Day 8—Cuba, New Mexico to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Today was the day I have been looking forward to for a while! I have wanted to go to Chaco Canyon since I volunteered in Texas, so finally it was here. We left late-ish, but it was only 50 miles up the road, then 21 miles (13 on a dirt road) into the canyon. And we arrived safely and by 1:30 thanks to Devin’s amazing driving! Now we only have to get out again tomorrow ;)

We set up camp and then headed out to explore the ruins. The Hopi people built these “Great Houses” that included lots of rooms, kivas (ceremonial buildings), storage facilities, and other cool structures like massive roads. We first went to Pueblo Bonito, the largest in the canyon and spent lots of time taking pictures and walking through the little rooms. Some of the rooms had 3 stories, and you can still see some of the posts where the floors were. The masonry was amazing, with lots of little stones making walls 3 feet thick and up to 3 storeys high!

We then went to explore other ruins, and took a hike up (way up!) to the overlook, where we could see a bunch of the canyon ruins and Pueblo Bonito really well. It was quite spectacular! Coming back down with the wind and the rock scrambling was a bit slow, but totally worth it! We are staying right in the canyon, next to the cliff walls and hope to wake up for the sunrise tomorrow. It was hot when we got here, but since we are above 6,500 feet, it will be cold tonight. We are already wearing our sweaters, and the breeze is chilly. All in all, it was a great day, and it was nice to spend most of it off the bike!

-Lauren

91 km today