Bandelier National Monument

We got up early this morning to beat the heat and the crowds to Bandelier National Monument, just south of Los Alamos. We came upon a news article yesterday announcing that today, Wednesday, August 25, was the ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of the newly renovated historic visitor center, and even bigger crowds than usual were expected.

Before our visit here, we had not even heard of Bandelier, but some fellow campers suggested that it was not to be missed. We wanted to see some cliff dwellings on this trip, and Bandelier is certainly a great place to see them, along with other dwellings built by the Ancestral Pueblo people, whose descendants still live in the area.

We got to the visitor center shortly before 9:00 a.m. and watched the new high definition film about Bandelier in the theater. It is beautiful and poetic, with striking photos of the geology and wildlife of the area. Then we set out on the main loop trail, which is 1.2 miles long, and the Alcove House trail, which adds another mile. Along the way we saw the remains of an ancient village, a large kiva, cliff homes, and spectacular views of the Frijoles Canyon and the distant Jemez Mountains.

We climbed 140 feet on four ladders and stone stairs to visit the Alcove House, high in the tuff cliffs. There we saw a reconstructed structure, once thought to have purely ceremonial use, but now thought to have been used for tasks of daily life. It is round, like a kiva, but built above ground. The entry is through the roof.

It was thought provoking to be in an area inhabited for millennia--one which the local pueblo dwellers consider the home of their ancestral spirits. When we got back to the visitor center, we went through the new exhibits, which highlight the culture of the Ancient Pueblo people. (They were called Anasazi, but it turns out that is a Navajo word loosely translated as "ancient enemies.")

Then we walked over to the picnic area to sit at a table above the stream to eat lunch. When we returned to the visitor center, we were just in time for the last dance presented by the Zuni dancers. It was a Friendship Dance, and the dancers pulled in onlookers to join them.

Then we started off on the Falls Trail, which follows the Rito de los Frijoles to its confluence with the Rio Grande. The trail goes up an down, sometimes near the river and sometimes high along the cliffs above it. We went only to the first waterfall, which is an 80 foot drop across the hardened magma that filled the throat of a volcano here. It was an awe inspiring sight. We were lucky that the river was flowing at this time of summer, since this is an arid land and the waterfalls often drop to a trickle during the late summer.

Along the return trail, we came upon some young men. One held his camera as he scrambled beside the trail in among some downed trees. Another asked us if we wanted to see some large rattlesnakes. Evidently he had watched as a couple passed by this spot, and then his two companions. He was the last--and the only one to notice the two snakes. We passed on this opportunity and confined our wildlife watching to this rock squirrel busily eating.

Back at the visitor center, the grand opening ceremonies were underway when we arrived. We stayed to watch for a while and listen to speeches by the representatives of the local pueblos, but decided we had to move on before the ceremony finished. We had to get back to Espanola to do our laundry and shopping on the way home.

We were impressed by the degree to which the park service and the local pueblos cooperated to develop the exhibits and tell the story of Bandelier's human history.

We had a late dinner after putting away the groceries and the laundry. Tomorrow will be another quiet day before our move Friday.