

The map that we had picked up on the shuttle also showed a Valle Grande Scenic Viewpoint which sounded like it could be even more spectacular so off we headed. Hmmn, another one of our wild goose chases where we failed to find something on the ground that was clearly marked on the map!! We did see plenty of evidence of the 2011 fires though.

So, we turned around and drove back down the mountain towards Los Alamos. These days the city continues to be a centre of scientific research that is spread out over a number of mesas. We posted some birthday mail back to Australia from the Los Alamos PO where we found a postal clerk who likes Vegemite!!

We visited the Bradbury Science Museum for a brief overview of Los Alamos past and present. When we went into the auditorium for the film we ran into our new Aussie friends from the walking tour on Sunday. What are the chances?? They had been to the Puye Cliff Dwellings. From what they said the settlement at Puye is not as large as the one at Bandelier, but they also had a very interesting visit there.

From Los Alamos we drove back into Santa Fe where we had a quick visit to the Fashion Outlet Mall. We picked up a few more items which means that we really do need another bag now, because we have too much stuff!

After another refreshing swim at the El Rey we rang up for a pizza for dinner which we enjoyed (eventually - it was very slow to arrive) in the courtyard outside our room.

---