Be It Ever So Crumbled And Tumbled Down

Chaco Canyon National Historic Park Northwestern NM

We visited these places during our Easter trip to New Mexico to visit my mom in Roswell.

Chaco Canyon was a major center of Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. The Chacoan sites are part of the homeland of Pueblo Indian peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona, and the Navajo Indians of the Southwest.

"...pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture."

Here's an interesting side note: William Henry Jackson; a famous photographer of Western landscapes and railroads visited Chaco Canyon in 1877 with the U.S. Geological Survey. Because he experimented with a new photographic process, all the photos failed. If you've seen this place, you would know how disappointing that would be.

Aztec Ruins National Monument (Anazazi site--not really Aztec) Farmington NM

Grand Kiva Looks like they're considering the place for a wedding reception, doesn't it? Hmmm. Where would you display the cake?

Well, good thing they're already married.