This is a continuation of a previous post with photographs from the ancient Native American site, Tsankawi, a part of the Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Trail Fragment.
Up above the main continuous trail through Tsankawi, I spotted a portion of a trail that was obviously out of place. This part apparently broke away from its original location and lodged here many years ago.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Contemplation 2.
The depth of this portion of the trail is impressive. The pathways are narrow, which suggests that the people that made these were not large people.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Deep, Narrow and Steep.
It took a little effort to navigate some portions of these ancient paths, especially when carrying a daypack and DSLR.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Curves and Dead End.
Interestingly, this portion of the trail had dual pathways, but one was a dead end. Was this two lane path created by having one foot on one side and the other foot on the other side of the trail? Each side is too narrow for having both feet within the narrow channel.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Evidence of a dwelling, Shelter or storage area.
There were numerous indications of dwellings, shelters or storage areas along the pathways of Tsankawi. Some areas were off limits for visitors, so we did not get to see everything here.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Photographing the interior of a cave.
The entrance to this cave (above) seems to have a torso with head shape.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Cave.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Caves.
There were numerous caves in some areas. Notice the foot and/or hand holds in the rocks around these caves.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi View.
A desert view from the main trail around the Tsankawi area.
This wraps up the best photos that I managed to get in this amazing place. Perhaps someday I will get back again, when conditions are more favorable for photography.
We visited Tsankawi again one afternoon, but we never really got to be here at the very best time of the day for photography. Although, we did have some cloudy sky, which helped add a little interest at times.
Tsankawi is really an amazing place. I was most impressed by the paths created by Native Americans many years ago. Those ancient people walked the same paths so often as to wear deep trenches in the rock. Sometimes the trenches were only a few inches deep and sometimes several feet deep. Even though the rock may not be super hard here, it is not soft either, so it must have taken many walkers over many years to create such deep pathways in the stone.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Walking Through the Past 1, monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021.Walking Through the Past 2, monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Trail.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Contemplation. Monochrome with selective colorization.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Old Tree and Fractured Rock with Petroglyphs
One has to look closely to see the old, worn petroglyphs, of which there were many, in some of the rock faces.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Lone Tree.Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Tsankawi Petroglyphs.
Viewing a larger image on Flickr will allow for better resolution of the many petroglyphs on this rock face.
Tsankawi, Bandelier NM, March 2021. Small Evergreen Tree growing in a crack in the Tsankawi desert area. Monochrome with selective colorization.
This post was prematurely published due to a mistake by the author, during the editing and preview process, getting my blogs out of chronological order and maybe causing confusion of followers. Consequently, I’ve made a few edits, trying to correct poor writing and/or errors and now I will republish this item and hope there are no more glaring errors. My apologies for the confusion.
After setting up in the campground at Bandelier National Monument, we drove down into the canyon to the visitor center and made a scouting hike upstream along the stream that runs through the Frijoles Canyon. Actually, the stream is referred to as the Frijoles River, even though it is usually just a narrow stream of water. I suppose at times of heavy precipitation, that little stream can become a raging river. We hiked an undetermined distance, but I’m guessing maybe about a mile along the river before turning back.
We decided that the photographic opportunities would be slim along that trail, unless there was early morning frost or maybe snow cover to provide more interest.
We returned to the canyon the next (first) morning of our stay here with our cameras, hoping for better photographic opportunities than we had seen on our scouting hike.
The park gate opening and closing times limit the access time to the canyon, so golden hour photography was not a possibility during our visit. This might not matter, since the canyon walls limit the time of the sunlight arriving and exiting the canyon. Some times of the year may be better than others.
Unfortunately, we did not get snow, nor even a heavy frost. Nevertheless, we continued hiking and trying to get a few interesting photographs. I was mostly unsuccessful in my efforts and I have chosen not to present any of the results of my attempts at creative photography here.
Early on the hike, we came upon several deer that seemed curious about us, but not concerned. I suppose they were accustomed to humans.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
A second deer, going in the opposite direction of this first one, came along and they each eyed each other in an appraising manner, before continuing on their way.
Deer, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
There are many Native American ruins and cave dwelling in the canyon with many near the visitors’ center. Having toured those on previous trips, we continued along the trail towards a more distant ruin called the Alcove House. My son had visited the Alcove House during a previous visit, but it was not open when I was first here, so this was my first time to see this area of the park.
To get up to the Alcove House ruins requires climbing a number of ladders and steps up the canyon side.
Ladder & Sign, Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
Much of the area at the final destination is roped off, which limits photographic compositions.
Native American Ruins in Bandelier National Monument, March 2021
In the afternoon, we made a scouting hike of a loop trail through Tsankawi, a Native American area near White Rock, New Mexico that is a part of the Bandelier National Monument. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my iPhone along, so I did not get any scouting photographs, which is too bad, since I think I missed opportunities to get photographs under a more interesting sky than we had during later visits.
