Santa Clara Pueblo, Puye &

Bandalier National Monument

Santa Clara Pueblo is located west of Espanola and is home to the Tewa People. Santa Clara is known for its artists. The most popular attraction is Puye Cliff Dwellings. We took the top of the mesa tour. Puye means gathering of rabbits. We saw ruins of two and three story homes on top and also a kiva. The people lived on top in the summer and in the caves in the winter.

At the end of our tour we hiked down on some rocks using footholds and holding onto the rocks. We saw some petroglyphs and the caves. The visitor center, which used to be a Harvey house, had a nice exhibit of the cliff dwellings and Fred Harvey.

The road to Bandalier National Monument winds through the Los Alamos Laboratory property. We came to a line of booths which at first we thought were toll booths. They were actually security stops due to the classified nature of the work done at Los Alamos. Along the road we saw signs for "Tech Area 13, 16 , etc.

Once we got to Bandalier we set up our tent at Juniper Campground. We went to the visitor center and walked a short distance down the trail. The next morning we hiked to the Alcove House. We saw deer and several fawns along the trail. At Alcove House we had to climb four ladders, 140 feet up in total. There is a large kiva in the alcove. We enjoyed the beautiful views from the top. After hiking back down, we continued along the Main Loop trail. The trail follows the base of the cliffs. Pueblo people built their homes at the base. There are many ruins and cavettes (small caves) as well as a large ruin below the cliffs. The cliff walls are volcanic ash which has compacted over the years. There were lots of holes and unusual shapes.

In 2011 there had been a huge flash flood in the area and we saw evidence of the downed trees along the creek. Bandalier was definitely a highlight of our summer trip.