Bandelier

Bandelier

If you ever find yourself following my recent route through the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico, be sure to check out Bandelier National Monument while you’re there. It’s located on the lower-elevation, eastern edge of the Jemez region, making it more desert than forest, but it’s really beautiful and well-worth a visit. 

Bandelier is technically 33,000 acres of protected land, so there are a number of hiking trails to explore, but the primary attraction is the ancient village and dwellings, which are estimated to have housed as many as two-thousand ancestral Pueblo people as far back as 11,000 years ago. The Bandelier dwellings are, by far, the largest series of ancient homes that I’ve ever visited and I found it to be a particularly profound glimpse into the past.

My favorite section of Bandelier was the Alcove House, which is a massive, bowl-shaped dwelling nestled 140 feet high up the canyon wall, requiring four separate ladders to reach, and is said to have housed up to 25 people. If you’re afraid of heights, or uncomfortable on ladders, I’d avoid the Alcove House. Otherwise, definitely check it out. 

Now for the headache I mentioned last week…

While visiting Bandelier my van began making a strange noise. The type of noise that even someone who knows nothing about engines couldn’t possibly miss. I never noticed anything change with the van’s driveability or performance, but the noise was definitely concerning. At this point I was still far from a major city and fairly limited on options so, after spending a couple nights in Bandelier, I continued driving towards my next destination, Taos, knowing that the van would either get me there or break down along the way and require a tow. 

I had never been to Taos before and naively assumed it was a major city, but it turned out to be significantly smaller than I expected, which left me with far fewer mechanics to choose from than I would have liked. I drove around a couple hours talking with various mechanics but everyone was so busy that they estimated it would be at least a couple weeks until they could even diagnose the problem.

Great. 

While the mountains surrounding Taos are stunning, my first impression of the city itself was, shall I say, underwhelming. The downtown area seemed nice, yes, but strangely I did not get a good vibe from the city as a whole and honestly didn’t feel particularly safe there. Now, normally I would have left the city section and hunkered down in the beautiful mountains surrounding it—hiking and enjoying the local nature—but with my van troubles it didn’t seem wise to venture deep into the mountains. 

Although I felt a little stuck for options and torn on what to do, one thing was crystal clear to me: I did not want to hang around Taos for multiple weeks waiting for a mechanic. So, while I would have preferred not to continue driving the van, I decided to roll the dice and get back on the road figuring, once again, that I’d either make it to my next destination or break down along the way and need a tow. 

I did some research and found a highly-rated mechanic in the small town of Del Norte, Colorado—a couple hours drive from Taos. I called them on the phone and they told me to bring her by as soon as I got to town. Although the noise lingered, the van got me to Del Norte without issue and, as soon as I arrived at the garage, the mechanic came out to greet me. He said he could hear the noise as I pulled up and, before I knew it, he had disappeared underneath the van with a flashlight, right there in the parking lot, to see if he could visually verify his suspicion. Not 15 seconds later he says “yep, looks like you’ve got a cracked flex plate. I see it all the time with these engines.” 

So much for a two-week wait to diagnose the issue—we’re already making progress!

I had never even heard of a flex plate, nor had any idea of what it does, but I was preeeetty sure it’s not supposed to be cracked, so we stepped inside the office to discuss options. He made some calls, gave me a price estimate and sourced the part. He had a lot of clients on the books and wouldn’t be able to get to my van for a week, but I liked the guy, the garage, the town and the timeframe a whole lot more than my Taos options, so we shook hands and I told him I’d see him in a week. 

Ironically, with the benefit of hindsite, I can now see how this entire flex plate debacle led directly to two really profound adventures which significantly enriched my trip, making me oddly grateful for the engine trouble I experienced. But, seeing as this week’s blog is already longer than intended, I’m going to have to save those stories for a future Photo of the Week release. 

So stay tuned! 

“Ancestral Pueblo people in and around Bandelier, like Pueblo ancestors elsewhere, were farmers who grew maize (corn), beans, and squash. They supplemented their diet with native plants and by hunting deer, rabbits, other mammals, and birds. Cotton was cultivated and woven into garments. The people made winter blankets ingeniously woven of yucca-fiber string twisted with turkey feathers or strips of rabbit skin. They fashioned tools, including a wide variety of axes, mauls, and knives, from animal bones, wood, and local stones such as obsidian and basalt. They acquired other items, including shells, turquoise, and parrots, through trade networks that ranged as far as central Mexico and Baja California.”  – npshistory.com