Bandelier

I drive down to Bendelier National Monument, not really sure what I am looking for. It’s just a big green spot on the map. I stop for a workout on my way down there, I pull a weird muscle in my leg in the process. I show up to the park tired, sore, and walking funky. A sure recipe for success.

 

I talk to the rangers, they tell me about the ancient indians who lived here, and recommend that I go do the ‘main loop’ trail. So I do.

 

What I see is some old indian housing:

 

 

 

And while this is all cool, old human things really don’t do much for me. To boot, after the 1.2 mile loop, I was still in a mood for hiking. So I took the ‘falls trail’ down the creek. A 5 mile round trip form the visitor center down to the Rio Grande. It was awesome.

 

Hiking through layers of dirt:

 

 

And vegetation that makes you forget you are at 7000 ft elevation:

 

The falls were pretty too:

 

The rio was the rio. No pictures taken. Instead I soaked up the sun on the hike back out, ate some leftover quinoa, and headed out towards Santa Fe.