First Impressions: Chaco Culture NHP

Chaco: the name evokes ancient mystery. Chaco: home to Americans from approximately 850 A.D. until 1150 A.D. Then ... so the early theories go ... they disappeared. Vanished. Of course, they didn’t. In the face of insurmountable drought, they migrated to land where they could live. They became today’s Acoma and Zuni. Those who traveled south to Paquimé live at today’s Casas Grande in Mexico. The Chacoans didn’t disappear. They are with us today.

But the mysteries surrounding Chaco persist. We came to Chaco May 15 to learn what we could about this fascinating remnant of human history. The Ranger, in his recounting, tells us they who how Chaco came to be and when, but they don’t know why.

Chaco canyon runs southeast to northwest. Water drains from higher elevations to the south into the wash that formed the mile wide canyon, cut through hundreds of feet of sandstone. The Chaco River, as the dry bed is known, when wet, drains into the San Juan and finally the Colorado. The sandstone bluffs are the result of sand bedding ancient shallow seas that covered the central part of what today is North America.

Within the canyon proper are a dozen great houses, immense stone pueblos. They range from Wijiji in the southeast about a dozen miles to Pueblo Peñasco in the northwest but high atop the bluff. This was the center of the universe for these people and it was the focus of power that controlled more than 40,000 square miles and more than 100 other pueblos across the Colorado Plateau and San Juan Basin.

With so many villages and so much land, you’d think Chaco was inhabited by tens of thousands of people. That wasn’t so. Total population ranged closer to 2,000 upwards to maybe 8,000 [and that number is contested]. Pueblo Bonito, the largest great house with over 700 rooms, may have been home to less than 200 people.

As I digest all that I saw and experienced, I will write more. But for now I have more questions than answers. I wonder about these people; who they were, why they chose this place to live and for what purpose. I am convinced something special took place here. Life wasn’t static. Society evolved over 3-1/2 centuries, more than 10 generations. The actual meaning of what when on here is lost in time.

No matter how carefully scientists search, no matter how they analyze and compare data, we will never really know the full story of chaco.

Posted by Bud Russo

Centennial Saturday at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park

We started our next podcast yesterday when I interviewed Jan Kirwan at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. A most interesting park, Mesilla Valley Bosque is soon to celebrate its second anniversary ... taking time to learn how best to serve the public. There is, of course, the nature story. The park has trails along the river and farther back in a drier part of the flood plain. I hiked both and found tracks of things we commonly see ... lizards, stink bugs, and birds. But then I found tracks of raccoon and javalina. There are beaver living near the park. I didn’t see their tracks but found a tree they had gnawed through. And one of the park rangers has photographed a bobcat. This is a great place for birders to see many of the 213 species that have been identified in the park or migrating through. I was treated to the sight and sound of a high-flying flock of sandhill cranes.

Besides nature, Mesilla Valley Bosque is developing events that teach about and demonstrate our culture. Rangers are centering this “mission” in their Time Travelers program, a living history event developed and run by Dr. Jon Hunner of NMSU. His college students don period costumes and play roles to teach 5th to 12th grade students about local history. It’s not all talk. Participants get to learn how to make tortillas, adobe and how to do the laundry without a washing machine. They learn arts and crafts like beading and are led in Native American dances by members of the Tortugas pueblo.

Saturday, December 4, marks the parks second anniversary and you can take part in Centennial Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. The Time Travel date is 1912 as participants celebrate New Mexico’s 100th year as a state. Come on out and meet people from a century ago ... even President Teddy Roosevelt.

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park can be reached by taking Highway 359, Calle del North, in Mesilla ... right across Highway 28 from The Bean. Drive about 2 miles to the Rio Grande and, as soon as you cross the bridge, turn left into the park’s drive. There is a $5 per car park fee.

Posted by Bud Russo

Enjoying Northern NM: History, Art, Farmers Market

Today Bud and I visited four places, continuing our trend of filling our days with activity. Since we decided to return to the Folk Art Market on Sunday rather than today to face slightly smaller crowds, today we first stopped by the Santa Fe Farmers Market before heading north on I-25 to see Fort Union, Las Vegas and Pecos National Monument.

The Santa Fe Farmers Market reminds me of markets in California, but with a Southwestern flair. It is located at the Railyard, which is a thriving, upscale repurposed area. It has a large outdoor market supplemented by another indoor space. Shoppers can find a cornocopia of fresh produce, goat cheese, locally raised meats, flowers, freshly baked breads, garden plants, local honey, beeswax candles, and herbs. You can even leave with an official farmers market T-shirt, tote or apron. Musicians were livening the atmosphere and tucked into a corner of the indoor area, the local NPR station was broadcasting live. I bought some fresh goat feta cheese and Bud left with a pastry in hand, then we hit the road.

Bud is fascinated by old frontier forts and as Fort Union was the largest of the forts in New Mexico, we had to drive out to explore it. Once we arrived, I agreed that it was a fascinating place to visit. The skeletal ruins of the once-bustling fort now stand like silent sentinels over the grassy plains. As we walked the grounds, thunder rumbled in the distance, reminescent of the boom of cannon or the sharp cracks of rifle fire. But there is no longer a reason to fight here. The Comanche are gone and the Santa Fe Trail is reduced to ruts in the grass.

But you can stand at the edge of the trail, where thousands of hopeful 49ers once traveled on their way to California in search of gold. You can squint your eyes and imagine the wagons laden with only the most essential household goods and supplies, arriving with great relief at the safety of Fort Union. You can also imagine the soldiers and their families living out on these plains, far from any bustling city life, wondering what might happen next. One highlight may have been a trader's wagon train passing through on its way to Santa Fe, laden with merchandise from the East. The Santa Fe Trail was first a traders route, then used by the 49ers, and finally primarily a military route. All that is left to help your imagination are the remains of adobe walls, brick fireplaces and a few wagons. But it does still remain, providing a glimpse into the past of northern New Mexico.

From there, we made a brief stop in Las Vegas - the original Las Vegas as they like to say there, which this year is celebrating 175 years since its founding. We focused on the plaza, having read that it is the largest and nicest plaza in New Mexico. It is more like a central park, with green grass and tall trees with a gazebo in the center. While we were there, boys were skateboarding in it. The plaza is surrounded by a variety of galleries, shops and the cornerstone, the Plaza Hotel. We wandered about and greatly enjoyed the lovely shop the adjoins the hotel, which was hosting a Second Saturday wine tasting while we were there. Then we went into the lobby, which is certainly characteristic of the Victorian era from which the hotel dates. We even took a peek into some guest rooms, finding them comfortable and somewhat like a guest room at your grandmother's house where she keeps some of her nice antiques. One of the rooms we saw even had a mini-fridge and a microwave.

The town is working hard to revitalize this area. I found it charming and was fascinated by the historic plaques mounted on the walls of many of the buildings that indicated its original purpose and when it was built. One we saw had a link to some dark dealings: two members of the James Gang, Robert Ford and Dick Liddell, opened a saloon here after Liddell was pardoned for shooting Jesse James in the back.

From there, we headed to Pecos National Monument as Bud wanted me to see the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo. I wanted to climb down into the reproduction of a kiva. I had seen many beautiful pictures other photographers had taken from inside the kiva and had to try my hand at it. We wandered the trail, visiting only the areas with excavated ruins as we arrived close to the time that the park would be closing. The ruins of a church is the largest building on the grounds and it was the second and smaller of the churches built in this spot, the first having been destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The second church was completed in the next century.

All the locations we visited today gave us the opportunity to learn more about the people, places, history and culture of New Mexico, from the early Pueblo Indians and the Spaniards who came to convert them to the American army who was much later charged with keeping peace on the prairie. We saw how people, past and present, strive to build a sense of community, whether it be with art on a historic plaza or with fresh produce near an old railyard.

Posted by Cheryl Fallstead

Explore! New Mexico

Thomas' Book Fascinating Look at Southwestern Indian Detours

If you’re as much history buff as I am, you’ll find The Southwestern Indian Detours, a book written by Diane Thomas and published in 1978, a historical treat. Ms. Thomas, a member of the Albuquerque Press Women with a long career writing books and magazine articles before she died in 2008, recounts the history of the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railroad in providing road tours between Las Vegas, NM, and Albuquerque in the late 1920s. The idea was to entice people to leave the trains running to and from Chicago and California to tour the mountains, canyons, pueblos, and Indian ruins in the southern Sangre de Cristo mountains. Tours took patrons to Santa Fe, Taos, and other pueblos. There were also tours based out of Winslow, AZ, to the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert. The book details what life was like for the women tour guides, called Couriers, and the drivers. It looks at the luxurious accommodations and meal services as well as the various cars and buses used. Of course, the Great Depression has its impact, but what ended the Indian Detours, as they were called, was the rise of the family automobile and improvement of highways across the country. The Indian Detours continued after World War II but had faded from their exciting first decades. Ms. Thomas’ book is truly a fascinating read, showing how people in the early part of the last century discovered and thrilled at their Southwestern experiences.

Posted by Bud Russo

Explore! New Mexico