June 29, 2013

JUNE 26 & 27, 2013  AZTEC NATIONAL MONUMENT & AZTEC ARCHES

We wanted to take in the Aztec ruins as they have been the best preserved of the many ruins in New Mexico.  These ruins were not made by the Aztec people of Mexico but by the Pueblo people who inhabited the area between 830 and 1130AD.  In fact, it the ruins that was responsible for the name of the town.  Early settlers thought the ruins were made by the Aztec’s and named the town after them.
 

We started our tour of the ruins with a short film on the Pueblo People and the ruins.  It gave us much greater perspective when we were walking the grounds.  The area is not that large as only a small portion of the village was excavated.






























One of the more interesting aspects of the ruins was the recreated great Kiva.  The Kiva was the central and most important feature of the village.  It held ceremonial services’, it was the meeting place for the leaders as well as a community centre.  This structure and the rest of the village was quite a feat at the time.  The tools were very simple and the supplies (rocks and timber) were gathered and carried here from 20 – 50 miles away. 



























The Pueblo people left this area around n the late 1200’s and nobody knows for sure why they left.  It could have been drought or religious or political issues.  Apparently they moved south into the better watered Rio Grande area and west into Arizona where their descendants live today. However, this site is not forgotten.  Many southwest tribes, descendants of the ancestral Pueblo people of Aztec, maintain cultural and spiritual ties to this site.

It was a nice visit.
 
AZTEC ARCHES
In the area surrounding Aztec there are 220 Sandstone Arches.  The Arches are located in small canyons within driving distance of the town.  We had time after visiting the ruins to try and find two of them.  The first and largest arch in the area is simply called Arch Rock. 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The second arch was in Cox Canyon and involved some hiking.  Not a good idea as it was 102 outside but we went anyways.  Idiots.  This arch is considered the most spectacular arch in the Aztec area mainly due to its 125 foot vertical rise.  
You Have to look really close, it is there
 We had some trouble finding the trail as there were no signs.  The directions read park at the base of the cliff and hike north.  At dead end, look for steps on the left.  Their definition and my definition of steps are not quite in tune. 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
We navigated the steps and carried on until we came to a part of the climb that proved to be just too much.  I got to the second level and was able to get a closer look at the arches but that was it. 

The path is where??????

You have to be kidding me.!!!!!!

I'm getting too old for this crap.

Do You where you are going?????



The End, in more ways than one!!!!

Last look at The Arch


We headed back down and took some time to take a few pictures of the different shapes and looks.
 




By now the heat was starting to get to us, nothing to do with the climbing, and decided to head back.  Tomorrow we tackle the badlands.
 

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