Anniversary

My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary earlier this summer. We spent 4 days at Chimayo in northern New Mexico, one of our favorite places. We were in 1 of only 7 rooms in a hacienda that had no TV, internet, or cell phone coverage. In the evenings we walked through the court yard, read and talked with each other. Talk about pulling the plug on technology, this was the perfect gift that we could have given ourselves.
Our 1st outing took us to the El Santuario de Chimayo, a small church about a mile from the hacienda, famous as a pilgrimage destination known for it's 'healing soil'. This beautiful contemplative place set the tone for the rest of our stay.
The following day we went to the Mesa Prieta Project area (prior reservations required). Not as well known as the Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque but it is estimated to have nearly 100,000 petroglyphs from paleo times through the Spanish era (and some modern graffiti).

Mounted rider from

the Spanish era

Snake Dancer

The next day took us to Bandelier National Monument where we have backpacked since 1974.

Shrine of the Stone Lions

Bandelier back country

Although for this visit we settled for a day hike near the visitor center, walking through the cliff dwellings that were carved out of the volcanic tuff. This place has been so heavily visited that access is limited to a bus trip taken from the small community of White Rock. In 1974 we could drive our car from the mesa top down into the canyon but times have changed.

The ancient ruins of Tyuonyi

near the visitor center

A surprise hiking partner in the

Bandelier back country

Finally it was time to head home to answer emails, texts and missed phone calls. We agreed that it was more of a shock to reenter modern society than to leave it!