Chaco

The travel bug was biting us again so we took
off on a small trip for a few days. Our first
stop was Chaco Culture National Historic Park
http://www.nps.gov/chcu
To get to Chaco you really have to be wanting
to go there. You know where the middle of
nowhere is? This is past that, and at the end
of a 20 mile dirt road as well. Chaco is
probably the best example of Anasazi architecture
in the Southwest and is the closest thing to a
city they had.


Most anthropologists believe that it was a
cultural center for the Anasazi and they
used it as a central meeting place once a
year. As the area is very dry, and was
even pretty dry during the time they lived
here, there wasn't enough arable land around
to feed everyone if they had lived here on
a permanent basis. There have been a large
number of roads found leading to and from
Chaco and it was also a center of early
astronomy.


Many of the building interiors are in great
shape. Some have been reconstructed as well.
Most of the rooms are very small and dimly
lit, but all seem to interconnect in one way
or another.


While exploring one of the more isolated ruins,
I came upon some pot shards. As it is the rule,
I left them where they were, but it was really
really tempting to take them with me. Hopefully
others who may stumble upon them will do the same.