Bandelier National Monument Hike and Exploration

We later found out that the birds in the logo were "turkeys" and were inspired by the local lodge hostess in the early years.

On the list, of places to visit for this trip, was Bandelier National Monument, located about 45 minutes NW of where we were staying in Santa Fe.  From the reading we had done, it sounded similar to the Pueblo Indian ruins we explored in Colorado, when we stopped at Mesa Verde National Park, so we packed up for the day trip and looked forward to what we would see and learn.

The weather was beautiful and the sunshine felt great, so being outside was refreshing.  It was slightly windy, but that didn't bother us too much as we walked along the Frijoles Canyon Trail (Main Loop) which was right around 1.2 miles round trip.

I knew that the dwellings were carved into the cliff walls, similar to Mesa Verde, but what I didn't realize, was that the whole area we were going to be exploring, was covered in "tuff" or ancient volcanic rock, and this is what made it unique and easy to carve into for the ancient people.  I had assumed it was limestone or sandstone cliff walls, but ancient volcanic ash was pretty interesting.  The whole canyon was layers of light-colored volcanic ash, and standing back, looking at its swiss cheese appearance, you could see all the different areas that the ancient people used for their dwellings and storage for food.

This plaque states that the tuff is over 1000 feet deep in some areas and airborne ash was found in Iowa, Texas and Nebraska.

This is the valley overlook area.
The tight bunch of trees in the center of the photo is where we hiked and where the visitors center was located.

The park was busy, it was spring break week for a lot of the cities around, so we had to take turns and wait a few times while exploring the ladders and dwellings, waiting for people hiking in front of us to finish so we could look and explore.

Although it was busy, it was a nice day to be outside and overall, although not my most favorite hike we've been on, it was interesting and worth seeing.  Plus, they had a Junior Ranger program for the kids, so they enjoyed getting a badge when we were finished.

When asked how it compared to Mesa Verde National Park, Ethan didn't think it was much in comparison, as the structures and villages at Mesa Verde were so much larger and more involved, but maybe the back country trails we didn't hike would leave us with a different perspective?  Maybe we will come back sometime and try the other hikes?

For more information on this National Monument this book provides a lot of details and speculation about the construction of the ruins and the people that might have inhabited the area.

Great Grandpa an d Ernie walked the loop at their own pace while we explored the ladders and other areas.

Behind Ev and Ethan you can see the "tuff chunks" that were pasted together like bricks to make larger, multi-level  buildings.

Over their heads you can see all the hollow cave areas in the cliff face.

Some of the ruins were reconstructed for a better visual understanding of the ancient dwellings.

From above, you can see just how large that brick and mortar village was.

Grandma Vicky climbed up the ladder to see inside too.

This reconstructed cliff dwelling/kiva was fun to go inside.

Inside was cool and breezy, a nice break from the warm sun outside.

The Ponderosa Pine trees were pretty massive and after watching one of the guides
ahead of us, we discovered they smell like candy.

All over the cliff walls were petroglyphs (cave carvings).  These were very high, roughly 2-3 stories,
so we thought that the previous brick exterior dwellings would have been stood on to carve these faces.

Everywhere we walked, there were little areas hollowed with more evidence of the holes that would have held beams for exterior structures.

More petroglyphys with those evenly spaced holes for timber to support the roof.

This was a fairly large carving in a larger hollow far up on the cliff wall.  Is it a dinosaur?   

That previous petroglyph is in the dark hollow at the center of this photo.

The loop hike took us over the water to the other side of the valley.

Once we crossed the water, it was more obvious the layers of soft volcanic tuff.

The area we were climbing to was 150 feet up multiple ladders.
If you look closely, you can see people on the ladders and narrow walkways.

Ladder #1

Ladder #2, the longest ladder I believe.

All smiles!

Ladder #3 was pretty steep.

Looking down you could see just how high we were!

All the climbing took us up to this alcove area with a reconstructed kiva.

It was a great view!

The boys, sitting in front of a reconstructed ceremonial kiva.

What comes up, must go down.  Ethan prepared for the decent to the valley floor.

Going down was not as easy as going up, but the kids had fun.
But we were all covered in dust once we were finished!

Once you unleash the monkey, you can't keep him from climbing!

A previous flood left all this wooded debris, so our monkeys insisted on climbing it.

Everett tried his skills at the spider climb, American Ninja Warrior style!

Elliot wanted in on the climbing action.

Success!!

And sometimes, they can be sweet.

But still a little CRAZY!

Ethan next to a HUGE ponderosa pine.

The bark was pretty impressive with the layers and colors.

As we were leaving, we spotted some wildlife in the construction area.

They were very close!

As we exited the park at the end of our hike, I was surprised to see snow on the distant mountains.