La Ventana de Oro   Pueblo Bonita    Chaco Canyon     click to enlarge

Chaco, is one of the magic places on this earth where you can go and commune with the past. This is a place where you can actually feel the lives that were lived here ages ago. You see where they worked, slept, ate, where they prayed to their gods and where they celebrated their lives.

Interior  Pueblo Bonita Chaco Canyon                         click to enlarge

As you walk through their dwellings you can almost see their shadows on the walls as they went about their daily business. These are large rooms and given how the people were few in number, they must have been hugely important to them to expend the time and effort building them.

Large Kiva Pueblo Bonita  Chaco Canyon                     click to enlarge

Their places of worship are now exposed even if their ceremonies are still hidden in history. What did their ceremonies look like? How were they dressed, was there music or singing? Were the ceremonies anything like the ones still held by their descendants? What questions would ask if you could travel back to this place when it was at the height of its glory?

Pueblo Bonita and Kiva  Chaco Canyon                           click to enlarge

This structure, Pueblo Bonita, sits against the towering backdrop of the redstone cliffs. There are several kivas in front, and one can’t help but wonder, were they for different ceremonies, different times of the year, or even for different sects, the story is still unclear.

Cottontail Chaco Canyon                                                  click to enlarge

Much has changed since this place was occupied by the original builders, but some things are still the same. Their wildlife is a lot like ours with the exception of their rabbits who apparently have ears that glow in the dark. The reason for this is unclear, it might be to help them see where they’re going at night or to signal other rabbits that something’s amiss or it may be a response to approaching a particularly powerful spot, for Chaco is one if the power centers. If you are one if the skeptical ones, go there, feel it yourself. We’re not saying it will make your ears glow in the dark but this place will change you.