1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
|
Chaco Canyon has been one of those places I've wanted to visit, but for whatever reason, I just never made it. While we were in Trinidad I noticed an interesting break in the weather in this region. For about three days the high was going to be in the high 80s to low 90s, which is just about perfect[^1]. Nice weather right when we were driving through made it a good stopping point between Santa Fe and Durango.
After a rough dirt road -- thirteen miles took about an hour in the bus if that gives you some idea -- through the vast nothingness of New Mexico desert, you hit a welcome paved road that runs the length of Chaco Canyon in a loop. Off a tributary wash to the north is a small, open campground. There is no shade anywhere, save canyon overhangs most of which were built out millennia ago and hence roped off now. Shade stolen by the past.
And you want shade here. It's hot, you can see it all around you all the time, even if it isn't hot when you're here you can see how obviously hot it gets. It wasn't bad during our time, the afternoon were best spent in the shade of the bus awning, but the effects of heat are everpresent.
Chaco is also the most tightly controlled national parkish area I've ever been in. In my experience National Parks typically have a tightly controlled area, generally around whatever the feature of the park is -- yosemite valley, Sequoia trees, the grand canyon, etc -- and then the backcountry is more or less unregulated, at least in terms of where you can go. Not enough people venture beyond the first mile of trail to bother regulating the backcountry too much. Not true here.
It's still true that no ventures beyond that first mile, but here the backcountry is regulated just like the rest. There's not even overnight camping allowed in the backcountry. It's a little bit like being a kid again (not in a good way), you have to be home by sunset.
[^1]: We've found those to be very livable temps in the bus, even without any air con. It's always a little hot around bed time, but the nights cool off quickly and we're all pulling on extra blankets before midnight.
|
