Welcome to my blog/travel guide. Take a look around, you never know what you might find!
All in National Monument
The ruins of a nineteenth century U.S. army fort. A harbinger of change in the region, the fort was a distribution hub for many of the smaller forts throughout the southwest, supplying the American military while it enforced its will on Native Americans. Later, a earthworks star fort was constructed on site to defend against confederate soldiers during the civil war. A one mile long trail winds through the remaining adobe-style walls of the old fort.
A vast volcanic expanse covering the western New Mexican countryside. Thousands of years ago, as recently as three thousand years ago, lava poured out of a number of cinder cones south of Grants, New Mexico. The lava cooled into rough black basalt that remains a scar on the area. Whether you enjoy a relaxing scenic drive, a hike amongst ancient lava flows and cinder cones, or dark adventures through lengthy lava tubes there is something for you at El Malpais.
This vertical rock wall canyon is bested only by the Grand Canyon in inspiring awe in those who gaze upon its wonder. Shear rock walls, hundreds of feet high loom over the valley below. Views are so vast, it’s difficult to get a sense of scale of objects on the canyon floor. Chelly is pronounced “Shay”
Near the border of Colorado and Utah, tucked into the Little Ruin Canyon sits the remains of an ancestral Puebloan city. Perched precariously on steep cliff walls and boulders, these towers may have been used for defending precious resources, perhaps water.
In 1906, the Antiquities Act was passed giving the President of the United States the ability to declare any government land a National Monument. Three months later, Theodore Roosevelt declared Devil’s Tower the first national monument. At 1200ft tall, this volcanic scar looms over the entire region and can be seen from miles away.
Colorado is usually only associated with the Rocky Mountains, but the state shares 1/4thof the four corners monument with the Southwest. Being only forty miles from the eastern Utah border, Colorado shares the red sandstone cliffs and canyons southern Utah is famous for. The plateau from which these canyons are carved sits high above the city of Grand Junction, the Rio Grande River Valley, and Interstate-70. If you’re traveling through Grand Junction, set aside an hour so you can at least take the scenic drive through the park.
Three sites of ruined Spanish mission churches from the 17th century adjacent to ruins of Native American pueblos near Mountaineer in central New Mexico. Walk amongst the ruins to get a taste of what life may have been like during these contentious times.
This is the crown jewel of Arizona’s ruin national monuments, of which there are many. Although not actually a castle, the ancestral multi level housing complex perched high on a cliff side is formidable, overlooking the Wet Beaver Creek and the valley in the distance. This must have been a paradise in its heyday.
One of the newest national monuments. An enormous bridge spans the even more impressive canyon that splits the New Mexican high desert in two.
The second U.S. National Monument, declared by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. El Morro encompasses a large sandstone promontory with historical inscriptions, the ruins of a Native American Pueblo, and petroglyphs.
Ancestral cliff dwellings and the ruins of a pueblo hide in this isolated canyon outside of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
A slot canyon and conical rock formations eroded from layers of volcanic debris.
Ancestral Puebloan Ruins tucked into alcoves in spectacular canyons. The relatives of modern day Navajo Native Americans once subsisted here in the harsh dry desert. Around the year 1300, a major mass exodus of nearly the entire Southwest led to the abandonment of countless ancestral villages, including those here at Navajo National Monument.
Massive sandstone natural bridges span White Canyon, carved by water that periodically runs through it. Kachina Bridge spans 204ft, 210ft. above the canyon. Owachomo Bridge is 180ft. long and 104ft. high. Sipapu Bridge (the 13th largest in the world) spans 255ft and is 220ft. tall. Owachomo is at risk of falling, since it is only 9ft thick at its center and this area is prone to earthquakes.
