A rarity for this area: a few drops of rain at 6 a.m.
Leaving the Casita camper at the campsite, we drove 60 mi. south to Chaco Canyon, a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a complex of pueblos built and occupied between 800 and 1200 AD. They also built roads in five directions from the canyon as much as 100 mi. long, including one which a modern highway follows. What remains at Chaco is extensive ruins of very large stone masonry pueblos. Pueblo Bonito was the largest building in North America until the 19th century 4 stories high and over 600 rooms. Parts of the buildings survive intact, even including some wooden posts, lintels and floors. One pueblo, Una Vida, hasn't been excavated, restored or otherwise disturbed at all. We had a great time exploring all the sites, and despite her bad back, S was able to walk 2-3 miles and enjoy it.
Getting to and from Chaco Canyon involved 15 miles of bone-shaking washboarded gravel roads each way. That and the remote location keeps the crowds down: only a handful of visitors there.
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