Day 15

Hi Y'all

3.10

Today was mostly a driving day on back roads through absolutely beautiful countryside.  I had Dirinda stop along to roadside so I could show you what we are seeing from the car.

We stopped in Aztec, NM to look at more Anasazi ruins.  When the ruins were first found they were erroneously thought to be Aztec in origin.  That has been corrected but the name of the town remains Aztec.

It is thought that these ruins are an intricate part of a very extended civilization stretching from Choco Canyon 65 miles to the South and Mesa Verde 45 miles to the north. 

We were not able to get into Chaco Canyon as it is 23 miles of rough dirt road and they were predicting snow or heavy rain in the area.  It just wasn't worth the risk.  I talked to a park ranger in Aztec and he said paving is possibly coming in the next few years.  Until then Choco Canyon is only available to the intrepid and heavy 4WD.

3.11

Tomorrow we are heading around an 80 mile loop to Durango, CO where we will take the narrow Gage train to Silverton.  On the way to Durango we will stop at Canyon of the Ancients and Mesa Verde.  So  stay tuned.

Shawn, Dirinda, Jan

3.12

3.13

3.14

3.15

3.16