Sunday, June 12, 2011
On Sunday morning I slept in just a little bit later than on Saturday. It was not because I wanted to, but because I was planning on photographing through the doorways of Pueblo Bonito during the early morning light. The park would not be opening the gates until 7:00am, so there was no use in getting up earlier than I had to. I arrived at the locked gate to the park a few minutes before 7:00am in hopes that it would be opened early; it wasn’t. Someone didn’t come to open the gate until about ten minutes after 7, which means I was sitting in my Jeep anxiously waiting the whole time. Once the gate was finally open, I drove straight to Pueblo Bonito and hiked to the doorways so that I could start shooting. I didn’t have much time before the sun would be too high in the sky.
Nice light through the big T-shaped doorway.
Pueblo Bonito Doorways by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A typical doorway photo in Pueblo Bonito.
Typical Doors by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Once the sun was too high, we made our way over to check out the Casa Rinconada Community. This is the large kiva found at Casa Rinconada.
Casa Rinconada Kiva by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
When we were done exploring there, we went back to camp to pack up. Here’s a photo of the ruin behind our campsite.
Gallo Camp by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Once we were all packed up and ready to go we stopped to take one last hike to Wijiji before starting the drive home. The trail followed an old closed road to Wijiji. Fajada Butte is in the background.
Wijiji Hike by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
The Wijiji Pueblo.
Wijiji Pueblo by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Faint pictographs near Wijiji. There are a number of faint negative handprints, faint spirals and red lines, plus a couple of zoomorphs that appear to be standing in the middle. I wish I had brought my telephoto lens with me on this hike, but I wasn’t sure how close we would be able to get to these pictographs when we started.
Wijiji Pictographs by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A closer look at a few of the pictographs.
Wijiji Pictographs Closer by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
A nice sky over Wijiji.
Wijiji by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Hiking back from Wijiji in Chaco Canyon.
Follow the Old Road by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
Thankfully, the drive home was uneventful and we had no further issues with the Jeep. We both had a great weekend and lucked out with great weather that wasn’t too hot (especially for this time of the year) and are looking forward to our next trip to Chaco Canyon in the future!