Jemez Historic Site

 

Jimez is the location of 16th century Giusewa Pueblo ruins and a 17th century Spanish mission San Jose de los Jemez.

Franciscans established the mission complex after multiple botched previous attempts in Jemez Indian territory.

The pueblo and mission was abandoned in 1680 when the Pueblo Rebellion drove the Spanish from the area until 1692.

The missionaries called kivas "estufas of idolatry" and destroyed them when possible.

Take the 4 freeway to get there! The 126 is a rough unpaved road through the mountains.

Gisewa is the Jemez word for hot springs; there are many nearby.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

 

Aztec Ruins National Monument, located in northwestern New Mexico, was misattributed to the Aztecs by 19th century pioneers.

The site was actually built by Ancestral Puebloans in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The stonemasons that built the Aztec Ruins also built the massive structures at Chaco Canyon nearby.

Aztec Ruins also has influences of Mesa Verde architecture; it is unclear if this is due to trade or migration. 

Aztec Ruins was also abandoned around 1300.

Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado is home to the most spectacular Ancestral Puebloan ruins.

 

The Square Tower House is the tallest standing structure in the park. Most dwellings in Mesa Verde were built in the 13th century AD. 

The Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in the park, housing over a hundred people.

Spruce Tree House had at least 120 rooms and eight kivas.

The Sun Temple is an odd walled structure on the top of a mesa built for unknown purposes.

Duck hunters?

Ladles and duck jars

It is believed drought forced the Pueblo to move less than 100 years after some of Mesa Verde's most impressive structures were built.

Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in the Navajo Nation, and is sacred site to them.  Spider Rock is where, in Navajo lore, Spider Woman lives and weaved the web of the universe.

The ruins in Mummy Cave were built by ancestral Puebloans.

Massacre Cave is the location of a Spanish massacre of Navajo women and children that occurred in 1825.

There are some ruins here too.

There are beautiful sunsets in Navajo country.

 

Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest National Park is located in eastern Arizona and is famous for its petrified wood, most of which is from ~225 million years ago.

The Rainbow Forest Museum near the south entrance has some fun exhibits.

The phytosaur is the most common fossil found in the Petrified Forest.

In life it was over 17 feet and weighed over a ton.

The placerias hesternus was a reptile that was very similar to a mammal.

The petrified wood formed when fallen trees fell into a river channel and were buried beneath silt. Over time, silica enriched groundwater percolated through the wood, replacing the molecules, which made a quartz replica.

The Newspaper Rock Petroglyphs are located in the center of the park. They were created sometime between 500 and 1000 years ago by ancestral Puebloans.

The Painted Desert Inn was a small hotel in the park that is now a museum.

It had six rooms in the 1920s and 30s.

It also had great views of the Painted Desert.

Montezuma Castle

 

Montezuma Castle is located in central Arizona, and was built by the Sinagua people between 1100 and 1425 A.D.

The main dwelling five stories tall. It is not a castle, nor has anything to do with Montezuma.

Building in the cliff enabled the Sinagua people to avoid negative effects from nearby Beaver Creek flooding. At its peak 50 people lived here.

Wupatki

 

Wupatki National Monument, located southeast of the Grand Canyon, contains ruins of the Ancestral Puebloans.

The multi-story pueblo dwelling here consisted of over 100 rooms. It is estimated 2,000 people moved here in the 11th century to farm the rich soil after the eruption of Sunset Crater in 1085. By 1225, the settlement was abandoned. 

A ball court was built during that time to play a game similar to one played in Mayan territories.

Sunset Crater is a cinder cone located south of Wupatki.

Sunset Crater was made a national monument by Herbert Hoover to prevent it from being blown up to create an Avalanche effect in a movie.

Grand Canyon

 

The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona, carved by the Colorado River. Mather Point is a famous viewpoint on its south side.

The trail into the canyon has a few too many switchbacks for me.

The  Rim Trail is a short, no elevation gain hike with amazing views.

The El Tovar hotel is a historic hotel located on the south rim.

The Desert View Watchtower is a short drive east from the Rim Trail.

It was built in 1932 and also offers amazing views of the Grand Canyon.

By exposing so many layers of rocks, the Grand Canyon records almost two billion years of geological history.

The Desert View Tower also has some paintings inspired by the nearby Hopi tribe.