We knew it would be a long drive but we couldn’t pass up the chance to see the ancient ruins of the Native American Chaco people in New Mexico. And boy was it worth the drive! These massive “houses” date back to around 800AD, that’s when the Aztecs were building their pyramids, the Easter Island carvings were being made, and some of the great European citadels were being built.
This is also one of the few sites like this where you’re allowed to wander around freely throughout the structures giving you a chance to explore the vast interconnecting rooms at your own pace. Before you head out to the ruins be sure to stop at the excellent visitor center and learn about the people and their culture and the significance of some of the ruins as there aren’t any interpretive signs at the site itself.
There is a National Park campground just down the road from the ruins, but we didn’t even try to camp with our twenty nine foot travel trailer as it is a first-come-first-serve campground. We instead just made a day trip out of it.