Travel: Pueblos & Canyons

Courtesy of Don Harris

• Photos

Southwest living: Taos Pueblo has been home to the Red Willow people of New Mexico for at least 1,000 years.

Courtesy of Don Harris

Sweeping vista: A number of overlooks at Canyon de Chelly, in Arizona, give visitors views of ancient ruins tucked into the canyon walls.

Courtesy of Alma Harris

Ancient shelter: Don Harris climbs to take a peak into a cave at Bandelier National Monument.

Courtesy of Don Harris

Native entrepreneur: An 83-year-old elder motions to tourists at the steps to her shop at Taos Pueblo.

N ew Mexico is the "Land of Enchantment" and Arizona is the "Grand Canyon State." The grand pueblos, sweeping vistas and ancient sites of the two states are indeed enchanting, as my husband, Don, and I discovered.

Our first stop, Taos Pueblo (a World Heritage Site), is the home of the Red Willow people who have lived in the area for at least 1,000 years. Our tour guide told us that although the Spanish forced his people to convert to Catholicism, his people have always kept their own native beliefs and practices alongside Catholic beliefs. While we were at the pueblo, at least 50 men and boys visited St. Jerome's Chapel as part of their annual 100-mile walking pilgrimage from the northern border of New Mexico.

Some of the Red Willow elders live in the old way year-round at the pueblo. When the rest of the Red Willow people return several times a year for their traditional ceremonies, each family resides in their ancient, traditional family rooms. During the summer season, the lower rooms of the North House and South House are used as tourist shops that sell everything from micaceous pottery, silver and turquoise jewelry, fry bread, and bread and cookies baked in old-style adobe ovens.

As we made our circuit around the North House, we heard, "Come up here. Come visit me."

An elder motioned us up the eight steps to her shop, where she told us that she was 83-years old and that she made the best bread and cookies in the pueblo. She claimed to be the first in the pueblo to sell bread to the tourists. She said, at first, the rest of her people were horrified that she had become a capitalist. Nonetheless, other women now bake and sell bread and cookies.

The guests and our hosts at Casa del Rio in Abiquiu, N.M., recommended Bandelier National Monument as a "must see." From Abiquiu, we drove through beautiful green valleys and up and down mountain summits, which border deep canyons and high-elevation forests. From Bandelier's visitor center, we walked the Tyuonyi Trail past the ruins of the Big Kiva and to the ruins of the village of Tyuonyi. This ancient village's pueblo had been at least two stories high, had about 400 rooms and housed 100 people.

From the village ruins, we began the climb up the canyon where we saw a natural cave that had soot from ancient fires on the ceiling. We followed the ancient footpaths carved into the rock by the footsteps of the people 600 years ago and climbed the reproduction ladders to cave rooms that had been dug out of the soft rock. Again we saw soot on the ceilings, and in one room, the remains of a loom support.

Further along the canyon walls is the Long House. According to the Bandelier Map and Guide, the Long House is "a condominium-style community that extended for 800 feet along the canyon wall. The rows of round holes are sockets where vigas (roof beams) were anchored to the cliff for support. You can see how many stories Long House had by counting the rows of viga holes."

Above the viga holes are many petroglyphs and pictographs. What is most amazing about the petroglyphs is the fact that some of the symbols are used universally. For example, the spiral petroglyph can be found at Wrangell's Petroglyph Beach.

El Morro National Monument is on the route between Santa Fe and Window Rock, Ariz. El morro means "headland" or "bluff," and this white bluff can be seen from some distance after passing Grants, N.M. El Morro has been an oasis for centuries because the July-September rains and melting snow fill a pool with as much as 200,000 gallons of water. For centuries people have carved petroglyphs, signatures, inscriptions and even a Spanish poem on Inscription rock. One petroglyph is at least 700 years old.

After reading Inscription Rock, we began our ascent of 200 feet over a trail with occasional steep drop-offs to the top of the mesa. At the top, we walked over rock that had once been at the bottom of the sea. We could see the swirls made by ancient tidal action. At the top of the mesa are the ruins of two Anasazi pueblos. When the Anasazi lived on Morro Rock, they also brought their water up from the pool at the bottom. Most of the ruins have not been excavated. Anthropologists no longer believe or claim that the Anasazi just mysteriously disappeared - the Anasazi moved to a better environment.

Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d' shay), in Arizona, is sacred to the Navajos. From our guidebooks, we received the impression that the only place in the national monument that we'd see much of was the White House Ruins because that was the only trail where visitors can hike without a guide. But we were pleasantly surprised when we learned that we could stop at a number of lookouts and see across the canyons to the ruins of ancient houses tucked into caves on the sides of the canyon walls.

From the Tsegi and Junction Overlooks, we had marvelous views of the deep canyons with green trees and river beds curving through the canyon bottoms where the Navajos plant crops on their summer farms. The green of trees and fields provided a beautiful contrast to the steep and rugged white and red canyon walls. Tucked into the canyon walls are the ruins of ancient houses.

At the White House Overlook, we grabbed the water bottle, lip balm and cameras, put on our hats and sunscreen, and started down the trail carved into rock to get a close-up view of the White House Ruins. The round-trip hike is 2.5 miles. At first, the steep trail did not bother me, until we came to narrow places - the drop off was straight down, down, down. At the second really narrow place, my foot slipped forward on some sand. I could not move. I clung to the wall. I told Don I could not continue down the trail and started back up.

At a wide place I gave him the water bottle and took the car keys. Don continued down the trail. I worried that he'd slip and fall. Fortunately, Don returned to the overlook 30 minutes before I told myself that I could expect him. He was ecstatic. He said that the White House Ruins were the highlight of the trip; the ruins were what he always imagined pueblo dwellings to be. But when I thought about the narrow ledge, my fear returned. I was not sorry I turned back. I have enjoyed Don's photos of the White House Ruins.

In Arizona and New Mexico, we found great places to sleep and discovered incredibly flavorful Southwest food. We visited museums, walked the streets of old towns, followed the trails of Billy the Kid and Georgia O'Keeffe, and learned deserts are not barren. The canyons of New Mexico and Arizona are grand and the Southwest Native American history, art, museums and pueblos are enchanting.

• Alma Harris wrote travel articles about the Georgia O'Keeffe and Billy the Kid trails in the June 10 and Aug. 5 issues of the Empire respectively. Read her stories online at www.juneauempire.com/smart_search/.