Images of Chaco Culture NHP – Southwestern Texas, taken in April 2016.

Initially created in 1907 as Chaco Canyon National Monument this park was renamed Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 1980.

Research and oral history points to Chaco being a sacred place and possibly a hub for trade. This canyon is linked by roads to over 200 other pueblos throughout the region and items found here often contain turquoise which was imported from mines to the south.

The largest great house in this canyon is Pueblo Bonito which was built between AD 800 and AD 1100 and had over 600 rooms, some of which were constructed four stories above the ground.

After touring the ruins of several of the pueblos I set out on the Pueblo Alto Trail to get a view of the area from the rim of the canyon. Of course I knew that I would have to go up to get there but I can honestly say that I’ve never been on a trail like this one before! Maybe trail isn’t the right word; in fact a woman I ran into there said it was more “trail-ish” than actual trail. It’s only a 250 foot elevation gain but it seems like a lot more, mostly because it’s almost straight up and you are walking on ledges, boulders and rocks during the entire assent and at one point climbing between the cliff wall and a boulder, that at some point separated from said cliff wall, in a crevasse barely wide enough to fit through. As always I make things even harder for myself by carrying my camera and strapping my 200 mm lens to my hip thus making me too wide to fit through some spots on this “trail”…”ish”. Luckily once you get to the top it’s pretty flat and you are rewarded with spectacular views of Pueblo Bonita, Chetro Ketl and Kin Kletso where the trail begins. On the other hand what goes up must come down and the descent is just as tricky as it was when you came up it…”trail-ish” at best. Challenging, yes; worth it…absolutely!