Chaco Canyon
On the excursion to New Mexico one of the goals was to stay off the beaten track from the tsunami of covid escapees that will be hitting the natural lands and national parks this summer. Overall, the big well known national parks are about to get overrun this summer. I hope they survive the invasion. Fortunately, there are other options worth exploring that are not as well marketed or known. We experienced both ends of this reality on back to back days to Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde.
Mesa Verde, located right off US 161 is far less remote than my expectations would have placed it. The 25 mile drive up the steep, but well paved, road lined with sharp switchbacks and breezy passes up to the plateau, was proceeded by the spectacle of national park workers getting cussed out and threatened by the populace who insisted they should be able to drive to the sites without unmounting their 100’ long travel trailer mobile home “Camping” things and leaving them below.
Aside from the messy cleanup in the valleys below, I sometimes wish we would just let stupid people, play stupid games and win stupid prizes. Once at the top, the scene is pure Disneyland, millions of people perched on a cliff, looking across the canyon to the cliff on the other side, staring at the ruins dug into the side of the cliff. On top of the cliff opposite you, throngs of people looking at the ruins dug into the side of the cliff you are standing above. The masses overwhelm the senses ability to enjoy and contemplate the wonder of the place.
On the other hand, in a different location, A 25 mile drive on primitive reservation roads serves to keep the traffic down to Chaco Canyon, a remote but fascinating location. Once there, the day was easily spent distanced from other visitors so that it was easy to immerse myself in the historical significance of the site and the photographic opportunities it held.
Chaco Canyon is one of the great cultural sites of the ancient Anasazi people. It precedes Mesa Verde by 200-300 years. Ruins of several multi story great houses line the valley with largest being Pueblo Bonito and nearby Chetro Ketl. It is thought that around 2,500 inhabitants lived in the valley during its peak, it is also thought that the population may well have temporarily swelled during periods of cultural significance. Of the ancient Puebloan ruins I have seen, the skill of the architectural construction here is the most detailed and sophisticated I have seen. The skill in setting stones of a wide variety of sizes without mortar, still standing after 1300 years is quite amazing. It is thought that severe drought and pressure from enemies drove the ancient Puebloans into the more remote canyon cliffs of places like Bandelier and Mesa Verde later in their history.
It was a bright sunny midday sun, ripe with stark contrasts of light. As a result, all the images were shot as 3 frame HDR’s merged and converted to black and white. I missed on a couple compositions as I wasn’t quite as still while shooting as I might have supposed. I also shot a roll of film that day and the images from it I will present later.