I love mysteries, whether they unfold on the page or echo from a craggy rock formation in the high desert of southwestern Colorado.

Crisp, fall air drew me to the twin peaks of Chimney Rock National Monument last fall, during a road trip through New Mexico and Colorado. After clambering up the steep trail to the top for a 360-degree view of the San Juan Mountains, I was captivated by the legends linking this isolated outpost to the ancient Chaco culture.

Ancestral Puebloans, as they are now called, settled in the Four Corners of the Southwest more than 1,000 years ago. They constructed complex villages with large ceremonial structures on dry, remote hillsides and in deep canyons. Then, for reasons still pondered today, they disappeared.

Chimney Rock has links to Chaco culture

The cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, west of Durango, and the vast stone ruins in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in northwestern New Mexico, are the best-known destinations to learn about the mysterious Chaco people.

Chimney Rock, with an elevation of 7,600 feet, is the tallest structure linked to the Chaco people, whose rituals were thought to mirror movements of the sun and moon.  Some researchers believe the Great House was built at the base of the wind-carved peaks because the moon rises precisely between the two rocks during rare lunar standstills.

The monument ties the ancient people to native tribes today, particularly the Puebloans who consider the site sacred. Dark-sky gazers, families with young children, and curious hikers like me also find solace and wonder in the ruggedly beautiful terrain.

 

Peaks a landmark for early explorers

Early European explorers and prospectors seeking gold used the twin peaks as a navigational landmark. Archeologists began scouting the ruins of ancient buildings for broken pottery and other artifacts in the 1920s. The site’s significance was officially recognized in 2012, when President Obama designated Chimney Rock a national monument.

Located on nearly 5,000 acres surrounded by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, the monument lies 17 miles west of Pagosa Springs. From our rental house outside the mountain town known for its hot springs, the drive took about 30 minutes. We headed west on Highway 160 toward Durango before turning south toward New Mexico on a winding road. We finally glimpsed the signature spires near the park entrance; from there a gravel road climbs 2.5 miles to the interpretive center.

To avoid other visitors, we arrived just as the park opened on a weekday. Though tours were suspended due to Covid 19, we picked up a detailed guide with a map to help us explore on our own. We met several helpful docents stationed along the trail who answered our questions.

Pueblo Trail leads to the top

From the interpretive center, two trails lead to the main archeological sites. The Pueblo trail is a short but challenging climb to the top. With steep drop offs on both sides and few hand railings, the trail is not recommended for anyone afraid of heights.

As we climbed we peered into a prehistoric home called a pithouse that was built partly underground to shelter residents from harsh weather. All that remains today is a circular hole in the rock excavated by archeological students.  Uneven steps rise from there, following a ridgeline with panoramic views of the ponderosa pine-covered mountains of southern Colorado as they join the high deserts hills of northern New Mexico.

Remains of a guard house sits precariously at the entrance to the Great House and likely controlled access to the structure closest to the peaks. The architectural style and masonry of a nearby rock wall and the Great House led researchers to conclude the pueblo was either built by, or under the direction of, the Chaco people – the first direct link from Chimney Rock to the Chacoan world.

Great House far from water

Why the Great House perches so high above the settlement and so far from any water source confounded researchers until the late 1980s. While camping with students, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado at Boulder demonstrated that the moon rises exactly between the two pinnacles every 18.6 years. The phenomenon, known as a Major Lunar Standstill, or MLS, lasts about three years. (The next occurrence begins in 2021.)

It’s possible that early Puebloans intentionally built the Great House to observe and celebrate these lunar events. Wood samples from the Great House date back to 1076 and 1093, both years when the moon would have been pausing between cycles around the earth.

Whatever their reasons, I was awed by the ingenuity and the back-breaking manual labor required to create this lofty mountain retreat a century ago.  The views alone of the vast Piedra River Valley below make the hike to the Great House a haunting adventure.

Second trail leads to Great Kiva

After carefully returning to the interpretive center, I walked along the paved Mesa Village Trail past dozens of partly excavated structures. Informative kiosks recount the area’s long history from the days when hunter-gatherers passed through until the Puebloans began building homes and a Great Kiva around 900 AD.

The ruins offer insight into the lives of the ancient people and their diets. They ate fish as well as porcupines and cultivated Indian rice grass and assorted berries. They probably celebrated religious and social events in the Great Kiva, which measures 44-feet in diameter.

Clues to why the Pueblo people abandoned Chimney Rock are more elusive. But the monument’s history, geology, astrology, and archeology continue to weave fascinating stories for visitors interested in learning about one of the most important ancient cultural centers in the Southwest – if not in the U.S.

Fast Facts: The Chimney Rock National Monument is open daily May 15 through Septembers 30. Guided and self-guided walking tours are available. Special evening programs include Native American flute music at sunset during full moons. As part of the night-sky programs, visitors can view the stars via telescopes.