Super-fantastic Journeys

 Tuzigoot National Monument is a 53-acre site managed by the National Park Service near Clarksdale, Arizona.  The site became protected as a national monument in 1939 and is an example of the culture and housing of the protects and honors the ruins of a Sinagua people from 1125 CE to 140 CE before they moved north and east to what is now part of the Hopi reservation. This is a fee site for the National Park Service and will require payment on most days.  We were very lucky and happened to hit it on a free park day. Normally the fee is $10 per adult, children under 16 are free.  The fee is good for seven days and will also allow you to enter Montezuma's Castle National Monument. When you arrive and park in the loop lot you can head up the steps to the visitor center.  The visitor center has some interesting displays about the people who inhabited Tuzigoot and some items that were found when the site was excavated.  There is also a nice gift shop located in the visitors center.  Ther

Bandelier National Monument is located near Los Alamos, NM, and is on the eastern slope of the Jemez Mountains.  Once the home of ancient Pueblo people, the national monument is a great place to explore a diverse ecosystem and the cultures that have inhabited the area over the years.  The park only has 3 miles of road but has over 70 miles of trails on over 33,000 acres of land.  Created in 1916, the park is probably best known for its ruins of ancient people who lived amongst the cliffs and eventually developed a large village on the valley floor below. The Frijoles Canyon is a hub for the activities at Bandelier National Monument and the park's visitor center.  Located at the base of the canyon, the road winds down the side of the canyon to a small parking area.  Parking is very tight here, and in the summer months (May 16 - October 16), visitors must take a shuttle from the nearby town of White Rock which also hosts a new visitors center.  The shuttles run every 30 minutes