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  2. TRAVEL 2017

JULY 4, 2017: BANDELIER AND SANTA FE

Join us to explore one of the lesser-known but more interesting National Monuments!
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READY TO EXPLORE!
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READY TO EXPLORE!

aabbandelierrioreadyexplore

  • READY TO EXPLORE!
  • STARTING UP THE TRAIL
  • TYUONYI (Que-weh-nee) PUEBLO
  • Untitled photo
  • The earlier Ancestral Pueblo People took over natural holes in the soft rock cliffs for habitation. The Park Service now provides these very handy, rustic ladders to allow us less-climb-hardy modern folks to visit these original abodes.
  • The ladders were no significant challenge to Rio!
  • INSIDE AN ANCIENT NATURAL ANCESTRAL PEUBLO DWELLING
  • Untitled photo
  • TIME TO HEAD BACK DOWN THE LADDER
  • ZAC AND RIO LOOK OUT ONE OF THE TYPICAL ANCIENT DWELLINGS
  • There are so many ladders and ups and downs along a narrow trail that it's kinda like a natural game of "Chutes and Ladders."  Except that you don't really slide down to places and loose turns.
  • Another dwelling space.  Fairly soon after habitation here started, the respective owners of these holes started adding further hollowed out areas (adding on to their homes) by chiseling new rooms.
  • BANDELIER CLIFF
  • Then, after the population became large enough that the natural and man-enlarged holes were not sufficient, the people started building "front rooms" out from the cliffs. Many of the small holes you see were chiseled in to hold beams to support the ceilings. Here, the "add-on" structure was 3 stories tall.
  • Here you see more of the area where they built stone structures to add to their dwelling area. They also decorated the cliff.  You can see some of the petroglyphs.<br />
<br />
It's my understanding that the Tyuonyi (see photo 3) was not started until these canyon-wall dwellings / add-ons were pretty well saturated with people. It's also my understanding that it is NOT as though all the inhabitants moved from the cliffs to the valley floor. Rather, the Tyuonyi was sort of like a modern "new addition" to the area, with some inhabitants still living along the cliffs at the same time as others moved to the Tyuonyi.
  • Behind Rio is a small section of the cliff with a protective cover to slow the fading process. You can get an idea of how the inhabitants decorated.  Keep in mind, this was the back wall to a room (inside) when it was painted.
  • TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE PONDEROSAS!
  • TRAIL TO ALCOVE HOUSE
  • FEARLESS RIO
  • Untitled photo
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