In an amazing turn of events, I have no catastrophes to report. None. No dog puke, no toilet leaks, no fuel filter malfunctions. We have had smooth sailing for the last few days, and we are thankful to not be seeking out a hardware store today!

The view from our campsite at Navajo Lake State Park

We enjoyed our time at Navajo Lake State Park and left there for Chaco Culture National Historical Park via a very nice laundromat in Bloomfield, NM. Now we have loads of clean underwear. We heard the roads to Chaco would be rough and knew there was a chance the campground was full. But it’s only twenty-one gravelly, rutted, pot-holed, bumpy, uneven, sandy miles in – how bad could it be? I’m sorry – a precious eight of those miles were paved, so that leaves only thirteen miles of hell. We crawled along as slowly as I jog at times, but we made it to an open campsite without once scraping the motorcycle carrier (quite an accomplishment on Nic’s part with our current clearance).

Petroglyphs

Beautifully crafted doorways

Chacoan stairs carved into a cliff wall

One of the large plazas in Pueblo Bonito, the largest Chacoan ruin

Cliff-top views of Chetro Ketl

Impressive masonry for being built before 1000 AD

A brief informational aside: Chaco Canyon is a collection of ruins from Puebloans who lived in the area more than a millennium ago. The settlements in the canyon most likely served as a ceremonial, administrative, and economic center for a conglomeration of people groups. Most modern-day Puebloan New Mexicans are descendants of people who lived in Chaco Canyon. So the place has an air of significance, even for those of us too impatient to read all the informational plaques. We marveled at the petroglyphs and tidy masonry of the ruins, and the size and scope of the larger ruins was particularly impressive from the cliff-top overlooks accessible from our long hike.

Pueblo Bonito overlook – the largest ruin in Chaco Canyon

Nic patiently and skillfully made the long, rough drive out of Chaco Canyon this morning, and we are spending the night free of cost at Angel Peak Scenic Area. Staying free tonight brings our 7-night average cost of camping to $6.14, a figure I am quite proud of. We could be trying even harder to stay places for free; after all, we haven’t tried a Walmart parking lot yet. Even so, we are keeping costs low in at least one category, and we’ll count that a success. The Angel Peak campground is nearly empty, and we have expansive views of miles of colorful badlands below us. My eyes can’t quite comprehend the height and depth of this area. With so many layers of canyons and cliffs, it is difficult to take it all in. We watched a lightning storm roll through just west of us and even got to a lower point at the campground for a little while to avoid playing lightning rod for the whole area. We are in for some rain tonight, and we are happy to be dry and cozy in our little house.

So happy she’s not puking today!

Badlands at Angel Peak Scenic Area

Luna showing off the view from our campsite

We have the generator on as I type, since I’m baking in the Instant Pot. I found a delicious recipe for personal-sized Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes. Actually, the recipe said they were “Better Than Sex Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes,” but we don’t comment on things like that on this blog. I am baking one little cake now. Fifteen minutes from now we will be snuggled under a down blanket with the dogs, listening to the rain, and filling our plastic spoons with a delightful confection of drippy, melty, yummy, sweet chocolate cake.