Chaco Canyon, Winter 2009

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Nothing novel or extraordinary here, just a few notes on a quick adventure. I'm a graduate student-slash-archaeologist and have long felt hypocritical for working in the Southwest (mainly the Mimbres and Hohokam regions) and never having been to Chaco Canyon. I've read about it and seen pictures, but of course this isn't the same. In talking about Chaco, my nine-year-old son Riley became interested as well. I promised him that we would both go there soon, a father and son adventure. But soon stretched on as my little free time was eaten up teaching field schools, helping friends on their projects, doing research, working here and there, and so forth. My summers were always tied up and my spring breaks never coincided with Riley's.

Well, enough was enough. We had time between Christmas and New Years and I decided we were going to Chaco. Everyone said it would be far too cold this time of year, but time had become the critical factor, not weather. So we headed out.

 

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A few words about the vehicle and equipment

Because some of you may be interested in our vehicle and equipment, I'll say a few words here. We took my daily (i.e., only) driver, a 1985 FJ60 Landcruiser. The drivetrain is largely stock. It has OME springs, Yokohama tires, a front bumper my dad welded up, a Yakima roof rack, and a Camping Lab RTT.

I recently got the oil leaks under control and now need only to worry about the mounting "power steering problem". I will eventually do the Saginaw swap, but funds are a bit tight at the moment.

I knew ahead of time that firewood was not available at Chaco, so we loaded the roof rack with some sizeable chunks of hardwood. Lesson Learned No. 1 (on Interstate 40 outside of Holbrook, AZ): Even weighty stumps can fly off a roof rack at 50 mph.

Other standard gear was present as well. I had found a number of large, waterproof, padded boxes (Kodak) for $5.00 each at a second-hand store, so I snatched those up and used them to store everything. We packed two sleeping bags apiece, along with a down comforter and all the gloves and watchcaps we could find.

For me anyway, one of the few downsides to camping is having to get up in the middle of the night to see a man about a horse. Checking weather reports in and around Chaco, I knew this would be especially troublesome. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, but I figured that since I had just switched from plastic to stainless, I could take along a couple Nalgene bottles that could, well, tide things over until morning. Lesson Learned No. 2: 10 below + three layers of thermal underwear + two sleeping bags + gloves + nine year old anatomy does not equal a dry comforter.

 

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Our trip there was largely uneventful. We left Mesa via highway 87 and drove into Payson. Passing through the town and nearly out the other side, Riley shouted, "Daddy, look!" I saw a sudden movement off to the right and thought we were about to get t-boned. But it was a cow elk, running right alongside the truck at about 20 mph ... in town. Now I don't know about you guys, but that doesn't happen to me every day, so I thought it was kind of neat.

We stopped for gas in Heber-Overgaard. I took Riley into the Circle K to get a snack and he ended up chatting with the clerk, despite nine years of being told not to talk to strangers. As we prepared to leave, the woman cautioned us to stay warm. "Excuse me, lady" Riley said huffily, "but we're hard core! An I'm wearing like three layers of clothes!" I chuckled as we headed outside.

Well, we did stay warm for the most part, but it was cold. Daytime highs were around 35 above and nighttime lows about 10 below. Unless I remember anything else noteworthy (not that any of the above was), I'll post it, but I will post some pictures you might enjoy. Like I said, this wasn't any great expedition, but I did get to see a place I've long wanted to. More importantly, I kept my promise to a great little boy and got to spend time with him that neither of us will ever forget.

 

[Abel Villesca]

:lurk:
I'm sure you had quite an adventure! :sombrero: Did you make it to any of the outliers?

 

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The Una Vida greathouse site

Una Vida

 

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The Hungo Pavi greathouse site

Hungo Pavi

 

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Chetro Ketl greathouse site

Chetro Ketl

 

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Pueblo Bonito greathouse site

Pueblo Bonito

 

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Pueblo Bonito (cont'd)

 

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More from Pueblo Bonito

 

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:lurk:
I'm sure you had quite an adventure! :sombrero: Did you make it to any of the outliers?

No, I wish we had. I'm already planning a return trip, with more time and milder weather.

 

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Kin Kletso greathouse site

Kin Kletso

 

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Along the way

a few random shots of us

 

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New Alto site

New Alto

 

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Pueblo Alto greathouse site

Pueblo Alto