Canyon Country Guide to Anasazi Indian Ruins in Arizona/New Mexico
One of the most popular and fascinating features of the Southwest’s Canyon Country is the remains of the prehistoric Anasazi Indian civilization. The Anasazi thrived in the region for nearly 1,000 years leaving evidence of their extraordinary masonry talents everywhere. The zenith of the Anasazi culture was reached in Chaco Canyon… More…
El Morro National Monument, New Mexico – Inscription Rock and a Look at Atsinna Pueblo
People had been carving messages on Inscription Rock in western New Mexico for centuries before Don Juan de Onate came along. De Onate, the first Spanish Conquistador to organize a colony in New Mexico, has the distinction of carving the first translatable and dated message. More…
Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico – The Fabled Sky City
In the remote high desert of New Mexico, Acoma Pueblo sits 400 feet above the desert floor on an isolated mesa as it has done for nearly nine centuries. Aptly nicknamed the “Sky City”, Acoma is considered by its residents to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in America. More…
Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico – Rio Grande Anasazi Ruins
It is a common misconception that the Anasazi of the Four Corners region mysteriously “up and disappeared” at the end of the 13th century. While it is somewhat of a mystery why these people completely abandoned the region almost simultaneously, it is fairly clear that a mass migration occurred. More…
New Mexico – Canyonlands & Four Corners Travel Guide
The New Mexico Section of the Canyonlands & Four Corners Travel Guide covers the famous Ancestral Puebloan – Anasazi – sites at Chaco Culture National Historic Park (Chaco Canyon) and Aztec Ruins National Monument. Ancient and contemporary culture come together at Acoma Pueblo and its Sky City. Also covered are Inscription Rock at El Morro National Monument… More…
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico – Exquisite Lower Cave
The casual visitor to Carlsbad Caverns can experience many of the cave’s greatest wonders on comfortable, paved, well-lit trails: the Big Room, the natural entrance, the bat flights, the King’s and Queen’s Palaces, etc. For the more adventurous, the Park Service offers several ranger led, “off-trail” tours. One such tour is to the magnificent Lower Cave. More…
The Big Room – Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns contains some of the west’s most beautiful and unusual natural wonders. You may take an elevator directly to the bottom and tour the world famous Big Room, or hike the steep but spectacular one-mile paved trail from the cave’s natural entrance. More…
Trinity Site, New Mexico – World’s First Atomic Bomb
On July 16, 1945, the world was ushered into the atomic age with a blinding flash. At 5:30 a.m. that day, the first atomic bomb was detonated at a site called Trinity, about 50 miles southeast of Socorro, New Mexico. All life on earth has been touched by the event which took place here. More…
Gila National Forest, New Mexico
In a remote area of southwestern New Mexico, the Gila National Forest offers visitors a little bit of everything. It encompasses the Gila Wilderness shown left towering above the adjacent road. The Gila was championed by the famed naturalist, Aldo Leopold, and became America’s first designated wilderness area in 1924. More…