Chaco Canyon was the hub of Anasazi / Ancestral Puebloan civilization,
at its height around 1300A.D.

In winter, Chaco Canyon rangers are relaxed about collecting the entrance fee. But they will ticket your car if they don't see a fee receipt on your dash or rear-view mirror. Besides paying the fee at the visitor's center, you may also pick up a backcountry permit to scramble up the sandstone scree and hike any of the back-country trails.

The Pueblo Alto trail provides great views of the canyon. It leads up to the north mesa behind Pueblo Bonito, and eventually to Pueblo Alto, a remote settlement or outlier to the pueblos in the canyon. No matter how many times you see Chaco, the weather and the skies are different. In December of 1998, I was too late in the day to go very far, so I contented myself with shots of the small Kin Kletso ruin at the trailhead.

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