Fine Art Images from the American Southwest

Tag: Chaco Canyon

Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon

From under the ramada, Fajada Butte, Chaco Culture National Historical Park. When I visit Chaco Canyon I always like to return to this spot, in the shade of the poles and look out upon Fajada Butte. I often make it my last stop before leaving the canyon, to sit and gaze out at this landscape; to rest easy in the shade, perhaps to feel, what stirred the souls of those long ago. I’m very fortunate that I have been able to spend many months over the years in this place. There are many stories as to the why and wherefores of Chaco. All I know, in this place, is peace and serenity. Thanks for looking. G

Under the ramada, Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon. Stepping stones of light through ancient doorways into the past. Standing here alone in a narrow room, when the ruins are void of everything but light and the sound of the wind is probably as close as I’ll get to the Chaco Canyon Culture. On a previous trip I’ve heard flute music played,  echoing around the three and four story high walls, weaving like the wind through the cracks and doorways… nothing compares to the virtual silence in this place. Thanks for looking. G

Pueblo Bonito Chaco Canyon

Sun Star, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

Sun star and passing cloud, a room in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Chaco Canyon never disappoints, not even for a photo opportunity. Thanks to Ron and Bob for a great road trip photo adventure last week. And as always, thanks for looking. G

Sun Star, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

Chaco Canyon Room And Moon

Chaco Canyon room and moon. When ever I enter a room in the ancient pueblo ruins in Chaco Canyon, I always look up. The sky encompassed by an aperture of undulating shadows, skillful and meticulously layered stone work, draws my gaze upward to a view that, perhaps, the pueblo inhabitants never had. Ceiling and roof timbers have long since deteriorated leaving only remnants of them protruding out of layers of stone and an open view to the heavens above. Thanks for looking up. G

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Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, NM

Fajada Butte, under the mid morning sun, from the shade of the ramada, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico.

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Between Rooms, Chaco Canyon, NM

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Between rooms in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. The light was glowing today at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon as we wound or way through southwest history, banging our heads on the ancient beams, accompanied by the silence and intermittent gusts of wind that embellished the mystery in the homes and ceremony chambers of the Anasazi. 

Red Rock

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The rock is only a quarter of an inch. The red on the grey caught my eye. I made five images. Each time, by rotating or moving the camera in closer, I eliminated extraneous, peripheral, clutter which was ok in a wider composition but didn’t add anything to the final image I had in mind. A tiny red rock lodged in a crack, a temporary resting place in the continuing erosion of the badlands in the desert southwest.

Ah-shi-sle-pah Badlands, NM

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area
On a two day photo safari photographing winter scenes in the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area near Chaco Canyon. 

Pueblo Bonito Kiva, Chaco Canyon

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It was so quiet in Chaco Canyon at Pueblo Bonito. There are sounds and echos which may be interrupted by the wind or ghosts moving through the ruins or it could have been the sound of me waving, traveling around the walls of the great kiva. Thanks for looking.