OFF THE RESERVATION.....................................

Time to leave the reservation................Time to round up the ponies and head on out.................The 'Kids' have been to the Childrens' Museum to discover the wonders of magnetism, face paint, blowing giant puddles (I think that should be bubbles) and organic gardening..........And if you head north of SANTE FE for thirty miles you will be almost as far away from the Atlantic Ocean as you can get from the Pacific Ocean, but you will see this 'Mesa'.................. Then hang a left for another twenty miles, through ravines and valleys and you will come to Bandelier National Park, where after entering, you get the kids invovlved in doing a 10 page 'Thesis' that covers environmental study, ecological disaster prevention, animal recognition, flood mitigation, Indian cultural heritage and if successful they will be awarded with a Junior Ranger badge.......War paint not withstanding................Candidates pass with flying colours even though they have never seen a squirrel before........No squirrels down-under...................

The basaltic formations topped of with tuff deposits from the spewing of past volcanoes creates spectacular layers in the hillsides. We pass the 'Los Alamos" radio telescope and their research laboratories before getting to the park.........................



And just at the base of the cliffs we find the former homes of the 'HOPI' Indians..........You need to double click on some of these pics............... the views were spectacular and so was the pine-perfumed rarified air at 6060 ft above sea-level...............



There is something magical about 'ANTHROPOLOGY'............ to put yourself back there in this ancient valley and picture the 'KIVA' the ceremonial circular gathering place for young and old to establish the way of life and the traditions...........and now only the foundations remain alongside the gentle-flowing "Rio Grande".......................



The 'Swiss-cheese' rock formation is a tuff, a hardened volcanic ash that spread for hundreds of miles during different eruptions............. The Indians would carve out the accessible base for rooms then smoke the ceilings to prevent the roof particles from constantly falling and add some more rooms to the front of the cave by placing roof beams into the walls.........



Then carved into the walls are a myriad of 'petroglyphs' with designs of mystical proportions and then some like this 'macaw' which clearly indicated that trade existed with other tribes from the tropics............ Antiquity at its best......... The real thing........... A living time capsule...................



And it is not just Indians who made their homes in these walls, for the vertical cavity houses millions of bats in the summer.....................



And the structures have not changed all that much for here is a sneak-peek of the 2010 version of the 'Buffalo Thunder' casino hotel .............



And just before leaving the reservation we popped into the BUFFALO THUNDER Casino for a quick bite to eat....................... talk about living large............. This is a 6lb hamburger with fries and coleslaw.............. That's 2.7 kg for those down under.............. By the time you took a good look at it you were full without actually eating it....................