Bandelier in Autumn! It's beautiful! The main attraction here is the canyon site of a Pueblo cliff village, complete with cliff-side caves you can climb into, ruins of stone structures (including a huge meeting place that is a stone-lined circular hole in the ground!), and a replica of the houses that were built against the cliffs. Alcove House is a huge cave 140 feet above the canyon, which is only accessible by a combination of stone steps and four steep (really steep!) ladders. Coming down the ladders was harder than going up! There are also many short (under 5 mile) hikes that we've been doing, which take you to the top and around mesas, down into canyons, near a waterfall, and into a flat plain caldera (volcano) where elk herds roam (we didn't see any elk, unfortunately!).
 |
| The days have been gorgeous! |
 |
| The steep Falls Trail to the upper falls - the trail beyond the falls was washed away in a flood in 2011 |
 |
| Upper Falls (80-foot drop) outlook. The sign at top left actually says "Danger - Do Not Throw Rocks" |
 |
| A far shot of Upper Falls |
 |
| This is the end of the trail down into the Valles Grande caldera |
 |
| Pine cones, one group of about 20 groups of cones knocked down onto the trail by a squirrel. The squirrel screeched at us, protecting his hoard, until we passed by. |
 |
| Ticked-off squirrel |
Today we hiked the Frijolito Loop Trail, that went up the far side of Frijolito Canyon (where the main Pueblo Village hikes are) and to a mesa where there is an unexcavated village. There we found dozens of pottery shards (dating back 700 years, according to the Park Ranger), three intact obsidian arrowheads, and three tarantulas!
 |
| An arrowhead in Darell's hand |
 |
| Pottery shard |
 |
| Another pottery shard |
 |
| Yet one more pottery shard |
 |
| These critters move quickly! |
 |
| Tarantulas are really shy - this one tried to hide down this hole |
 |
| From the Frijolito trail, you can see across the canyon, into the Alcove House - see the eeny-weeny people climbing up one of the steep ladders into the cave? |
And now some random flora and fauna, Bandelier-style:
 |
| Huge bee's bum in a hollyhock at the Bandelier Visitor's Center |
 |
| Scarlet Penstemon blooming near the Frijolito Creek |
 |
| A very tiny brown butterfly |
 |
| A single bell-shaped flower in the Valles Grande caldera plains |
 |
| A weed |
 |
| Same weed, different angle |
 |
| Not the same bee - taken a day later at the Visitor's Center. Okay, I guess it COULD be the same bee. |
 |
| Butterfly taking off from the flower, the micro-second that I snapped this shot |
No comments:
Post a Comment