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Sites Bat400 has logged. View this log as a table or view the most recent logs from everyone
Arizona Museum of Natural History
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Museum
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2010. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5
Log Text: None
Desert Botanical Gardens
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Museum
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 1989. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 5
Desert Botanical Gardens submitted by TimPrevett on 21st Apr 2011. A western apache household.
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Log Text: None
Mesa Grande
Date Added: 28th Feb 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 0000. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3
Log Text: You can observe the mound and some of the excavations from three sides, but the site is enclosed by a high iron rail fence.
Park of the Canals
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2010. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 5
Log Text: None
Pueblo Grande - Park of Four Waters
Trip No.1 Entry No.3 Date Added: 8th Jun 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 1st Jan 2010. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4
Log Text: In addition to the main grounds of the site, there are regularly scheduled tours of the remains of some of the canals at the Park of Four Waters adjacent to Pueblo Grande.
Next go to "Hayden Butte". [URL=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17352]http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17352[/URL].
Montezuma Castle
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2004. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Montezuma Castle submitted by thecaptain on 25th May 2009. Montezuma Castle, on a hot day in November 1990.
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Log Text: None
Newspaper Rock (Petrified Forest)
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Rock Art
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2005. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 5
Newspaper Rock (Petrified Forest) submitted by thecaptain on 20th May 2009. I believe that this is Newspaper Rock, its certainly in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
From a visit in November 1990.
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Log Text: None
Casa Grande - Village
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5
Casa Grande - Village submitted by AlexHunger on 25th Mar 2005. Casa Grande
Coolidge, Arizona on Ruins Drive.
Side House 1 West of main house. about 1 Meters high. Hohkam Culture. Inhabited ca 1,000 to 1,300 CE. Discovered 1,694 CE by Spanish Priest. Thought to be abandoned due to climate change. Made of "Caliche" dried mud. N32.99452, W111.53743, Elevation 427 Meters.
There are about 40 platform mounds in the Phoenix/Tucson area. Further north there are cliff dwelings, belonging to a different culture.
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Log Text: None
Casa Grande - The Great House
Date Added: 13th Sep 2010
Site Type: Ancient Palace
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 2005. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 5
Casa Grande - The Great House submitted by AlexHunger on 25th Mar 2005. Casa Grande
Coolidge, Arizona on Ruins Drive.
As seen from South. Hohkam Culture. Inhabited ca 100 to 1300 CE. Discovered 1694 CE by Spanish Priest. Thought to be abandoned due to climate change. Made of "Caliche" dried mud. Very fragile, therefore protected by roof.
N32.99426, W111.53780, Elevation 4e27 Meters.
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Log Text: None
Hayden Butte
Trip No.1 Entry No.4 Date Added: 9th Apr 2017
Site Type: Rock Art
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st Jan 0000. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 3
Hayden Butte submitted by TimPrevett on 5th Dec 2009. Hayden Butte (pronounced bute) has a lot of petroglyphs when you know where to look. All the glyphs are on sides of the mountain facing the sun (ie. south and east - as it seems is the case with most sites).
Most are recessed off the paths and are inaccesible due to wildlife and heritage preservation but can be viewed adequately from the paths, and with assistance (ie camera zoom, binoculars).
If not used to this environment, be mindful of bobcats, rattlesnakes, cacti and the temperature. It...
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Log Text: Now make your way to the 44th and Washington rail station and travel eastbound. You'll cross the Salt River over Tempe's Town Lake. Get off at the Veterans Way / College Avenue stop at Sun Devil Stadium and Hayden Butte. The rail trip itself will take about 10 minutes.
If you walk to the east end of the station platforms and face the butte, there are trail heads to your left. The majority of the petroglyphs are on the south and east side of the butte and if you decide to walk to the top, there are views of the river valley and the extensive modern development of Phoenix and Tempe. Again, you may wish to walk only a short way up the trail or all the way to the top of the butte, taking anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes at this stop on the trip.
Next go to "Lomo del Rio Ruins". http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17351.
Canyon de Chelly - Mummy Cave
Date Added: 28th Feb 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 1st Jun 2004. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 2
Canyon de Chelly - Mummy Cave Ruin submitted by bat400 on 10th Sep 2006. Canyon de Chelly - Mummy Cave Ruins, Apache County, Arizona.
I thought this was the most amazing site we could see from the canyon rim. This photo was taken from a vantage point west of the ruin.
Photo by bat400, June 2003.
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Log Text: I saw the ruin from an overlook to the west. You may only approach the ruins with a Navajo guide. There is no access directly into the ruins themselves.
Chaco Culture NHP - Pueblo Bonito
Date Added: 1st Jun 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 25th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
Chaco Culture NHP - Pueblo Bonito submitted by bat400 on 25th May 2012. Pueblo Bonito Great House, taken from the cliff edge directly north of the site. Photo by bat400, April 2012.
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Log Text: An amazing site, the absolute must-see for anyone visiting the park. In the morning I was on a hike that took me to the cliff top above Pueblo Bonita for a striking "aerial" view. By the afternoon, the site was overcast. I think the structure would be particularly beautiful early or late in the day with full sun creating shadows as you walk through the vacant rooms.
The trail through the site limits you by which rooms you can enter, but you can completely circuit the outer wall of the pueblo and there is access to most of the plazas and many rooms in the eastern portion. You can linger as long as you like during daylight hours. Various masonary techniques and architectural styles can be seen in the complex.
Park ranger tours are available several times a day during high season, see the website for the National Park. An inexpensive guide is also available as you enter the site, or from the Visitor's Center. Wheel chair access is possible for a portion of the site's walking trail, but the path is sand or gravel, not paved. Large chair tires or an assistant would be necessary.
Chaco Culture NHP
Date Added: 12th Dec 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 25th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 4
Chaco Culture NHP - Pueblo Bonito submitted by bat400 on 25th May 2012. Pueblo Bonito Great House, taken from the cliff edge directly north of the site. Photo by bat400, April 2012.
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Log Text: The park is must see for anyone visiting northwest New Mexico. However, the park is in a remote area, with minimal services. (In my opinion, this is part of the experiance.)
Be sure to review the park website to properly prepare for your trip. Camping at the park and extending your visit for several days would have many rewards, but all the major sites along the paved driving loop can be visited in one long day. If you are at all fit, take one of the "back country" trails to visit one or more sites on the mesa tops surrounding the canyon and "Downtown Chaco".
Park ranger tours are available at the main sites several times a day during high season, see the website for the National Park. Inexpensive guide books are often available as you enter specific sites, or from the Visitor's Center. Wheel chair access is possible for portions of the walking trail at Pueblo Bonito, but even there the path is sand or gravel, not paved. Large chair tires or an assistant would be necessary.
Note: A sturdy passenger vehicle is adequate to cross aproximately 13 miles of unpaved, washboard roads to reach the park itself. No not use a vehicle with "low profile" tires, and call for road conditions during the winter or following any periods of rain. Locals take the dirt road at speeds that you would not think possible, and actually reaching speeds of 45-55 mph will reduce the severe impacts as your car's shock absorbers dampen out the input frequency of the roadbed. (Try this, but remember that you MUST slow on curves, when coming on rises, or whenever visiblity is degraded. Otherwise you will slide off the road or strike other vehicles or livestock.)
Anasazi Indian State Park
Date Added: 25th May 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 1st May 2012. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 3 Access 4
Anasazi Indian State Park submitted by TheCaptain on 5th Dec 2010. Pit house structure at Boulder Anasazi village.
Picture from a 1990 trip, and now faded and deteriorated.
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Log Text: None
Mesa Verde
Date Added: 5th Jun 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 27th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3
Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace submitted by DrewParsons on 18th Oct 2008. Mesa Verde - The Cliff Palace. September 2005
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Log Text: Once you are in the Park there are many ancient sites you can visit on your own and without additional fees. Everyone wants to see the spectacular cliff dwellings, but don't neglect the many mesa top dwelling and farming sites that are actually much more typical of occupation at Mesa Verde.
The drive from the main entrance to the Visitor Center, muesums, and the nearest sites takes about 30-45 minutes, the distance to nearby towns and lodging is another 30 minutes minimum. So if the campground or lodge are open, it may be worth it to stay there.
Major forest fires have destroyed substantial portions of the mesa top trees, leaving a bare and not particularly pleasant landscape in a majority of the park, with living plants limited to scrubs and ground cover. However, there are still terrific views down into the canyons and across the horizon to the San Jaun Mountains, Shiprock, and other landmarks.
Mesa Verde - Balcony House
Date Added: 5th Jun 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 29th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 5 Access 3
Mesa Verde - Balcony House submitted by jeffrep on 13th Nov 2012. Balcony House cliff dwelling showing the balcony (right) that gives this site its name.
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Log Text: Balcony House is in an alcove directly below a road where people park to take the tour. As a result, you cannot see it from that location. If you cannot take the guided tour (which is possibly the most physically demanding of the short Ranger Led tours) you can take a short hike (about 3/4 of a mile, one way) to the Soda Canyon overlook of Balcony House.
The hike is relatively flat on a well defined sand and dirt track. When you get to the Soda Canyon edge, Balcony House is clearly visible, but binoculars are needed to see the details of the building. There are also several other, much smaller cliff dwellings in the canyon walls and visible from points on the trail.
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Date Added: 25th May 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 27th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4
Aztec Ruins National Monument submitted by Creative Commons on 22nd Dec 2018. Aztec Ruins National Monument is located in Northern New Mexico. It was home to the Ancestral Puebloans, who built and lived in the great houses here beginning in the mid 11th century until the late 13th century. The West Ruin, also called the Aztec West Great House, was three stories tall and contained over 500 rooms. Image copyright: Jasperdo, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.
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Log Text: None
Chaco Culture NHP - Casa Rinconada
Date Added: 29th May 2012
Site Type: Ancient Temple
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 26th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 5 Access 4
Chaco Culture NHP - Casa Rinconada submitted by bat400 on 27th May 2012. In this view you can see the stone bench around the base of the interior wall, the many niches, and the room structure outside the kiva on the north side of the building.
Photo by bat400, April 2012.
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Log Text: This Great Kiva is isolated from the Great Houses themselves and sits on a natural rise across Chaco Wash from Pueblo del Arroyo, Pueblo Bonito, and Chetro Ketl. All of these Great Houses are clearly visible from the ridge where Casa Rinconada was built. You can walk completely around the building and into a portion of the northern antechamber.
You walk up a clearly marked trail from a parking area/trail head. Several small pueblo communittees lie to the north and east of the great kiva. You can visit them as well.
Chaco Culture NHP - New Alto
Date Added: 28th May 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 25th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 4 Access 2
Chaco Culture NHP - New Alto submitted by bat400 on 27th May 2012. New Alto.
Photo by bat400, April 2012.
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Log Text: A large raven flew from Pueblo Alto, left, to perch on the walls of New Alto as I approached. (Dexter to my path ... had I been an ancient Roman, I might have turned around and went away...)
A little eerie, as this ruin stands on the edge of a flat sagebrush plain north of Chaco Canyon. Only a portion of the structure has walls standing above the mound that encases the majority of it. You are actually seeing the walls of the second floor of the building.
See my site log for Pueblo Alto (http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=15539) for what the trail was like to get up to New Alto from the canyon floor.
Chaco Culture NHP - Una Vida
Date Added: 29th May 2012
Site Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Country: United States (The Southwest)
Visited: Yes on 25th Apr 2012. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 5 Access 3
Chaco Culture NHP - Una Vida submitted by bat400 on 27th May 2012. A view of the Great House ruin from the cliffside to the north east. Fajada Butte is in the distance.
Photo by bat400.
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Log Text: Atmospheric, and has great views of Fajada Butte (somewhat marred by a view of the rear of the visitor's center). I was there as the sun was starting to set. The site is actually built on a fairly obvious slope above the canyon floor. Since it is mostly in an unexcavated or backfilled state, a trail guide is very helpful.
The petroglyph panel is further up the slop into the lower margin of the cliffs. The view from that location gives you a better appreciation for the Great House layout.