From the highway in southwestern Colorado, between Durango (where our daughter Mindy lives) and Pagosa Springs, you can see “Chimney Rock”. This distinctive geological formation, as its name implies, looks like a fireplace chimney on the roof of a building.

Because we had a bit of extra time allotted on our way heading east to Alamosa, we decided to take a short detour to visit Chimney Rock National Monument. We arrived at a small building that serves as the park office. Nearby a construction crew was in the process of expanding the headquarters. We parked the car. Rhonda and Kaden sought a bathroom, and I wandered off to take some snapshots of Chimney Rock, a bit closer and at a different angle. I was soon satisfied and started to walk back toward the car.

In the distance I could see Rhonda urgently beckoning me. I quickened my pace to reach them.

“There are ruins of structures of the Pueblo people up on the mountain. We can sign up for a tour, but it leaves in five minutes!”
I went up to a ranger and paid the fee for the three of us and we joined some other visitors who were loading into a pair of 4WD park vehicles.
The driver ascended a rutted dirt road that snaked its way upward, and after about 10 minutes arrived at another parking lot.

The Chimney Rock area was home to several successive Pueblo peoples. A latter group was connected to the inhabitants of the Chaco Canyon site to the south in northern New Mexico.

Kaden suffered from the heat a bit while we were there, but he stuck with us and had a good time. Later he rated the site “Excellent!”

After our visit, we stopped to buy some water from a pair of women who staffed a booth. Kaden (who starts second grade in August) advised them of the correct change to provide from the twenty dollar bill. The were quite nice to him. Encouraged, he quizzed them with his favorite math problem: “What is two times one googol?”
They later cautioned him to “try to not be too much smarter than his teachers.” 🙂