Friends from Seattle

On April 1 I had the great pleasure of picking up my dear friend, Patricia, and her daughter, Aria at the airport. They braved our high winds to come visit for a few days and escape the gray, wet Seattle weather. The day they arrived was cold, windy and overcast... hmmm... maybe they brought it with them....

Anyway, I picked them up and we had lunch in Old Town Albuquerque before heading on home. The wind by that time was amazing!!! The dust blew in obscuring Rio Rancho to the west and the Sandia Mtns to the east. I've never seen it like that, what a welcome to our (usually) wonderful state.

On Thursday was perfect weather so we took a drive up to Bandelier National Monument and roamed around there for a few hours before heading into Santa Fe for a late lunch and some shopping. We hit a few of the high spots (San Miguel church, Loretto Chapel, Plaza, Capital) before Aria pooped out (poor 14 year old wondering around with us "old folk"). (OK, so maybe the 'old folk' pooped out too but its better to blame it on the kid) On the way from Bandelier to Santa Fe I insisted we stop at Camel Rock... It is sort of a tradition for me, but I think they thought I was nuts but being the good friends (and good sports) they agreed to get out and have their photo taken - course I'll get in trouble for posting it but... what are friends for?

Friday dawned windy but sunny so we braved the wind and went to the Petraglyph National Monument in Albuquerque and did a few of the shorter hikes. Eventually the wind won out and we headed indoors to the Page One bookstore on Montgomery. What a great store - largest independent bookstore in NM offering new and used books (had to get a plug in there for them). One of Aria's friends had told her that she HAD to go to El Pinto Mexican Restaurant so we headed there for dinner. I still find it slightly amusing that a 15 yr old would recommend this as a 'must-see' place.

Anyway, Bryan & I had a great time visiting with Patricia and teasing Aria (what a great sport she was to put up with it). I only wish they would have been able to stay longer and we would have a bit better weather - the wind, whew! Friday night was horrible!!! Hannah & Maggie was a hit with both of them, despite scratching Aria to pieces as she giggled the whole time. They loved her. And this morning, after I returned from dropping them off at the airport, Maggie & Hannah searched the house looking for their new friend. They've been a bit subdued today, I think they really miss her.

Patricia, Aria & Raymona
At Bandelier National Monument

Aria & Patricia heading up a ladder to view a caveate

Bandelier National Monument

Raymona & Aria looking at the window of a caveate

Patricia & Aria at Camel Rock, NM

St Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe, NM

San Miguel Church, Santa Fe, NM
(oldest church)

Oldest house, Santa Fe, NM

Miraculous Staircase in Loretto Chapel
Santa Fe, NM

Aria in Santa Fe, NM

Aria at Bandelier National Monument
Albuquerque, NM

Aria, Patricia & Raymona at
Bandelier National Monument

View of Sandia Mtns from Bandelier National Monument

Bandalier National Monument

El Pinto Restaurant

Nov 19, Part 2 - Bandelier National Monument

We arrived at Bandelier just a little past Noon and after a quick look at the small museum and a 10-min information film we hit the trail. The setting here is surreal... the cliffs are made up of volcanic rock called tuff. The tuff is easily eroded but some parts erode more quickly, leaving behind Swiss cheese effect. The Ancestral Puebloans used these holes & caves to their advantage, enlarging the caves and building in and around them.

Us - Frijoles Canyon in the background

The first people that actually settled here were the Ancestral Pueblo (formerly known as the Anasazi (ah-nah-SAH-zee), an outdated term with Navajo origins that mean "ancient enemies" and is no longer used), however human activity can be traced back as far as 10,000 years!! Frijoles Canyon, where many of these ruins are located, is part of the Pajarito (pa-ha-REE-toe) Plateau that was formed from two violent eruptions (each being 600 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens) of the Jemez Volcano.

The first ruins you reach on the trail is the pueblo village, Tyounyi (chew-OHN-yee). This almost circular village is only one of several located within Bandalier National Monument. Tyounyi contained over 400 rooms that ranged from 1 to 2 stories in height. They believe that around 100 people lived in the village.

Tyounyi Pueblo from cliff dwellings

The cliffs above Tyounyi are filled with cliff dwellings. These dwellings utilized the natural caves and worked at enlarging the rooms for living and storage rooms. These small caves are known as cavates (CAVE-eights) and many had rooms builts in front of them. Both the valley floor village and the cliff dwellings were inhabitated at the same time, no one knows for sure why some lived in the cliff dwellings and others lived in the pueblos.

Raymona looking in a cavate

Bryan coming out of the kiva cavate

On the trail at Bandelier National Park

While most sites in Bandelier are unexcavated there are quite a number that have been along the cliff face, dubbed the "Long Houses" since they follow the cliff face for quite a distance. You can see by the holes that held the vigas (beams that supported the roofs & floors above) how tall these structures could be (Bryan and I counted 3 floors in several areas).

Long House cliff dwellings

Further down, about a 1/2 mile from the Long Houses, along a vey level easy path is the Alcove House. It is a 140 climb up 3 30-foot ladder and one that's a little shorter in order to reach the house. It doesn't sound so bad, but it really is a bit unnerving. Especially going back down the ladders.

The start of the Alcove House trail

Second Ladder

Bryan & third ladder

Kiva at Alcove House & nice view across
Frijoles Canyon