Mar 7, 2012 - The Town That Never Was

Bandelier NM is located outside of Los Alamos, The Town That Never Was. In 1917, a successful ranch, The Alamos Ranch, was purchased Ashley Pond, a Detroit entrepreneur and former “Rough Rider”. Pond converted the working ranch to the Los Alamos Ranch School, a school designed for “privileged eastern boys so they might become robust, learned men.” After the U.S. entered WWII an area was needed to develop nuclear power, an isolated area but easy to reach, with little population. Los Alamos Ranch School was the perfect spot. In 1943, the...

Mar 7, 2012 - Bandelier National Monument

Mar 7 Bandelier NM and The Town That Never Was We are up and out early this morning, we are driving to Bandelier NM over 100 miles from here. The wind is due to pick up later today and I am planning on walking to the cave and climbing the ladders. Bandelier’s human activity dates back more than 10,000 years. The early people were hunters and gatherers but over time they became more sedentary and built homes of wood and mud. The first houses were pit houses, built largely underground. Next the Ancestral Puebloans built above-ground stone...

Oct 10, 2010 - Jemez Scenic Byway Redux

My work at the balloon fiesta is done and the last mass ascension has occurred and I am scheduled to leave tomorrow, so if I'm going to go back to see things on the Jemez Scenic Byway, it has to be today, another glorious one at that! BTW, the road to get to the Byway is the same road I took last Spring to get to Durango, CO. About 20 miles further is where I had the blowout of the left front tire of the car and spent some time at a garage in Cuba while it was being fixed. Stop 1 today was the Jemez Springs State Monument which protects the...

Jun 18, 2010 - Bandelier NM, Los Alamos, NM

Bandelier NM, NM The prehistoric cliff-dwelling Puebloan culture was tucked away next to the Frijoles Creek. Two to six hundred people lived in this area between 1100 and 1550. It was exciting to climb the ponderosa pine ladders 140 feet above the canyon floor to visit many of the prehistoric alcove homes.

Jun 12, 2010 - Bandelier National Monument

From Trailer Ranch RV Resort – Santa Fe, NM As you read of our adventures today, your imagination needs to wander back 10,000 years when the Ancestral Pueblo people migrated in and out of Frijoles Canyon and what is today Bandelier National Monument. These early inhabitants did not build permanent structures, however spear points found by archeologists would note that they migrated in and out with the movement of game animals. Now picture these people becoming more sedentary with their first dwellings made of wood and mud known as pit...

Jun 2, 2010 - Los Alamos, White Rock and Santa Fe

Dear Friends and Family, When I was a little kid, I had a book about the Pueblo Indians that I loved. My wish to see the cliff dwellings in the book has come true. Today, we went to Bandelier National Monument. This is by far my favorite sight seeing in New Mexico. Bandelier was home to the Anasazi tribe, pueblo cliff dwellers. The scenery was so amazing!And the cliff homes were really what I wanted to see in New Mexico. Some were recreations that you could climb a ladder and enter, and others were the real deal to just look at. I can't...

Jun 10, 2009 - Bandelier National Monument

Next day we drove the high road over to Los Alamos so we could see some of the Pueblos along the way. We toured the Bradbury Museum and Los Alamos Historical Museum and then went to Bandelier National Monument. Bandelier has many cliff dwellings and to see them you have to climb 4 ladders for a total of 140 feet.

May 20, 2009 - Forest Rainstorms in Bandelier National Monument

Following our wonderful visit to the Jemez Hot Springs, we bivouacked at a campsite in the Bandelier National Monument in the mountains just northeast of Santa Fe. We spent 2 nights here in a developed campsite run by the Forest Service. We pretty much had the place to ourselves and mostly spent “Lazy Daze” hanging out in the RV as a gentle rain persisted. Once again, the fresh smell of pine trees in a forest, especially after a rain, can’t be beat. Bandelier is known for its numerous rocky outcroppings and geothermal springs. We attempted...

Apr 8, 2009 - Bandelier National Monument

It was another beautiful day in Northern New Mexico even if the wind is trying to exert itself again. But still, it was a great day to visit Bandelier National Monument named for Adolph Bandelier, archeologist and historian. Bandelier was the home of Ancestral Pueblo people from about 600 AD until about 1600. These ancient people were farmers initially living in very small groups scattered about the area. As time passed the small groups came together into ever larger groups until by the 1200s small villages existed with pueblos as large as...

Oct 18, 2008 - Back Roads To Bandelier!

A big part of why we love our lifestyle is the opportunity it provides to make new friends along the way. After all these years our “list” is long and includes friends who share our gypsy ways, a spirit of adventure and a desire to see what’s over the next hill; folks from all “walks of life” and all compass points! We have learned from the best, added a few of our own experiences, and passed them on to the “newcomers”. And we’ve learned that “Jeep” people are drawn like magnets to each other and the nearest back roads! Four Wheelin’ Jimmy...

Sep 25, 2008 - Day 6, Bandelier National Monument, NM

FINE DINING A restaurant, Tecolote, had been recommended to us, and was also featured on Diners, Dives, and Drive-In. We wanted to try it, but discovered it was open only for breakfast and lunch. We opted for breakfast—Donald had the scrambled eggs and chorizo with potatoes and Kay had eggs over easy with a green chile sauce, fried bananas, and potatoes. It was GREAT; best dining out food on the trip. BANDALIER NATIONAL MONUMENT After filling our tummies with food and the Saturn with gasoline, we were off to Bandalier National Monument....

Sep 2, 2008 - Bandelier National Monument

September 2, 2008 After breakfast we drove RT 4 to Bandelier National Monument. We picked a campsite in .Jupitor Campground, and then drove to the visitor Center. We saw the orientation movie and walked the main loop around the cave houses in -----------Canyon and then on to the Ceremonial house which you reach by climbing up three 30 foot ladders. This area was occupied by the Ancestrial Pueblos from 500 AD to 1600 AD.; Three hundred years later then Mesa Verde. It is felt that cliff dwellers migrated from Mesa Verde to Bandelier and areas...