Chaco Canyon, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Badlands, Santa Fe National Forest, June 30 - July 1, 2017

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This is my first camping trip with my camper.  I am excited and a bit nervous; do I have everything?, will I remember to turn things on and off at the appropriate time?, will I remember to lock the refrigerator before driving? – no, but the results were not too bad.  Do we have enough food? – more than enough – one issue settled.

Chaco Canyon

I am going with Earlene, the leader of the Exploring NM Meetup group, and friends Laurie and Nicida.  I have concerns going over a holiday weekend, but Laurie made reservations at Chaco Canyon campground for Friday night so at least one night we are set.  We will wing it Saturday night.  Highs in the mid 90’s are forecast for Albuquerque, only slightly cooler at Chaco.  Since we aren’t leaving until mid afternoon the temperatures should be bearable with a 5 – 6 PM arrival.

The roads are surprisingly empty of holiday traffic.  There are RV’s and trucks with trailers but not the expected continuous line of them.  The traffic thinned out to nothing when we turned on to the BLM road to Chaco.  It was paved the first couple miles, changed to gravel, then upon leaving one county going to another the road instantly deteriorated to a washboard with gravel.  We didn’t drive much over 15 miles/hour to keep from fish tailing the last five miles to the park.

We drove though the camping area identifying our sites.  Laurie and Nicida started erecting their tent and I helped by bringing their stuff over to the tent site.  Once the tent was up we headed off to the loop road to visit the different archeological sites.  We are able stop at two of the main sites: Pueblo Bonito and Casa Rinconada before the area closed at sunset.

The construction is astounding; especially considering these structures were built between 800 and 1100 AD.  The buildings are up to five stories high in some cases.  Earlene has been here many times taking tours and visiting on her own so her knowledge of Chaco Canyon is phenomenal.  Even though she has been here many times I can tell she is excited to be back.  I feel we are getting our own guided tour with her.

The last few minutes before sunset everything touched by the sunlight takes on a golden hue before the sun drops below the horizon.

Happy and awed by the sight we return to our campsite for dinner.  Tacos with guacamole and chips are on the menu.  We finish eating in the dark waiting for the moon to set so we get a full dark sky for a Milky Way viewing.  This night the moon decided not to move for several hours, or so it seemed, so I wimped out, going to bed after 11.  Taking one last look I can make out a faint glow in the sky where the Milky Way should be.

The next morning we dine on eggs and a wonderful seedless blackberry jam.  At the end of the trip Laurie and I swapped blackberry jam for guacamole; we were both happy with the deal.  Shortly after 8 we make it to the visitor center for directions for our hike overlooking Pueblo Bonito then continuing on to Pueblo Alto.  We want to get on the trail early to avoid the impending heat of the day – 90’s.

As we approach the only way I see up to the top of the mesa involves ropes and climbing skills, neither of which I have.  Earlene insists that the hike to the top, while not easy is certainly doable.  “Many people have done this before.”  Each of us look at her with apprehension…..

But follow her lead.     

Getting closer to the base of the mesa, the trail appears.  Standing out from the mesa one sees a tall vertical rock, but from this spot I can see the tall vertical rock is tilted out from the rest of the mesa creating a narrow crevice where we climb to the top.

Pueblo Bonito

It’s cooler at the top, a breeze is constant and the heat of the day is still a few hours away.  Seeing the pueblos from this perspective gives scale to the sites.  At the bottom one explores the rooms and marvels at the construction.  From the top one marvels at the size of Pueblo Bonito in particular because we can look right down on top of it.  Seeing other visitors exploring the Pueblo below adds to the proportion.

Along the edge of the overlook we investigate all types of fossils and holes carved into the stone by the inhabitants of the day.  We veer away from the edge continuing to Pueblo Alto to see a partially excavated pueblo seemingly every bit as large as Pueblo Benito.  We also see ancient straight roads going off in different directions all coming to a hub at Chaco Canyon.

Chaco was an urban center from around 850 – 1250 AD.  We are not certain why the inhabitants left, around 1250.  A prolonged drought is the prime suspect.

Collared lizard

As we start back we feel the heat kick in and the cool breeze, any breeze, comes to a standstill.  The stone absorbs the heat and radiates it back at you so you are surrounded by heat.

We make it back down the crevice sliding down on our butts at times because a step is just too far to reach if you want to hike down.  By noon we are back at the visitor center preparing to leave.  I work on the truck, one tire is low, as it turns out it took another nail.  Later that night I change the tire for a spare.

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area

We had thought to go to the Bisti Badlands after Chaco.  There is no direct route between anything and Chaco Canyon so a trip to Bisti would be another 90 minutes of gravel and potentially washboard road.  After speaking with Earlene I voted for the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah badlands.  It is somewhat the same as Bisti; not as well known, and closer.  Always up for an adventure we went for Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah.  Fortunately both Laurie and Nicida are good navigators.  It was still a challenge finding it because the roads called out for on the website’s map didn’t necessarily agree with what we were seeing on the posted road signs, causing great consternation, oh, and no mileages were listed on the website either.

We came across a European couple looking for the same site with equal bewilderment.  Their GPS said that the car-sized hole in the fence is the entrance to the badlands; with no signs present.  It didn’t look promising so we went on hoping for a marked location.

On our tour of the area we did get to see a small heard of sheep crossing the road.  We also saw the opposite side of the area we were looking for.  After 20 minutes of driving we decided the hole in the fence must be the place we were looking for; there weren’t any other possibilities.

Image courtesy of Nicida

As we arrived we came across a couple just leaving.  They were afraid of the building clouds with the dark gray streaks of rain trailing below them.  We hiked our half mile before coming to the European couple leaving for the same reason.  As they take off we study the sky, “Too far off, and going the other direction”, one of us says, so we press on.

Image courtesy of Nicida

As we get closer to the badlands we look around, not terribly impressed by what we see.  As we turn our heads in another direction all we can say is WOW.  There is a mushroom farm of hoodoos below us.  We just can’t get down to them.  Following along the edge of the badlands a short distance we find a shallow sloped area where we can be among the ‘mushrooms’.  Again perspective comes into play.  Above, they look kind of big.  Down here most of them are taller than me with the tops being several feet across.

One more glance at the sky says we are okay but will check again in 15 minutes.  Each of us scrambles in our own direction photographing whatever interests us.  Another glance at the sky says we can continue on with our exploration.  As we work our way up the canyon the hoodoos disappear.  I also feel the first drops of rain.  We don’t know where the rain is coming from; the overhead clouds do not look threatening; but they are raining down on us anyhow.

We make our way back to our exit from the canyon with ever heavier rain.  The caliche sticks to our boots making them heavier while at the same time making each of us taller.  By the time we get back to the truck there are no treads on our hiking boots; the caliche has filled them, and does not come out with stamping, kicking or any other pounding of our boots.  Not very much rain came down around the truck.  We think Mother Nature doesn’t want us exploring today.

The only sign

Santa Fe National Forest

The drive to our next destination for me is filled with unease.  As we are driving down the road the tire is leaking at a higher rate.  While I have a compressor to fill the tire, it is only a temporary fix.  We make it to Cuba, then our turnoff to the Santa Fe National Forest, the area south of the San Pedro Parks in particular.

Laurie has been here before having found a nice spot for a tent.  I follow her directions and after a few miles we find the spot.  We see only one other campsite used along our two mile drive.  Actually we do not see or hear anyone else the entire time we are at our spot.  I thought this unusual for a holiday weekend.

Image courtesy of Nicida

Once we get situated and tent up, I go to work on the tire.  I cannot fix the ‘nail magnet’ tire. This is the second nail in this tire over the last two months, hence the name.  I get to change to the spare; it went easier than I had hoped.

We dine on salmon and salad, then take a walk down the empty forest road.  It has been a long time since my last camping trip.  I forgot about the silence; the low hush of the breeze through the pines, the chit chat of the birds, the smell of the pines, the soft pine needle ground giving way underfoot.

As the sun disappears for the day we move into the camper for tea, cookies and stories.

I did not make it to see the Milky Way this evening either.  Both Laurie and Nicida saw it on a run into the woods later that night.

The next morning is cool but only sweatshirts are needed, a good thing.  I was concentrating so much on the 90+ temperatures I did not think about the overnight lows in the mountains.  So I did not have any cool weather clothing. First thing on my list for the next trip: jacket and sweatshirt.

We have a leisurely breakfast then pack, making our way to Cuba and McDonalds.  I have two urgent requests to stop for coffee.  I don’t want a 90 minute drive back to Bernalillo with two people missing their coffee so I stop.  I start my days off without coffee so I cannot relate to the need.

This is rather a long story of my first camping trip with my camper.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had writing it.

Thank you for stopping by,
Mark