Chaco Culture was one of my first destinations on my quest to visit all the national park units in the US in my zero carbon emission vehicle. While a WHS visitor could just visit Aztec Ruins, my ZCT.Life quest requires me to visit both sites. Since I was driving through Navajo Nation from Gallup to Farmington where the chargers are, the park entrance from the south requires 33 miles of dirt roads before driving out northeast on 16 miles more dirt roads, plus 125 miles of paved road for the whole trip. I visited in 2022, and I didn’t realize that driving on heavily washboarded dirt roads would use up so much range and time. Even driving very slowly, I think I lost 2 miles of range for every mile I drove. The site is still sacred to the Navajo Nation and other native tribes, so I suppose the road conditions help keep the site remote.

Chaco Culture is not at all like the misnamed Aztec Ruins (that have nothing to do with the Aztecs). Chaco is huge; its ancient roads and irrigation are studied from space. The major sites are spread out over 10 miles, so you will see ruins on the top of bluffs miles away. The largest complex of buildings sits at the base of a cliff, which partially collapsed in 1941, so the place is inseparable from the dramatic natural landscape. Unlike Aztec Ruins which has an exceptionally beautifully restored kiva, Chaco’s kivas and other buildings are all exposed to the elements. Chaco feels raw, ancient, isolated and immense.

Chaco made me wonder about the ecological changes that made people leave the area centuries ago. To me it stands as a silent testament of the limits of man’s ability to exploit nature. But you should see for yourself.