Angel Peak campsite (hiding from the wind)

Breakfast at AP

The intrepid travelers

First campsite at Chaco campground

Checking in with the rangers

A walk to Casa Rinconada

Casa Rinconada

The trails, some lead to the mesa top

Great Kiva @ Casa Rinconada. The largest in Chaco with an average diameter of 63’ & one of the largest in the Southwest

Rinconada Great Kiva . Adjacent north room had 6 anterooms connected via a 3’deep 3’ wide by 39’ underground passage

Casa Rinconada structure. The masonry is exquisite

Looking into Great Kiva from the north. The

Raven checks us out

The largest great house in Chaco

The walls of many great houses are aligned to the cardinal points

Original stricture was built with a solstitial orientation but changed after 1085 when a north/south split the main plaza. Why??

More great masonry

An overview where rockfall destroyed a back wall

From behind & above the rockfall looking to the main plaza and a few of the 40 round kivas

 A wider look showing the north south main plaza wall on the far right

Some of the many 650 rooms

Bracing the north wall

Logs used in construction were brought from 50 miles away

At  its zenith the rear portion Pueblo Bonito was 4 and 5 stories tall, as much for spectacle as for any other purpose

Inside walls and upper windows getting smaller with height

Remnants of the wood beams to support ceilings

Corner windows and door positioned to look southeast toward where the sun of the winter solstice would rise

We crawled through the doorways to exit the interior

High walls and corner windows

A view of Pueblo del Arroyo from Bonito

Angel Peak campsite (hiding from the wind)

Breakfast at AP

Chaco Entrance

The intrepid travelers

First campsite at Chaco campground

Checking in with the rangers

A walk to Casa Rinconada

Casa Rinconada

The trails, some lead to the mesa top

Great Kiva @ Casa Rinconada. The largest in Chaco with an average diameter of 63’ & one of the largest in the Southwest

Rinconada Great Kiva . Adjacent north room had 6 anterooms connected via a 3’deep 3’ wide by 39’ underground passage

Casa Rinconada structure. The masonry is exquisite

Looking into Great Kiva from the north. The

Raven checks us out

The largest great house in Chaco

The walls of many great houses are aligned to the cardinal points

Original stricture was built with a solstitial orientation but changed after 1085 when a north/south split the main plaza. Why??

More great masonry

An overview where rockfall destroyed a back wall

From behind & above the rockfall looking to the main plaza and a few of the 40 round kivas

 A wider look showing the north south main plaza wall on the far right

Some of the many 650 rooms

Bracing the north wall

Logs used in construction were brought from 50 miles away

At  its zenith the rear portion Pueblo Bonito was 4 and 5 stories tall, as much for spectacle as for any other purpose

Inside walls and upper windows getting smaller with height

Remnants of the wood beams to support ceilings

Corner windows and door positioned to look southeast toward where the sun of the winter solstice would rise

We crawled through the doorways to exit the interior

A view of Pueblo del Arroyo from Bonito