1 July 2008
CHACO CANYON: Doorway into the Past (Part II)
Posted by Robin Easton under: Hobnobbin' with Robin .
I apologize for having to make these photos so small. I wanted to keep them full size so you would “FEEL” the power of Chaco Canyon. But that was not possible if I wanted the page to load. So I humbly share with you these small photos and hope you might still experience the spirit of this magical place. (To read photo titles move your cursor over a photo and wait 2 seconds. If no title appears move to another spot on photo. )
I am brought to tears by these ancestral Puebloan dwellings built by highly skilled artisans who had a “living” connection to the sun, moon, stars and growing seasons. They had a living connection with the earth they inhabited.
These astounding creations were built during AD 850 to 1250 and are not simple huts or even mere stone houses. These buildings were sophisticated complexes of many stories and hundreds of rooms. They are unparalleled in the United States. Each stone was laid by hand and the walls are often three feet thick at the base, thinning with each successive story. They not only made them to endure, but sun and light were taken into consideration. Some rooms had corner windows (see lower window in second photo). 
Scientists believe that the 200,000 logs used in their construction came from between 60 to 70 miles away…and were carried to Chaco on foot. A phenomenal feat.
Some buildings were believed to be as high as four of five stories. You can still see the timber sticking from the walls (second photo), the remains of a second story floor. There are walls still standing that reach three stories high. Together all the buildings comprised a major center for these ancestral Puebloans and once housed 3,000 to 4,000 people at the height of it’s existence.
I loved the tiny doorways. I had to crouch to go through them. The men who built them were roughly 5′ 5″ and the woman shorter, but the doorways were probably made small for structural integrity when building several stories high. A small doorway could also be more easily sealed to keep out cold or danger. I was able to stand outside some dwellings and look through four or five doorways at ounce, all lined up in stunning symmetry. 
Inside the rooms I felt so much joy and peace. I could hardly grasp that I stood in a room hundreds of years old. Probably someone from that ancient time stood exactly where I stood. Could I feel their essence? Very much so. I felt it all around me. The memory is stored in the millions of flat stones that make up the walls. I could almost hear their voices echo through the now empty rooms. I could hear women grinding corn, dogs barking and children playing. I wanted to stand alone within the walls and listen, absorbing the life that once was and still is part of Chaco Canyon.
I wanted to stay forever. I love ruins of any kind but these are by far the most majestic ruins I’ve ever seen. I loved to look through their windows at the rocky bluffs and blue sky beyond. 
I wondered, “Who stood at this same window all those hundreds of years ago? Did they see what I am seeing now? Was it a woman like me? Did her hands gently rest here like mine? I am connected to all that was and all that will ever be. Maybe in some distant future another woman may wonder about me.”
May the doorways you open lead into the great unknown. You’ll find magic there.
From my Heart,
Robin
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PS: NEXT WEEK”CHACO CANYON: Stairway Through Stone” We’ll climb through a slot in the rock cliffs, just as the ancestral Puebloans did. Then we’ll look down upon some of the ancient complexes from high atop the mesa. In the mean time you can go to this link FAQs and find fascinating answers to some of the questions that might have arisen while reading this post. It is a PARK service page. For those wanting more in depth information there are many books about Chaco Canyon but I’ve heard this one by Brian Fagan is very good: “Chaco Canyon: Archaeologists Explore the Lives of an Ancient Society”
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This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
DEDICATED TO: (listed alphabetically)
BRAIN TEASER: http://brainteaser.wordpress.com Brain Teaser is a very appropriate name for this site. At first I wasn’t quite sure why she named it that and thought it had to do with brainteaser puzzles, mind puzzles….WRONG!! This delightful site is full of posts that are artfully written as well as wise. This young woman is gifted with profound insight into life and human nature. She often writes about dreams, the soul, etc. as if they are an entity all on their own…an examples is her piece “Lamentation of the Dream Un-winged”
KINSEY BARNARD: http://kinseyphotos.blogspot.com/ Kinsey’s nature photos are stunning. She travels all over creation photographing nature’s beauty. She has just put up some tiger swallow-tail butterflies that are absolutely breathless. They are a “must see”. She has two other sites that are equally as stunning. They can be accessed through this site. Kinsey’s writing is unique, philosophical, right to the point, warm and sometimes humorous.
OPHELIA RISING: http://ophelia–rising.blogspot.com/ Ophelia Rising’s writing is raw and honest. She sometimes raises questions that others might not dare raise or even think about. Her writing is directly from her heart and doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. No matter what she writes I sense a deep underlying feirceness and determination, similar to the one mother’s feel when protecting their children. She is a mother, but she writes about LIFE. She is not afraid to tell it like it is. I like that. She is a powerful woman finding her way boldly in the world.
THE CLIFF WALK: http://thecliffwalk.com/ This is a fascinating photo blog. One look at Cliff Walk’s photos and they go directly into me, creating an immediate gut reaction. They are clean simple photos of things we see every day….and YET, we probably don’t see them the way Cliff Walk does. Although photos of every day things, they are highly complex emotionally and mentally. They make me have to stop and process what I’m feeling. It’s like he is photographing the world when it’s guard is down.
This Site: © Robin Easton
Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
Blog: http://nakedineden.com/nakedinedenblog/
20 Comments so far...
Ophelia Rising Says:
1 July 2008 at 6:50 pm.
Robin, I’m honored! Thank you for the dedication. It means so much, I can’t really put it into words…you are like an angel…
I can SMELL the smell in these walls. I can feel the cold stone under my hand. What a place of spirit this is! And so intense, I’m sure, is the connection you feel with ancestors past while standing there.
Thinking about how many have walked here before us is both overwhelming and comforting. It makes me feel more a part of it all, like the world is fully mine, as it is for everyone else. It also helps one feel that strong bond of connection, which exists everywhere in all people, but which is unfortunately many times ignored or denied. But, it is there always, and in places like this it shows itself unashamedly, in all its glory.
I like to think of us all as one living organism, breathing in the other’s breath, radiating our energy out to one another, overlapping and connecting on all levels. If one is loved, the other is loved. If one dies, the other dies. Everything affects everything. How can we possibly assume we are alone? How can we possibly assume we are so different from one another?
Maybe everyone should stand an afternoon in such a cave.
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sheasy Says:
1 July 2008 at 7:02 pm.
I am very moved by your photos of the remnants of these buildings. Looking at them, you get a very strong sense of time and how short but significant a life can be. Beautiful.
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Lilly Says:
1 July 2008 at 7:41 pm.
“May the doorways you open lead into the great unknown. You’ll find magic there.”
Wonderful thoughts Robin. Ties in with your previous post on fear – we should not be afraid to open those doors into the unknown. Love it – that should be an inpsirational quote – copyright it!
I too love ruins and the my favourite place is Pompeii. We haven’t really come along way have we when all is said and done. It’s amazing to step into that ancient world and wonder about all that came before us.
Love this post and love your pictures.
Lilly
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soulMerlin Says:
2 July 2008 at 12:47 pm.
Hi Robin ~ I’ve just read this during breaks in a show and I’m coming back later tonight when I have time to do it justice.
xhenry
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soulMerlin Says:
2 July 2008 at 5:35 pm.
Just Yes Yes Yes Robin. Your photo-layout is beautiful and your writing leads me on through the spiritual tour. It is a very humbling thing to see the knowledge skill and ability shown….the second floor poles or planks really show somehow how the whole building must have looked. Yes the connection and the reverberation through the years is real. I feel very close to you when you write like this as it equates to my own journey through my natural heritage. When I was at Stonehenge, I put my hands on the stones and I could feel the chisel marks made by skilled workmen ….6000 years ago….they may have been prehistoric….but not stupid, or in any real sense of the word “primitive”.
Did they think the world was flat then? I guess so….and so my ancestors and your ancestors would never have guessed that they existed together. The world was much bigger then…with a greater sense of mystery. But you have woven the mystery into your writing.
thank you and love
henry
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CaseyE Says:
2 July 2008 at 9:05 pm.
It is so amazing to stand in the presence of the past. Well, we think it’s the past. I’ve had similar sensations in Ireland and Rome where I could swear the ancients were standing right next to me. You can feel them….
It’s given me an entirely different sense of the world. I’m not totally convinced in the whole timeline thing…I think we’re all here at the same time just at different energy levels. But that still doesn’t explain why we have recorded history. If it’s happening simultaneously, how do we know it as the past? OK, now I’m getting a little out there ; ) Haven’t quite figured that one out yet….
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don Says:
2 July 2008 at 10:42 pm.
Well, if nothing else, you and I have just touched. I’ve stood at a couple of those places many years ago and touched those same walls. What goes around, comes around.
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Bird Says:
3 July 2008 at 2:30 am.
These ruins are truly wonderful. We have many ruins in the UK, some in better states of repair than others, but the only ones I’ve come across that shared this sense of immediacy, of people and everyday life, where on the isles of Scilly.
And it is wonderful to see the fine architectural and engineering feats of past civilizations. These people seem sophisticated and grounded all in one, their beautiful buildings were meant to last and have done so, and as a result the people are still with us. Standing on a front step, feeling someone else standing there, maybe children running in and out under your feet and seeing what they saw; it’s a powerful way to meet your ancestors.
Thank you for sharing this, it makes me want to learn more about the people who lived in this place.
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Liara Covert Says:
3 July 2008 at 5:51 am.
There is much to learn from rock and what humans often perceive an inanimate objects. That also have their own soul energy that vibrates at their own frequency. We can learn from them.
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Whiteotter Says:
3 July 2008 at 6:39 am.
Your photos are beautiful Robin! We were just having that same discussion with a gentleman from back East. He came out here for a visit and his wife asked him to take pictures. He hadn’t because he didn’t think he could do it justice. You sometimes have to be there to “feel” the beauty and spirit of a place. It is more that the pretty scenery, it is the air the sun, the sounds the smells… I know you know what I am trying to say here…
Anyhow I went ahead and took some photos and emailed them to his wife and daughter, …I hope that the photos I sent them were as wonderful as the photos you shared with us here, able to help them to understand what he experienced while here..
I WILL go to Chaco “someday”(I so dislike that phrase “some day” *wink*) But thank you for this trip now….
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K. Fields Says:
3 July 2008 at 8:05 am.
Amazing! I often wonder while wandering around ruins from the past, about the people and how they had to have such determination to survive. The parts and areas that are left standing, and when you learn the background story to them, it takes your breath away, thinking of how and why! Thank-you for sharing these beautiful, beautiful photos.
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timethief Says:
3 July 2008 at 7:54 pm.
Oh Robin the doors you photographed prompted me to remember a poem “The Door” by Miroslav Holub.
The concept of “The Door” is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses a persuasive and insistent tone to encourage the audience to take action. The lack of rhythm, rhyme and conventional structure also give the poem a conversational tone.
The poem opens with the line “Go and open the door” and is used to begin the following three stanzas. The repetition of the imperative constructs a strong sense of not only urgency and necessity, but it also gives the audience a sense of the poet’s voice and presence as he urges change.
The imagery in the fourth and last stanza is more striking, introducing the idea that even if there is only “darkness ticking” or a “hollow wind” go and open the door. Time is still passing.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey and your gorgeous photography with us.
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brainteaser Says:
4 July 2008 at 8:53 am.
Thank you for the dedication, Robin! It’s a precious gift. I was speechless seeing my name there. I couldn’t believe it! It took me several days trying to draft a good response, and I’ve settled for a simple thank you. From the depths of my heart.
And thank you, too, for sharing your journey. Very beautiful and inspiring. And your thoughts as you walk through the past… they bring to life the people, the life that once pulsated there. It’s like we were with you, standing next to you. Awesome!
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sherri Says:
4 July 2008 at 9:01 am.
This is my first visit to your site and I see some beautiful images. I came here because I’ve been a long time visitor of The Cliff Walk blog. I see we like many of the same things in images:-)
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Graham Says:
6 July 2008 at 4:11 pm.
Robin, each time I read something from you I realize even more how similar we are. There is nothing more absorbing that being somewhere where people have lived before. To touch a layed piece of stone, to look through a window, to climb a stair…. each brings us together with the spirits of the past.
Robin, your photographs are always full of feeling, and when reading your magical words and looking at these images, I feel like I could almost be there. Thank you for taking us on the journey with you… it is a true privilege.
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amzolt Says:
6 July 2008 at 5:15 pm.
Dear Robin,
Rock clearly has a physical memory–electric in nature yet real.
Humans now take silicon and endow it with remarkable properties.
Yet, even though I live on the Internet, I believe humble rock “knows” what’s going on…
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kebelle Says:
6 July 2008 at 11:46 pm.
In every ruin there’s sweat and blood. There’s pain, there’s suffering. There’s grandeur and there were triumphs. We can look back into the past – the past filled with the blood of the slaves and artisans. We can say ruins are beautiful and mysterious, but similar with the ancient cathedrals, they were built with tears, sweat and blood.
ROBIN WRITES: Although throughout history many edifices, even whole civilizations, have been built by slave labor, it is not known whether the Ancestral Puebloan dwellings were built by slaves. There is no evidence of mass graves or slavery. Their are many unanswered questions in regard to Chaco Canyon. Many scientist believe that Chaco Canyon was a spiritual center and it’s inhabitants were deeply spiritual and peaceful people who tended their crops of corn, beans and squash, as well as hunted and foraged in the surrounding area. They were also potters, weavers, and architects. Other scientists believe they were cannibals who ate themselves out of house and home. And yet other scientists dispute this and believe the bones found were connected with ritual or ceremony surrounding their dead.
The Ancestral Puebloan people disappeared around 1300 AD. There is also much controversy as to why they suddenly disappeared leaving almost everything. Some scientists believe it was a completely planned evacuation. Various theories on the Chacoan’s disappearance are: drought, invasion, cannibalism, aliens, and so forth. It is not yet known. Some current Puebloan people now living in outlying areas believe they are descendants of the ancient Chacoan people.
In light of all this I cannot begin to conclude that blood and tears went into the building of the Chaco Canyon dwellings. I’m sure there was much sweat, and probably like any culture there were tears as well as blood from various injuries…anything more would only be speculation on my part. However, I do agree that many civilizations and vast tombs and monuments were and still are built on slave labor.
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Greg Says:
7 July 2008 at 1:42 pm.
What a truly remarkable place. To stand somewhere and think about who else might’ve shared this view, I love that. We are the result of our histories and its vital we remember it and pass it on. Thank the gods or whomever that these remain to give us a window into the past!
Thanks for taking us with you, Robin, and for sharing your heart, as always!
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Larry McDowell (GuitarMusings) Says:
7 July 2008 at 4:39 pm.
Great pictures Robin. I love visiting ruins of any sort as well. It feels like for a split second you are back at that time and hear the noises and smell the smells of those days.
Thanks
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James Says:
11 July 2008 at 3:21 pm.
Just discovered your blog–excellent!
Thanks for sharing all your Chaco images. It’s one of my favorite places anywhere, even, when like the last time, the Jeep got swallowed by the mud on the drive out of the park. Looks like you picked some dryer days to visit, though, and you’ll have some gorgeous pictures to remind you of your time there!
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