As we headed north in New Mexico, the temperature was dropping. Because of this, we had decided that we would go no further than Santa Fe, keeping the Grand Canyon for another time. We reached Santa Fe early in the afternoon and stopped in at the Visitor’s Centre to ask about what we could do in the area both today and over the next day or two. Camping options were on our minds as well, as we could see that the iOverlander options were pretty slim here and hotels not so very cheap. The helpful person at the VI centre pointed out a few of the more interesting places we could stop and see in Old Santa Fe before recommending that we check out Bandelier National Monument as a place to see some historical Pueblo dwellings. This looked like a great option for us as Bandelier also had a campground, and being part of the National Park system, the cost for camping would be $13.00 – can’t beat that!
Our day planned, we set out to check out Old Santa Fe. It is a lovely old part of the city, filled with lots of history and some great shopping. Before getting to that, though, we dropped in to check out the New Mexico State Capitol building. This circular structure holds floor after floor of artwork from New Mexico’s many artists. We spent an enjoyable hour or so just perusing the many works displayed here.
It was pretty chilly wandering around outside – there was even snow on the ground – yikes!
We checked out a beautiful old church and the “oldest home” in Santa Fe.
Along with checking out these older structures and admiring the beautiful architecture in this lovely town, we did manage to stop in at a number of shops. We found some really beautiful things – I was quite taken by some coats made from Pendleton blankets but the price tag made me take a step back – wow! This is quite the shopping town for sure, but bring your money!!! We satisfied ourselves with the purchase of a t-shirt for Jim with the symbol for New Mexico on it. As for me? Nope, not a thing!
We knew we were leaving out out A LOT of Santa Fe, but wanted to save it for another time when we could truly enjoy wandering this beautiful city in the warm sunshine. Before leaving town to head towards Bandelier, we stopped in at a French restaurant to enjoy some crepes. They were very tasty (and pricey!) and would serve as an early dinner since we didn’t plan on cooking out of doors on this chilly evening.
The drive to Bandelier took about an hour and we arrived just in time to find a camp spot in the almost empty campground – gee, I wonder why it was so empty? Could it be the snow on the ground and freezing temperature overnight? Lucky for us we had purchased a REALLY warm sleeping bag and since we had already eaten dinner, we settled in to snuggle under the blankets and watch a movie before going to sleep.
In the morning, we headed in to the park headquarters. Here we were able to park and head out for a short hike to see the cave dwellings. In the summer months, this place is so busy that people have to park out at the campground and take a shuttle bus to the headquarters. Bandelier has 3 miles of public roads but is a total of 33,750 acres and has 70 miles of trails! Wow!!! If it were just a bit warmer, this would be such a fantastic place to stay for a number of days. However, we had a chilly morning and so set out to do the loop trail. Our first stop was the remains of Tyuonyi village, a fairly large and complex structure that housed people, animals and also contained food storage. It is hard to tell from the remains, but the model on display at the park headquarters is very helpful to understand it.
As well as living in this small city, people also lived in cave dwellings built into the side of the Frijoles canyon. What remains now are the caves, which you can climb up into and view, but houses were built along side of these caves, integrating them into the lives of the people who lived here. We were enthralled by these caves and couldn’t help but think how cool it would have been to live in one of these!
Along the way, you could see where the poles to support the second floor and then roof for the homes would have been – the size and number of them is quite astounding.
We thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to see how the Navajo people of this area lived during the time they were here. This is a very special place for them and we appreciated that we were able to come and see it. I was struck by a quote from the Affiliated Pueblo Committee in the brochure we received about how they hope people will view their ancestral home
“Spiritually, our ancestors still live here at Bandelier. You see reminders of their presence here – their homes, their kivas, and their petroglyphs. As you walk in their footsteps, value the earth beneath you and show everything the same respect we do when we re-visit this sacred place”.
