The first ruins I visited were inhabited from 900 to 1300 after which the populations “disappeared”. Today I visited ruins which were deserted in the period from 1500 to 1700 but whose populations just relocated. They had depleted the resources needed to live and needed to move to a new situation. Their decedents in these cases still live in the area hundreds of years later.
The ruins I visited today were Jemez State Monument and Bandelier National Monument, more interesting by far was the latter.
The canyon where Bandalier is located has a south-facing wall with holes. These holes were further enlarged to make rooms which were then accessed by ladder.
When close to the ground, the local puebloans built multistory adobe structures which abutted the wall and incorporated the cliff rooms. The sense I got was of multistory apartment buildings which extended into the cliff. Really pretty amazing to see.
The cliff dwelling area is open, ladders are in place, and rooms were accessible. Climbing about gave me a genuine sense of what their homes were like.
I finished the day by driving the Enchanted Circle, something I was deprived of doing last week by the snow storm. This scenic drive starts and ends in Taos. It’s a beautiful drive with a lovely variety of terrain from narrow valleys filled with quaint structures to wide open expanses. There were half a dozen towns along the way including a charming resort called Red River. One of my favorite moments was before I even arrived in Taos to start the loop. Below you can see a dramatic view of the Rio Grande Gorge. Striking! The amazing bridge I shot last week is located on the horizon.
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