After dropping Jeanine off for her pre-dawn return flight to Boston, I drove 8 hours to the Chaco Cultural National Monument (click on image for a more detailed view) which hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The scale, architecture and precision of construction are awe inspiring.  Along the drive I was treated to a full double rainbow, an old fashioned steam powered train, antique Rolls Royce, and mountains full of aspens in bloom.

Once in the park, I completed a 5-mile hike to the top of the escarpment overlooking the ruins for a bird’s eye view. Vertical access was by way of a narrow slot canyon “stairway.”

Wildlife encounters for the day included many elk and countless ravens.

Perfectly timed to my departure from Chaco Canyon, the setting sun turned the red rocks to gold.