Wind Cave National Park, Black Hills, South Dakota. 29 Nov 2008.
Brian in-front of the only natural entrance to Wind Cave.
Wind Cave National Park. Brian sticking his head into the cave's entrance. Only a slight breeze into the cave today.
Wind Cave National Park. The National Park above-ground, where the Elk and the Bison play.
Wind Cave National Park. 95% of the world's known 'Boxwork' (this cave formation) is located in Wind Cave.
Wind Cave National Park. More 'Boxwork'.
Wind Cave National Park. Wind Cave is (at the moment) the 4th largest cave in the world. Explorations continue.
Wind Cave National Park. A formation called 'Cave Popcorn'.
Wind Cave National Park. More 'Cave Popcorn'.
Wind Cave National Park. More 'Cave Popcorn'. With a single touch this formation would crumble and fall off the cave wall.
Wind Cave National Park. A close-up of 'Cave Popcorn'.
Wind Cave National Park. The Mule Deer in the Park found the only salt-coated car in the parking lot!!
Wind Cave National Park. A closer look at the Mule Deer lick marks.
Wind Cave National Park. Deer tongue prints.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south-central Colorado. Just driving past, we'll come back to them in a few days.
A fork in the road. 1 Dec 2008.
Hills outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. 2 Dec 2008.
Outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Bandelier National Monument, through the gates of the National Laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Bandelier National Monument's visitor center.
Bandelier National Monument.
Bandelier National Monument. Eliza and Nathan.
Bandelier National Monument. Eliza and Brian. (It's like 45 degrees out!!)
Bandelier National Monument. The groove worn into the the tuff (hardend volcanic ash) by centuries of feet.
Bandelier National Monument. The traditional way to move from one level to the next.
Bandelier National Monument. Flying swan.
Bandelier National Monument. The remains of a dwelling - a carved out room with holes below where the poles were placed.
Bandelier National Monument. Looking out across the valley where the corn was grown in wetter times.
Bandelier National Monument. The highway to Los Alamos on the right. The valley floor on the left.
Bandelier National Monument. The highway on the valley floor is dwarfed by the colored pallisades illuminated by the setting sun.
Bandelier National Monument. An un-excavated ruin on the trail.
Bandelier National Monument. Searching for pottery sherds in the failing light.
Bandelier National Monument. Some of the pottery sherds we picked up on the edge of the trail. WE TOOK NONE.
Bandelier National Monument. Others have found sherds before and left for everyone to see.
Bandelier National Monument. The main canyon at Bandelier.
Bandelier National Monument. The warning sign before the climb to Alcove House.
Bandelier National Monument. An artist's rendition of what Alcove House looked like, based on archeologist's finds. Located 140 ft above the canyon floor.
Looking up at the alcove in the cayon wall. The ladders are the only access.
Bandelier National Monument. Beginning the climb up to Alcove House.
Bandelier National Monument. The re-built kiva in Alcove House with the canyon below.
Bandelier National Monument. Some carved rooms (with ceiling beam holes) remain in Alcove House.
Bandelier National Monument. A better look at the re-built kiva.
The path that runs along the bottom of the valley. The trees show signs of charring from a recent fire.
Bandelier National Monument. More of the path.
Bandelier National Monument. The stream that runs along the bottom of the canyon.
Bandelier National Monument. More of the stream that runs along the bottom of the canyon.
Bandelier National Monument. The cliff wall where it meets the canyon floor.
Bandelier National Monument. Another warning.
Bandelier National Monument. A very cool cactus called Chollo (hope I got the name right).
Bandelier National Monument. A re-built room in the cayon wall.
Bandelier National Monument. Brian perched inside a re-built room in the canyon wall.
Bandelier National Monument. The remains of a pueblo on the canyon floor. There would have been 3 or 4 stories of rooms. Three kivas are located in the central plaza.
Bandelier National Monument. Another warning sign... though the bats migrated south in November.
Bandelier National Monument. Long House Cave, where the bats reside in the warm months.
Bandelier National Monument. The sign that explains the bats... Mexican Free-tailed bats.
Bandelier National Monument. A preserved bit of inside-wall painting that would have been located on a back wall.
Bandelier National Monument. The ruins along the canyon wall of Long House. 4 or 5 rooms built out from the wall, 3 rooms high.
Bandelier National Monument. A closer look at the ruins of the rooms.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Caynon, northwestern New Mexico. 3 Dec 2008.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. A walking trail from the campground to Wijiji.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Fajita Butte.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Sunset in Chaco Canyon.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Three pictures of the signs at Chaco's campground.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Campsite #27, with a ruined house against the canyon wall in the background.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Frost on the windshield the next morning, after a nighttime low temperature of 15 degrees F. 4 Dec 2008.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Wijiji's remaining walls.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Wijiji's remaining walls with a doorway.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Bonito.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Bonito. A door in the wall.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Bonito. A floor ran between the two doors, but the wood has not survived the centuries.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Bonito. The size of the doorways in these pueblos. A floor is marked by the large timbers on the left, and the small wood on the right.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Bonito. Peaking through a first floor passage way.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo del Arroyo.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo del Arroyo. Not all of this pueblo has been excavated, the buried section remains unweathered.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo del Arroyo. The first floor is mostly buried in sand, the second floor (with the door) is fully exposed.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Chetro Ketl. A look down as we climb a path up the canyon wall.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Pueblo Alto. Up on top of the canyon wall, quite a climb/walk to get to. Completely unexcavated.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park. New Pueblo Alto. Up on top of the canyon wall, quite a climb/walk to get to. Completely unexcavated.
Mesa Verde National Park, outside Cortez, Colorado. 5 Dec 2008. (not my picture)
Mesa Verde National Park. One of the Valley's on the edge of Mesa Verde.
Mesa Verde National Park. One of the signs explaining the ruins.
Mesa Verde National Park. The remains of a kiva.
Mesa Verde National Park. An excavated pit house.
Mesa Verde National Park. Square Tower Village built into the cliff wall across the canyon.
Mesa Verde National Park. A closer look at the four-story tall tower at Square Tower House.
Mesa Verde National Park. A sign explaining how and when the Ancient Pueblo People (Anasazi) lived in alcoves.
Mesa Verde National Park. One of the Houses built in an alcove.
Mesa Verde National Park. Another one of the Houses built in an alcove.
Mesa Verde National Park. Another House built in an alcove.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village, we were able to attend a guided tour into an alcove house.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. An archeologist was working in one of the rooms during our visit.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. The blackened roof of the village was from communal fires in the back plaza.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. Our Ranger guide explains.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. The grinding stones were uncovered.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. A question/answer session.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. Looking across the alcove.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. Can't go back into the village or back plaza, but the alcove is about 80 feet deep.
Mesa Verde National Park. Spruce Tree House Village. Brian posing in-front of Spruce Tree House village across the canyon.
Mesa Verde National Park. Leaving as the sunsets.
Driving east on US 160 from Mesa Verde to Durango, CO. La Plata Mountains (a subrange of the San Juan Mts.) ahead. 6 Dec 2008.
Approaching the Continental Divide on US 160 from west.
The Continental Divide looming ever larger on US 160.
US 160. Approaching Wolf Creek Pass (10,857 ft amsl) in the San Juan Mountains.
US 160. Approaching Wolf Creek Pass in the San Juan Mountains.
US 160. A tunnel as we approach Wolf Creek Pass in the San Juan Mountains.
US 160. The top!!! Wolf Creek Pass (10,857 ft amsl) in the San Juan Mountains. Luckily a nice day :)
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Driving towards Park from Alamosa, CO.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve, outside Alamosa, CO.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve, located at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. A Ponderosa Pine in the foreground.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Finding a campsite that isn't completely covered in snow... challenging.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Campsite # 6 was the best we could do.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Campsite # 6 is sheltered by some Pinon Pine, so had snow-free gravel. A warmer night at Sand Dune (25 degrees low temp) than at Chaco (15 and 12 degree low temps).
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. The sand dunes are easily visible from the campground.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Looking out from our campsite.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Another view from the campground.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. From the parking lot at Medano Creek (the dry and snow covered ground) looking up at the dunes.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. A look at the dunes with a person walking across the creek for size reference.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Yep, had to climb the dunes! Medano Creek is the white in the background.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Our trek up to the highest dune. Where are the camels???
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Star Dune... the highest sand dune in North America at 750 feet above base level (Medano Creek). Looking at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. The sand dunes cover 30 sq miles.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. From Star Dune looking across the other dunes.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. It took us 45 minutes to hike to Star Dune, a lot quicker going down!!
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. From Star Dune looking down into the valley. The sand can reach 140 degrees in the hot summer sun. We didn't have that problem.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Some guys were 'snow boarding' down Star Dune. They were leaving as we approached. The visitor center is in the green trees beyond their heads.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Looking towards the campground from the top of Star Dune. It's in the center of the picture in the green at the base of the hills.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. We saw cougar prints, and had several Mule Deer outside our tent the next morning. Bong! Bong! Bong!
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. A last look at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Star Dune.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. I added this picture to better show size. That is a parking lot with cars/trucks above the heads of the snowboarders. The visitor center is in the clump of trees above the parking lot.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Standing on Medano Creek looking back at Star Dune.
Great Sand Dune National Park and Preserve. Looking up at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Medano Creek.
