This is the museum. It was originally built as a home for the man doing the excavating. This is what the walls would have looked like on the ruins, although the stucco part fell away long ago, due to weather.
Since this is a National Monument, we were able to use our National Parks pass to get in.
The round structures (there are several) are called kivas, and they would have been used for ceremonies. This is the largest, and main kiva. On this one building, the roof was rebuilt as it would have been originally made.
The inside walls have also been restored to look as they originally would have been.
The ceiling.
One of the many smaller kivas. These would have been entered through a hole in the roof, using a ladder.
Some of the interior ceilings are still intact. These were 3 stories high in some parts.
Interior doorways were very short.
Not easy for people over 6 feet tall!
One of the original ceilings.
This wall was built so that on the summer solstice, the sun follows the exact line of the wall.
The ruins you can tour are called the West Ruins. There is another grouping called the East Ruins that have not been excavated as much. There is a special 100 year anniversary celebration coming up in a week or so, and you can be part of a small group that gets to tour the East Ruins. Brad and I are hoping to get to do that. They only take 15 people on three different days, and it's first come first served each day. Hopefully with it being right here by the park, we'll be able to get in.
A few sights from around our park last night. Our spot.
Cars outside the office
Steps leading down to the river
This is the Animas River. We're hoping to kayak part of it while we're here.
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