After a restless night listening to the huskies bark and howl and Mancos State Park we were headed south to New Mexico. We scaled back our New Mexico plans dramatically due to closures, but in order to complete our circle of the southwest we did pass through the northwestern corner. One area on the list that we would be near was the Bisti/Di-Na-Zin wilderness. There are at least two main trailheads into the area and because of the short days we didn’t waste any time and went to the one closest to us, which I believe is generally described as the Di-Na-Zin side of the wilderness. While the Bisti side apparently features the hoodoos the area is famous for, the Di-Na-Zin side did not disappoint and it was a great place to wander for an afternoon.
The area had vast badlands reminiscent of the Painted Hills of Oregon but also had a surprise we did not expect, lots of petrified wood.
I suppose one benefit of just doing rudimentary research is that there are bound to be some pleasant surprises. We wandered the area until the sun started reaching for the horizon.
We returned the way we came, and made it to camp in the Angel Peak area just in time to enjoy the sunset.
The next morning found us on the road to Chaco Culture National Historical Park. All the other Puebloan sites we had seen along the way in the past two weeks seemed to come to a crescendo at Chaco. I knew it was a significant site, and had been reading about it and other sites we visited in the Puebloan Ruins of the Southwest by Rohn and Ferguson, but being up close in person brings some definite awe. It is hard to describe the massive size of the structures here, or their intricate design.
Time, the elements, and even a massive rock fall back in 1941 has eroded some of the structures, but what remains is simply amazing. We saw as many sites as we could see in the daylight we had. We were followed at every turn by blackie, the massive raven, who was watching our every move upon our arrival.
On our way out of the park we ran across a herd of elk. It seems like an odd spot for elk, and I was doubtful at the road sign warning to watch for elk as we had entered the park, but there they were.
We headed south for Route 66 / I-40 which would whisk us into Arizona tomorrow, but first we found a side canyon in the Cibola National Forest to watch the sunset and spend one more quiet night in New Mexico.
