New Mexico reopens Bandelier monument

FRIJOLES CANYON, N.M. – The prehistoric Native American archaeological sites that fill the heart of northern New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument have reopened to visitors, three months after the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history sent employees scrambling to save rare artifacts and irreplaceable artwork.

The monument’s visitor center and biggest concentration of prehistoric cultural sites survived the fire and a second threat – post-fire flooding that sent ash, sediment and charred debris into the heart of the monument.

The summer rains now all but over, monument employees on Monday welcomed shuttle buses of visitors back to the canyon.

“It’s great to have people back in the park,” said Rod Torrez, Bandelier’s chief of interpretation, who was among the park officials there when the first bus pulled up. “I was expecting it to be quiet this first week, but people have been waiting a long time to get here.”

The first bus arrived with 18 passengers, including Dan and Mary Lee of Traverse City, Mich.

The couple were in New Mexico celebrating their 50th anniversary and decided to extend their trip by a day to see the sites at Frijoles Canyon, including the kivas dug into the canyon floor as places to hold ceremonies, the stone pueblo walls that surround them, and the dwellings carved by the ancestors of modern Native Americans into the canyon walls.

“We’re really lucky,” said Mary Lee, who was ready for the short hike through the canyon. “This is the purpose of our trip, to visit prehistoric Indian sites.”

Every bus after the first was filled to capacity with dozens of visitors waiting their turn for the next hike.

This marks one of the busiest times of year for Bandelier, which sees about 238,000 visitors annually.

The buses will run seven days a week through October, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

By November, Lott said, the park plans to open the canyon so visitors can once again make the drive on their own.