Travelogue of US RoadTrip - Part 5 (Chaco Canyon)

Oh my goodness! I came here b/c for years I have looked at the petroglyph photographs from Danny B. at Esalen. Danny comes here every year or so in Sept and has accumulated an amazing collection of these awesome photographs from Chaco Canyon. He has spoken of this place in a mystical way and deeply appreciates his time here.

I left Gallup this morning and once again made my pilgrimage onto the roadside, over and over as I stopped and took so many photographs of the beauty of Mother Earth. So many times in and out of the car. I think of you Elliott as I do this, so free and just stopping wherever I want, totally in the moment.

They make getting into Chaco Canyon a little challenging, as any approach to Sacred territory will be. There is 20 miles of unpaved road before entering the park, so the going is slow and purposeful. This moment of challenge is critical in all mythical stories of the Hero/Heroine. Before entering the Golden Palace or the Emerald City, (the place of Communion with Spirit), the Hero/Heroine will have to persist through some difficulties and an ordeal before making their entry and contact with the Golden Vessel. This trek into Chaco canyon is well worth the challenge of the heat and difficult approach.

The Pueblo tribes(Hopi, Navajo, Zuni) have an oral tradition, and they all honor the place of Chaco Canyon as the home of their ancestors. So I carried this awareness as I walked among the ruins of their Great Houses. These buildings are mostly the original foundations now with some archaeological rebuilding. They imagine that thousands of people lived in this canyon at the time(800-1250AD) and the great houses were more the administrative and ceremonial centers for the people, some living close by and others further away. The stone work of the Great rooms is so beautiful, such small stones placed like bricks with no mortar.

The big feature here is the intense heat of the day. I found my camp spot about 2pm in the full blazing heat and came back around 5pm expecting to be in the shade....no chance. No shade till 7pm when the Sun finally dipped below the rocky outcropping. I pitched my tent and the wind was blowing and blowing and it was sooooo hot, and I was in such a bad mood! I’m telling you, between the wind and heat, I was not a happy camper. No trees here and no shade and it’s Really HOT!

The cool thing about the heat is that I don’t want to eat anything, or only fruit, so that’s a good thing.

I chilled out after sunset and hung out and talked with a New Age guy. It’s so interesting to listen to people, to hear their stories and to be present for them.

I’m so grateful for this life, and so Grateful to you Mother Earth.

Guten nacht everyone,

Thomas