We began the day by going to the Four Corners Regional Airport in Farmington to pick up the truck we rented for the drive to Chaco Canyon. The drive to Chaco is rough and at some point the pavement ends and you drive for quite some time on a “dirt” road. It’s more like sand. Four-wheel drive is a great idea. We were driving my mom's Audi which has four-wheel drive but lacked the clearance of a truck. We got a big truck. Not on purpose, that’s just what they gave us. It was huge with a full-sized extended cab. We felt safe. The ride to Chaco was uneventful. The ride back, however, included a little bit of fishtailing during a storm. Even in a rugged vehicle, that damn sand they call dirt gave us trouble.
Chaco culture began in the mid 800's and lasted over 300 years. Over 400 miles of planned and engineered roads have been identified. Construction of the great buildings, such as Un Vida, Pueblo Bonito, and Penasco Blanco, began in the late 800's and continued in stages over the next 300 years or so.
From the visitor center it's a short walk to the Una Vida ruin which is in an almost near-natural state of preservation. Little excavation has been done on this site. In fact, there are no plans to excavate further. Allowing the site to remain in its natural state helps preserve it. If you remove the sand and clear the place, it becomes vulnerable to erosion, rain, wind, etc. Besides, the Navajo, the Hopi and the Pueblos believe the place should naturally return to the earth. Una Vida looks much like it did 1,000 years ago with the exception of the parts that nature has collapsed over time.
Again, all of Chaco is sacred to the Navajo, the Hopi and the Pueblos. People still make pilgrimages to these sites so visit with respect. If you pick up the brochure, you can do the Una Vida walk as a self-guided interpretive trail. There is a short but steep hike up to some petroglyphs. A petroglyph is an image created by removing the surface of a rock by carving or pecking or abrading. Not to be confused with pictograph which identifies an image painted or drawn onto the rock surface. Look but do not touch. Chaco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as of 1982.
It's a short drive to Pueblo Bonito, the center of Chaco. Pueblo Bonito is the ruin most often used in postcards and photos and is the focus of the movie The Mystery of Chaco Canyon featuring the narration of Robert Redford. Pueblo Bonito is just huge. We only explored a small part. This whole complex is said to have been constructed and oriented in relationship to the sun and moon. The whole place is like a huge celestial clock or calendar.
Walking through the ruins I was reminded of walking through the ruins in Ostia Antica about an hour’s drive outside of Rome at the mouth of the River Tiber. Like at Ostia, you get to (in many cases) literally walk where the ancient inhabitants walked. You can see the detail in the fitting of the stones. You can see the timbers still in the construction in some places. Keep in mind that these people had no pack animals, no wheel, and the closest forest was about 40 miles away.
There are more petroglyphs to see by taking a short walk along a well-marked trail. Once we began our hike to the petroglyphs at Una Vida the weather began its split personality antics. Our coats came off and on, the wind gusted at times, the sun would either bake us or leave us completely. We had originally planned from the beginning to do a real hike, to really explore all the way out to Pueblo Bonito. But we were soon cold and damp and realized that our plans were dashed. We’ll be back. In the meantime, we can all enjoy this really cool interactive site about Chaco.
Evening primroses grow along the long road to Chaco. Above they bloom. Below they wait to bloom.
Ruins hidden in the cliffs. Look in the lower center of the above shot.
A view from Una Vida.
We hike up to see some petroglyphs at Una Vida.
Looking out over the Chacoan valley.
All of these shots are from Pueblo Bonito.
I really was intrigued by these groups of slash marks.
Love these petroglyphs. You can try clicking on the photo to enlarge it. Some web browsers will support this function. 
Sally walks along the trail.
Ancient creature carving.
I think I love petroglyphs.
Notice the lumpy snake-like figure going across from left to right. And the big, bird-like foot in the upper right. I really like the long vertical one that looks like a shesh kebab.
Here I am cold but having a good time.
Look at the intricate work to get these larger stones to fit together. 
Check out this spongy rock. The elements are in charge out here.
BACK IN FARMINGTON
Totah Theatre Productions. Not sure what goes on here but I dug the sign.
It really is a never-ending search for a good latte when one is on the road. Preferring locally owned places to anything resembling S*ar*u*ks, it's sometimes a challenge to get a good latte. But Farmington is pretty big and the night we arrived we spotted Andrea Kristina's Bokstore & Kafe and made a point go back after a long day of exploring Chaco. Coffee was great, items for sale really cool, and I scored a great t-shirt (one of ten I picked up on this trip).
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