10. Chaco Culture World Historical Site

This was my second visit to Chaco Culture. In hindsight I should not have return here at this time. The last 20 miles or so of road into the site is a bumpy and washboard dirt and gravel rod.

I found that around 40 mph reduced the amount of jarring, however, there were portions of the road where the ruts were too extreme and I had to slow down a lot. There are also two wide curves and animals (goats and cows) on the road that could be a problem if a vehicle was traveling too fast.

On my first visit, I spent a lot of time exploring all the sites on the canyon floor. The thing I would like to do someday is hike several of the trails that lead out of the canyon to other ancient ruins. No time to do that on this trip.

There must have been an astrological event occurring because one of the Park Rangers and a person in the campground were setting up large telescopes. I am not sure if they were looking at something at noon or were getting ready for a nighttime observation.

The irritating part about the road within the Site is that it is primarily a one-way loop. If you miss or by-pass a parking area because it is full, you have to complete the entire loop to return back to that location.

This wall map illustrates the problem. The one-way road on the canyon floor runs counterclockwise.


I didn’t spend any time revisiting the ruins. This photo shows one of about four large settlements that were built next to the canyon wall. Some of the most impressive structures were built in Chaco Canyon and it is a fascinating place to visit if you enjoy exploring ancient ruins.