We spent last w.e. exploring Chaco Canyon. We toured the Great Houses on Saturday afternoon and settled on an early morning Sunday hike to Pueblo Alto, a Great House on top of the mesa, about 0.6 miles north (3 miles round trip.) Above, Chetro Ketl.
First, we needed to climb up to the mesa. A series of exposed steps led to a narrow passage up to the mesa.
There was a lot of talk about the summer soltice at Chaco Canyon. The ancestral Chacoans built all of the houses oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions. A croud was expected in 4 days to observe the solstice and the many astronomical markings found in the park. Above is my best attempt at giving you an idea of a summer solstice marking. Imagine the sun rays marking a particular point, a window or a petroglyph, at just a particular time during the solstice.
View of Pueblo Bonito from the mesa.
First view of Alto Nuevo.
Pueblo Alto. Here is what a Great House looks like when it has not been recontructed.
Chaco remains a spiritual place to today's Pueble and Hopi people. Hiking the mesa and approaching the Great Houses, I felt as if I was trespassing in a world that should not be treaded upon, if it wasn't for the
crows bringing me back to reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment