BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT New Mexico
photos June 1970	clockwise from top left: view of Pajarito Plateau with Tyuonyi ruin in foreground; ancient carving of pair of stone lions, skinny-dipping in Frijoles Creek; upper Frijoles Fall
established 1916 administered by National Park Service	Bandelier National Monument is named after Adolph Bandelier, a Swiss-born historian who first brought national attention to the ruin on the Pajarito Plateau. The huge circular Tyuonyi ruin once stood three stories high and had 400 rooms. It, and many other ruins in the Monument, were occupied by the Anasazis from 1200-1550 AD. My visit was on a two very hot days in mid-summer 1970, and I took two long hikes. First, a 12-mile hike to the Shrine of the Stone Lions — a pair of crouching mountain lions carved in stone that still show amazing detail. Then a shorter 6-mile roundtrip to Upper Frijoles Falls. Ninety percent of Bandelier is background wilderness, which I had basically to myself. An afternoon dip in Frijoles Creek was very refreshing....

CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK New Mexico
photos June 1970	clockwise from top left: Pueblo Bonito ruin; my campsite [1970; note small ruin directly behind the site]; Pueblo del Arroyo ruin; ranger talk in great kiva in Casa Rinconda ruin
established as Chaco Canyon Nat'l Monument 1907 redesignated as Nat'l Historic Park 1980 administered by National Park Service	When I visited Chaco in 1970, it was a remote National Monument reach only by miles of dirt road (see the long, flat dirt road to the left of the sign). I have not returned since it became a National Historical Park, but the guidebooks state that it still remote. The park preserves numerous ruins of the Chaco Anasazi, an ancestral Pueblo culture that flourished from the 9th to 12th centuries A.D. There are 18 major ruins and numerous small ones (including the one directly behind my campsite). National Geographic excavations revealed that Pueblo Bonito, for example, may have been 4 or 5 stories high with 800 rooms housing 1200 people. Today the land is exceptionally dry and dusty; it is possible that some of this climate change was due to deforestation by the Chaco people.

EL MALPAIS NATIONAL MONUMENT New Mexico
photos April 2004	clockwise from top left: old lava flow dusted with snow, Continental Divide in snowstorm, snow on juniper [detail]
established 1987 administered jointly by National Park Service & Bureau of Land Management	El Malpais means "badlands" in Spanish; it is a sprawling stretch of old lava flows, cinder cones, coniferous covered ridges on the Continental Divide, and mesas in west-central New Mexico. Our visit to this new National Monument was comparatively short, given that an unexpected snow storm caught us unprepared. In portions we didn't reach are a natural bridge, complex lava tube systems, and cultural sites.

EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT New Mexico
photos June 1970, Apr 2004	clockwise from top left: EL Morro Rock in summer; box canyon at rear of Morro Rock [in black-and-white]; inscription of Ramon Garcia Jarado, 25 June 1709; El Morro Rock with snow
established 1906 administered by National Park Service	This massive sandstone mesa was a landmark to early explorers in the southwest, and they used it transcribe their passage while watering their horses at pools near the Rock's base. Transcription Rock has petroglyphs dated back to the Anasazis of the 11th century. Earliest European inscriptions date back to Don Juan de Onate in 1605. In 1906 the National Monument was established and inscriptions prohibited, allowing us to read centuries-old writings that are still well preserved. The back of the bluff is an unexpected box canyon.

WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT New Mexico
photos June 1970	clockwise from top left: running in the gypsum, extensive white dunes with footsteps, yucca in the sun against storm approaching
established 1933 administered by National Park Service	White Sands National Monument has the world's largest gypsum dunes. Gypsum is a lot softer and finer than sand and running through the dunes is like running through baby powder — it is an unworldly sensation. Although I was just 18 years old when I visited, I still remember that texture. An afternoon storm produced some spectacular clouds, as well, with the sands glinting against yucca and distant purple mountains.

More National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields and Historic Sites are arranged geographically by these links:

PHOTOS: All photos on this page are © 2004 Don Roberson; all rights reserved.

TOP