Chaco Canyon: Magic in the High Desert

By Alyssa and Brittany

I’m almost hesitant to tell you about Chaco Canyon because I love it so much and want it to remain New Mexico’s best kept secret. BUT it is just too amazing to keep to myself! As we usually do when we arrive anywhere new, we ask the locals about cool places to check out. Our CouchSurf hosts in Santa Fe told us about a place called Chaco Canyon, and described it as an ancient hub of spiritual activity for leaders from different Indian tribes. It wasn’t on our agenda but Indian ruins+astrology+middle of no where in New Mexico sounded too good to pass up. They also mentioned that it was down an extremely bumpy 20 mile long dirt road, so the only people out there are the ones that TRULY want to be there. Sounded right up our alley!

We took our sweet time getting there, figuring we would have plenty of campsites to pick from since it was midweek. I was surprised that a campground in such a desolate location was full on a Tuesday, but the ranger said we could go into a group campsite. It was BAKING HOT outside, but we decided to make the most of our stay and take a guided tour of one of the ruins. This is a wonderful service provided by the rangers and is absolutely FREE.

Doorways leading through a few of 600+ rooms in Pueblo Bonita

A lot of the buildings were designed to capture the solar and lunar cycles. They spent generations watching the sky and hundreds of years crafting the buildings to align with the sun, moon, and stars.

Besides learning fascinating facts about the Pueblans and their buildings, our guide told us that the summer solstice would be occurring the next day and would shine thru one of the ruins. Whoa, whoa, whoa....I couldn’t believe our luck with timing! Some of the other campers told us they had been planning for months to experience Summer Solstice here. It was one of those you-were-meant-to-be-there-for-a-reason experiences.

Pueblan pictographs

After a hot day of hiking through ruins, looking at petroglyphs, and checking out a graveyard, we congregated around a campfire of 50+ people. The rangers explained the solstice and logistics of how to get to the ruins at 5AM. We headed back to our campsite and discovered it had filled up while we were out exploring the ruins. We decided to take advantage of being with new people and chat with some of our tent neighbors. What a magical night it turned out to be! We were so glad the tent sites were full and we were put in a group site with unfamiliar faces. By the end of the night we went from being strangers to friends. 

Group Site 2 crew!

Alyssa and I slept with our rain fly off the tent and didn’t want to sleep because the night sky was so beautiful. You can see every star in the sky, constellation points and shooting stars.

You have to wake up early at 3:45 am in order to head to the ruins by 4:30 am (they only allow 60 cars in). With hot chocolates and blankets in hand, we piled in the back of our tent neighbor’s pickup truck before the sun had risen. The specific building we were going to has one window, and only during the sunrise on the solstice does the sun shine through the window. The ray of light fits perfectly into a niche carved out in the wall. 

Sun rising over the mountains

We were amazed that a few days before we had never heard of Chaco Canyon, and there we were, in the middle of nowhere, sharing this experience with a group of strangers and new friends.



The big moment

We stood in anticipation as the sun rose slowly behind the mountains and then we turned our attention to the ray of light beaming across the wall and into the niche. Everyone was silent and respectful, and some described it as a spiritual experience. 

Fun things always ensue when you ride in the back of a truck

We piled into the truck bed and headed back, excited about what we had just seen, but slightly somber knowing it was over. We packed up our tent, said our goodbyes and headed out for a hike.

We were hesitant to leave Chaco that afternoon, but it is one of those experiences that has been engrained in our memories. After a month of traveling, I have to say that our time at Chaco Culture National Historical Park has been the most memorable to me!

A2B POINTERS

-The campground is first come, first serve so try to get there by mid morning to snag a spot.
-They have tours and lectures led by the rangers. I learned so much and it made my experience there even more special.
-Go on a weekend when they do star gazing with the rangers at night.
-Our car rattled the whole way down the dirt road..I thought the door panels would shake off! Here’s a trick we discovered: If you drive slowly the car will violently shake, but if you drive 40-45 mph it greatly reduces the shaking.
-It gets HOT and there is no gas or food for 45-60 minutes outside of camp. Be prepared!