Tyuonyi Pueblo
We left Albuquerque this morning and drove to the small town of White Rock, New Mexico, which is just south of Los Alamos, and the entrance to the Bandelier National Monument. Our plan was to camp in Juniper Campground inside the monument, but when we got to the visitor center we discovered that as part of their brand-new building they have opened an RV parking lot complete with water filling station, dump station, and electric power at each site. When I asked the attendant in the visitor center how much it was she replied, “since they haven’t got the pay station up yet, it’s free.” That sounded like a good deal to us.
So we ate lunch, and then took the free shuttle bus in to the canyon. Since they had a fire and flash flood last year they are not allowing private vehicles in to the park. Instead you must ride a bus that runs at a very convenient interval of twenty minutes. The bus driver also acted as tour guide and pointed out many things along the way associated with the history of the area, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
At the park itself we walked around the main tour loop and saw pueblos, and perhaps a thousand places where there once were rooms along the cliffs, sometimes three or more stories high. In many of these spots the ancient people dug caves into the soft volcanic tuff as part of their residences.
At the end of the trail we climbed up 140 vertical feet to Alcove House. This entailed scaling four ladders three of them between 30 and 40 feet in length, and some very steep steps. Enid made it to the top, even though she found it pretty nerve racking!
We plan to stay here for at least one more night, probably two. Tomorrow we will take the free bus into Los Alamos, and tour the free museums. Free transportation, free accommodation. That’s hard to beat!