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Published: October 17th 2004
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October 17, Sunday
Durango, CO
We drove to Durango, stopped at the café, caught up with the Internet, and walked around Durango, Colorado’s Moab??? There were lots of outdoor shops along the San Juan River.
Today was sort of a catch-up day, so we did our grocery shopping, stayed at a Mom & Pop campground and had a nice breakfast the next morning at Sonya’s. Bob got a call from a friend of his, Dan Mourer, who was out hunting in the west; but we weren’t able to connect. We just seemed to miss each other.
October 18, Monday
Farmington, NM
After breakfast at Sonya’s, in Farmington, we managed to get our mail at the post office. Thank you, Cherie! Drove back to the Aztec and Salmon Ruins. The Aztec was a New Mexico Museum and had a wonderful video. We walked the kivas and the ruins. The Salmon is privately owned and ok. We drove to Chaco Culture Historical Monument. This includes about a 20+-mile drive on a dirt road, which is called a washboard road, for good reason. It’s a long bumpy road. Chaco is the largest and most remote sample of the Puebloean People
and the great houses. We got a campsite, went to the Visitor Center, and after checking maps, etc., we decided on an a.m. tour with a ranger.
October 19, Tuesday
Chaco Culture NM, NM
We managed to get up early and visit several of the kivas and the great houses. The Chertoketl, KinLesto, the Del Arroyo, and, Pueblo Bonita, and the back country hike to the great house, Pueblo Alto, about two miles of canyon climbing and of course, two miles back. The ruins at the Alto great house have not been excavated, so it was quite a different scene than the excavated, restored Bonita that we saw earlier in the morning.
The ranger’s talk was most informative; however, a bit long…
After our hike, the late afternoon brought us back to the Visitor’s Center. We hiked a little trail, the Una Vida, and the Petroglyphics Trails.
After dinner, we returned to the Visitor’s Center for a night sky talk. It seems that the rangers at the National Parks are really participating more with the public, and it’s quite delightful. By 9:00 we were back and ready to sleep.
October 20, Wednesday
Chaco Culture NM,
NM
After breakfast, we were back on our favorite washboard road, heading out of Chaco. We drove on to a town called Cuba, actually quite a nothing town, no groceries, no laundry, so we continued on to the Jemez Mountains - beautiful scenery, lovely Visitor’s Center. We followed Rt. 4, which is a scenic byway, stopped at Jemez Hot Springs and decided to visit their indoor spa, which was very relaxing after a long drive; lunch at the Laughing Lizard. We continued on through this lovely road to Bandolier Campground for the night, but the night began to get chilly - we were down to 37 overnight.
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