Day trip: Bandelier National Monument, NM

About 2 hrs. north of Albuquerque is Bandelier National Monument, just outside Los Alamos, the atomic city.

Evidence of migration and seasonal occupation in the National Monument dates back to about 10,000 years.  Those who eventually settled the canyon are known as the Ancestral Pueblo people.  This is canyon and mesa country, where deep canyons, such as the Frijoles Canyon, are carved into the Pajarito Plateau.  The plateau was formed from two gigantic eruptions, covering 400 sq miles with ash as deep as 1,000 feet.  Jemez volcano blew about a million years ago forming the Valles Caldera, one of the smaller super volcanos.

Click on images for larger view:

Above: Don Messec looking down into Frijoles Canyon.  The road down into the canyon points first at the visitor center, then the trail from there goes to the large kiva and then the foundations of Tyuonyi Pueblo.

Wider view of the overlook.  In the large image the backcountry trail can be seen switching back as it goes deeper into the canyon exiting the right frame.

LS of the ruins from lookout point.

The Frey trail from the campground down to canyon floor.

Click on for larger image, and see the ladders climbing up to Alcove House cliff dwelling.

Note the compressed white ash.

The upper Frijoles Canyon, the section with ruins is to my back.  The monument has 70 miles of trail, if you decide to come check website for trail damage, as a flash flood damaged or destroyed many of the routes.

~tim