Located in a remote canyon in Northwestern New Mexico lies one of America's greatest archaeological treasures. Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves the remains of the Ancestral Puebloan civilization that thrived here from 850 to 1250 AD. The parks 34,000 acres are strewn with the ruins of the Puebloans €Great Houses€, large stone dwellings up to four stories high and having as many as 1,000 rooms. Chaco was the hub of a civilization and trade network that ran north into the Rockies, south into Mexico, and west to the Pacific coast.

You'll wonder as you approach Chaco Canyon how a civilization that numbered in the thousands could have thrived in this stark, desolate place. The park is only accessed by rough dirt roads of 20 miles or more on the north and south. As you drive into the canyon you can't help but feel that your driving back into the past. It's a haunting feeling as you hike among the ruins, you sense the presence of the Ancestral Puebloans as you view the ruins they left behind almost 800 years ago.

If there were no ruins the canyon would be impressive enough, when you add in these dwellings which have stood for nearly a 1,000 years you have one of the most magical places in North America. The Chacoans using the most advanced masonary techniques of their time constructed these incredibly durable dwellings. That they could survive let alone thrive in this dry, desolate area is a testament to their determination as well as their ingenuity. Their dry farming method was so successful that at any given time the canyon was home to 5-6,000 people. The Chacoans would haul Ponderosa Pines many miles from the mountains to the north to use in construction of the pueblos. They also quarried the sandstone that you'll see all around you, shaping it to build the walls of the €Great Houses€.

Hiking in the canyon or up onto the Mesa's that surround it is a walk of reverance as every step reveals a different view, a potsherd, a petroglyph. There are at least 15 major sites located within the park, Pueblo Bonito with 1,000 rooms being the best known. The park also has an impressive amount of wildlife from Rattlesnakes to Bobcats, as well as a herd of about 60 Elk. The canyon is a high desert terrain at about 6,200 feet above sea level. It can be most impressive when hiking on Pueblo Alto Mesa and watching storm clouds start to move in, they threaten but seldom rain.

Chaco Canyon along with Mesa Verde are the centerpieces of are €Circle of the Ancients€ tour. If you have a love of archaeology, Native American culture, of beautiful landscapes, and of adventure this is the tour for you. It will take you on the journey of the Ancestral Puebloans as they shifted their civilizations from Mesa Verde to Chaco, and the other assorted sites in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Though they faced many hardships these people didn't disappear, they live on today as the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico and the Hopi of Arizona. They still possess the same traits of durability and ingenuity that their ancestors displayed so long ago.