Puye Cliff Dwellings

Susan and I decided to go south to Peco’s National Park. After an hour’s drive on 25 we arrived to find an empty trading post. No trails to hike. There was a large plaque with the history of the area. Looking at the images online as I write this we clearly were in the wrong place! What a shame to have missed the real deal!

: Driving south on 25 and then 4 miles north on 63

: Driving south on 25 and then 4 miles north on 63

: Driving south on 25 and then 4 miles north on 63

: Arrived at our destination – an empty trading post!

: Should have been here!

Quick reroute and we were driving back to Santa Fe, the same route we took coming south, and on our way to the Puye Cliff Dwellings. What a great choice! A not to be missed tour.

: Driving north on 25 – tremendous vista

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Views from the car going north on 25

: Susan’s queenly wave

We arrived just in time for the 12 o’clock tour – having left at 930am! The whole tour was magical. Our tour guide was a local Native American, Derek, who is clearly a wonderful ambassador for his people. He talked so intelligently and eloquently about his people, the history, and it’s future. He sees his generation coming out from the self imposed silence of the older generations and introducing Americans to their customs and way of life. After the atrocities suffered by the Native Americans, especially the Navajo in this area, they took their hearts, souls, and ceremonies inside the kiva and maintained great secrecy. No white people allowed in. They are now proudly calling themselves Diné as Navajo was an American name given to them and has no meaning in their language.

: View at the top of the Puye Cliff mesa

: Panorama of the top of the Puye Cliff mesa

: Pottery shards found on the ground

: Walls built from rock with small rocks in the mortar

: Footprint of houses

: Houses with 2 story house still standing

: Dark clouds and rain in the distance

: Derek going down into the kiva – no photos allowed inside

Derek told us the pottery shards contain the spirit of those that made them and if we take them home we will be haunted by those spirits. The piles of shards are those that have been returned because those that took them were being haunted! That was enough to make me a believer!

Leaving the mesa and climbing down to the cliff dwellings.

: This could be an entire pot!

: Descending a very narrow rock

: We descended this very narrow steep rock path – top half

: Bottom of steep narrow rock path

: We climbed down this ladder – rungs were 12 inches apart!

: Close up of ladder and Derek

The cave dwellings were dug into the rock with wonderful petroglyphs high above on the wall. Some of the dwellings were 2 and 3 stories so they could stand on the roofs and carve these petroglyphs or paint the pictographs.