We started the day intending to drive to Taos, NM. We had a light breakfast first at Tia Sophia's, a couple of blocks from the condo. Then we walked back to the condo and picked up the car, setting our Tom Tom navigator for Taos. Somewhere along the way, our plans changed, deciding we would stop and see the cliff dwellings. The first stop was at the Puye Cliff Dwellings south of Espanola. We were about 5 minutes late for the 10 o'clock tour, but they told us we could catch up with the group who had already climbed up to the cliff dwellings. It was too steep for me, so Dennis ran up and I went back to the visitors' center. The guide at the visitors' center said she would take me on the mesa tour, which was a drive up to the top of the plateau to look at the Anasazi ruins. So I got a private tour and was able to see the dwellings that had been partially reconstructed on the original site. About 1000 years ago, a thriving community of Anasazi indians lived on the top of the mesa during the winter, moving to the cooler cliff dwellings during the hot summers. It was beautiful on the mesa and quite windy.
The guide told us that the Bandalier National Monument had an even larger area of cliff dwellings and ruins, so we headed there next. This time we both took the 1-mile self-guided walking tour past the ruins and up to the cliff dwellings. It really was an amazing display of an ancient civilization. This is a photo of a very large kiva where the men of the tribe would gather to pray and carry out their tribal responsibilities.
What an interesting day.
When we finished the tour, we had a snack at the visitors' center and got back on the road. We drove by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and stopped at the Bradbury Science Museum to learn more about the Laboratory and the development of the atomic bomb during WWII.
Obviously, we didn't make it to Taos today. We came back to the condo to rest before dinner. Later in the evening we walked to the Pink Adobe restaurant about 5 blocks away, had dinner and then walked over to the Old Town square on our way back home. Another long day with lots of walking and my feet are sore again.
