Black Friday | Friday, November 25, 2016
Doorways and nice light inside Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon.
After a great day exploring the Bisti Badlands, Diane and I would be spending Black Friday checking out the massive ruins at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It’s been over 5 years since my last visit to Chaco Canyon and I was looking forward to returning. Diane had never been here before and she had a great time seeing all of the impressive ruins for the very first time. Besides visiting all of the easy-to-access ruins along the loop road, we would also hike the Pueblo Alto Trail which is one of the few trails I had not hiked in the park yet. We spent all day in the park and had a really great time!
Welcome to Chaco Canyon.
Always a good sign…
Nice petroglyphs above Una Vida.
We spent a little time exploring Pueblo Bonito in the morning and photographing the many doors inside.
Sunlight & Shadow
Glowing room…
I just can’t get enough of the different shades of reflected light you can find here.
Pueblo Bonito walls
Interesting brickwork at Chetro Ketl.
A big kiva at Chetro Ketl.
Climbing up the narrow slot to the top of the mesa at the beginning of out hike on the Pueblo Alto Loop Trail.
Diane hikes ahead to the New Alto Ruins on the horizon.
The oldest inscription we noticed carved into the bricks at the New Alto Ruins.
As we continued along the loop trail we passed the Jackson Stairway, part of the Chacoan Road system.
Overlooking Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito from the trail along the edge of the canyon.
Hiking back to the beginning of the loop.
After finishing the hike and having lunch, we took a walk around Pueblo del Arroyo.
The Great Kiva at Casa Rinconada.
Driving along the loop road we passed this group of elk.
We returned to Pueblo Bonito at the end of the day. The light wasn’t as good as it was in the morning, but there were a few nice spots.
Golden Hour at Pueblo Bonito
