Bandelier National Monument is close to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Yet, it belongs with the national parks that trail through the corridor of New Mexico and Colorado. This corridor was populated ages ago by the Ancients. Mysteriously, they disappeared and left no record of why. But, you can still see their construction work at places such as Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and Canyons of the Ancients.
The Bandelier community, as you will see in the following video*, was built into cliff walls many stories tall. They had a rich communal life, as shown by the ruins of houses, storage rooms, and dwellings. These are in the Frijoles Canyon, (for example, Long House,) within walking distance of the Visitor Center. Also, there are trails into the surrounding backcountry canyons. A nice campground is located within the park.
If you are interested in the culture of the Ancients, this monument should be on your list.
[* This is dedicated to Jeff Beck, one of my favorite guitar players, who recently passed away. He made up the term “controlled chaos” to describe the exhilarating feeling he got by taking the sounds he got from the electric guitar to new dimensions — almost over the cliff — before it could become noise.]