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Frijoles Canyon Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 13
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New Mexico
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Frijoles Canyon Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 13
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Stop and look out over the canyon. Does it look lush, and green compared to the mesa above it? As we discussed earlier this is a riparian area that has greater diversity of plants and wildlife than other nearby areas. Although much farming was done on the surrounding mesas some farming also occurred here in the canyon. What benefits and issues can you imagine arising from raising crops here? Floods could destroy growing plants but could also provide rich sediments and moisture that would benefit farming.
Cave Kiva Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 15
~0 min drive
This is Cave Kiva. Unlike the other cavates you could climb into, this one is a kiva. Do you remember earlier on this walk when you saw Big Kiva? This cavate was used for the same purpose as Big Kiva. Unfortunately, this kiva cavate must be smoked and replastered regularly to…
Frey Trail Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 16
~0 min drive
The dirt trail to your right is the Frey Trail, named after an early concessionaire in the park. If you follow this trail, it will switchback its way out of the canyon, gaining approximately 500 feet in the climb. There are excellent views back into the canyon as the trail asc…
Frey Trail
~0 min drive
The Frey Trail is a historic trail that travels from the park visitor center in Frijoles Canyon up onto the mesa and Juniper Family Campground. Distance one way is 2 miles and approximately 550 feet elevation change. Lots of great vistas and closeup encounters with the Piñon-…
Exiting Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 9
~0 min drive
Notice the small slope and abundant plant life as the trail exits Tyuonyi. This is what the entire village would have looked like before excavations. Looking at the cliff ahead of you, you can see at least one of three ladders you will be able to climb to see the inside of a c…
First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11
~0 min drive
You have arrived at the first of three ladders you can climb into cavates (CAVE-eights), human excavated openings. Although sometimes used for housing, the main purpose of cavates was often food storage. Remember the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here for over 400 years and th…
Junction Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 17
~0 min drive
At this point, you may turn right to continue on to Long House and Alcove House or turn left to return to the Visitor Center for a shorter walk.
In Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 8
~0 min drive
The kiva you see in front of you served the same purpose as Big Kiva that you saw earlier on this walk. It too would have had a hard plastered roof with an entrance in and a ladder in the middle. <br /> <br /> Tyuonyi, as with many of the archeological sites along the Pueblo L…
Soft Rock Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 10
~0 min drive
The cliff in front of you has numerous holes, some big and some small. These holes are created by wind and water erosion of the volcanic tuff we talked about earlier. Water freezes and thaws in the permeable rock breaking off big and small pieces (most are microscopic). Wind p…
Orchard Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 18
~0 min drive
The trees below you are what is left of a historic orchard. When Evelyn Frey, her husband, and son arrived in 1925 to run the park’s first concession they brought dozens of fruit trees with them.
Entering Tyuonyi Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 7
~0 min drive
You are now standing in the central plaza of the village. Can you hear the dogs barking and the laughter of children playing or chasing the domesticated turkeys? This would have been a very active and noisy place during Ancestral Pueblo times. One theory suggests that this vil…
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