ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Great pictures.
Chaco Canyon, Winter 2009
- Thread starter shovelbum
- Start date
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Looks like it was a great time to be out there. Good on you for getting out even though people said it would be to cold.
How were the stars, were the nights clear?
How were the stars, were the nights clear?
shovelbum
Observer
I wish they had been; that would have been beautiful. It was generally snowing by sundown and pretty much always overcast.
AveryS
New member
That part of the word is very interesting. When you plan your trip back I suggest you check out the "Bisti Wilderness" which is not too far from Chaco Canyon. Not much in the way of archeology stuff at Bisti but down right unbelievable geological formations.
Here is a video I shot when I was there: http://www.bigavetv.com/Bisti.html
Here is a video I shot when I was there: http://www.bigavetv.com/Bisti.html
Abel Villesca
Explorer
Great pictures Shovelbum. You have done a better job than I photographing one of my favorite places.
Avery, that's a neat video. I will have to plan a trip to Bisti soon.
Avery, that's a neat video. I will have to plan a trip to Bisti soon.
Great adventure!
Too bad it was overcast. There are several points in the structures
where the sun shines in at winter solstice, and your visit was only a
week later than the solstice.
Thanks for sharing the photos. Were there other visitors around
during your stay?
Tell us more about your camping experience. How did you prepare
hot food?
Too bad it was overcast. There are several points in the structures
where the sun shines in at winter solstice, and your visit was only a
week later than the solstice.
Thanks for sharing the photos. Were there other visitors around
during your stay?
Tell us more about your camping experience. How did you prepare
hot food?
shovelbum
Observer
The South Road
We went in and out on the south road. I had heard a lot of bad things about it but I honestly don't know what people were talking about, unless they were in a Honda Civic lowrider. It's a washboard dirt road, but wide and regularly graded. I put it in 4-high because of the snow, but could have easily done it in 2wd. I can see mud being a problem at times, but nothing horrible. You shouldn't have any problem at all with it. Have a great time!
We went in and out on the south road. I had heard a lot of bad things about it but I honestly don't know what people were talking about, unless they were in a Honda Civic lowrider. It's a washboard dirt road, but wide and regularly graded. I put it in 4-high because of the snow, but could have easily done it in 2wd. I can see mud being a problem at times, but nothing horrible. You shouldn't have any problem at all with it. Have a great time!
shovelbum
Observer
I will definitely check that out. Thanks for the info and awesome video!
shovelbum
Observer
There weren't too many other people at all. We'd see a car at the visitors' center sometimes when we'd drive by. Met one couple at Kin Kletso and they turned out to be friends of a friend. Small world. Ran across another family at Pueblo del Arroyo. Other than that, no one. Nice.
I wish I was more of a camping chef, but I'm not. We brought 5 gal. of water, eight Cokes, a package of hotdogs, one of tortillas, some sliced cheese-product, ten apples, two boxes of macaroni and cheese, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and a pound of jerky. We had apples and jerky for breakfast, PB&J for lunch, and macaroni for dinner along with "poor-boy's burritos" (hotdog and cheese wrapped in tortilla). The macaroni was cooked over a Coleman stove and the hotdogs roasted on the fire. I generally put a little more effort into it than this, but I knew we'd be exploring around so much in the day we wouldn't have a lot of time to spend cooking. Turns out there was even less evening time than I expected, what with the short winter days and being down in a canyon. The sun was "down" before 5! We would cook and eat and then stoke the fire to try to stay warm. The wind would always kick up to the point where the fire just wasn't doing the job. We'd be up in the tent by 6 or 6:30, reading Willy Wonka and talking about all we'd seen that day and what we'd do the next.
Abel Villesca
Explorer
shovelbum, what do you think about the theories that the "shipap" is in Kutz canyon where the "Great North Road" terminates? I haven't been there yet, but am thinking about adding it to the trips to take this late winter/early spring.
shovelbum
Observer
Actually hadn't heard of that, but that would be amazing. I work down in the Mimbres area, so I'm more familiar with that archaeology. That said, I often rely on anthropological interviews of Pueblo Indians from around the turn of the last century. I know the Hopi consider a travertine formation in the Grand Canyon to be their sipapuni. Other groups see the portal as being a lake. I hadn't heard of the Kutz Canyon theory but am anxious to check it out. If that's where the north road ends, it'd make sense. Do any existing Native groups see that place as their sipapuni? A friend of mine recently pointed out how close "sipapu" (shee-pah-pu) sounds to the Aztecan word for the underworld, "Xibalba" (shee-bahl-ba). Some earlier ethnographers talked about similarities between Hopi and Aztec ceremonies. Interesting stuff and fascinating area. If you have any sources on the Kutz Canyon angle, I'd love to get them from you. Thanks.
Abel Villesca
Explorer
It is my understanding that the north road ends in a stair case (now partially collapsed) down into Kutz canyon. I read that Michael Marshall believes that the shipap is there. The references I have are from the notes in "Anasazi America" by David E. Stuart. He notes: "White 1960: 89." and "Stevenson 1884: 67-68."
Here's an interesting link: http://www.solsticeproject.org/greanort.htm
Here's an interesting link: http://www.solsticeproject.org/greanort.htm