Trip South - White Rock, NM to Benson, AZ

Next stop is Albuquerque, NM to visit friends from Desert Trails in Tucson.  Everything was full so we stay at a Boondockers Welcome spot, it's a full house.

They have a beautiful oasis garden we are free to use

 We are just here for 2 nights, our main purpose is visiting our friends Nate and Jeanne

We have a nice lunch and visit,

Tucson enjoyed the backyard "grass"

Time to move on - next stop Deming, NM

We find out where a lot of the shipping containers are.  This train was a couple miles long.

A rest stop at the Rio Salad0 Sand Dunes

We pass through the funky town of Hatch, NM - renowned for their green chiles

and we make it to Deming to the Escapee Park for the night.

We head out the next day towards Benson, AZ.  For some reason the highway department wants Gary to know that exit 15 is only 1 mile away.

Fortunately no dust storms today

and we make it to Arizona!

Past Texas Canyon - watch out for Indians

and we make it to the Escapee Park in Benson, AZ

We get a great spot

and right across from the Rec Hall and Laundry.  

Will be here a week until our reservation in Tucson starts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trip South - Bandelier part 2

 

We find out there is a 2nd Section of Bandelier - Tsankawi - just down the road from the Visitor's Center so we check it out before leaving.

It is easy to drive by as it looks like just a trailhead. 

We come to an interesting rock formation.  The trail at Tsankawi includes narrow trenches and ladders.

Around the corner is our first ladder

Gary makes it up

Quite a view

Let's see where it leads us

It follows the ridge

 

 

Looks like they were a peaceful people

I think we missed a turn somewhere

 

We finally find ladder no. 2

I spot a sign to the left and check it out.  looks like we had lost the trail at sometime, will remember to go back this way!

 

We take it to the next level

An even better view

Finally a level smooth trail

I spot my first pottery shard

And then more

 

I follow the trail a bit further and follow the trail sign

The trail gets a bit narrow

And there is a 3rd ladder

We decide to go back the way we came as it is easier and we need to move on to Albuquerque

We.spot more pottey

And some Pueblo ruins

What is left if the Village of Tsankawi, built in the 1400s A.D. by ancient Pueblo Indians sometimes known as the Anasazi.

 

We go back down ladder 2 and follow the trail we missed.  Don't know how that happened.   The trails have been worn into the rock 8 to 24 inches or more as the people traveled from the mesa tops to their farms in the canyons below

Then back down ladder 1

What a great hike!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trip South - Bandolier National Monument

We were here 3 years ago, but it's  one of those places worth seeing again

Apparently others think so too.

 

It's amazing these are as well preserved as they are

  

The natural rock is a work of art inand of itself

I had forgotten about all the stairs

You can still climb into some of the cliff dwellings

Some remind me ghosts or creatures

This one doesn't look very scary, think I'll check it out.

 

 

Made it!

 

Colors are beautiful

The longhouse

 

 

Maybe a house number?

  

 

 Some Turkey feet carved into wall

 

 Colors are beautiful!

 

 

On our way out we stop at the fire tower

 

 On our way home we stop at the White Rock Overlook

 

 What a view!

 

The Rio Grande River even has water in it here!

 

 Tomorrow we move on.