Regular readers will probably have guessed that the reason I haven’t been posting very often lately is that I’ve been very busy with school. This week is my Spring Break, however, and I’m in New Mexico visiting my mom, so I have a little time. This past weekend we went out to Chaco and camped, which was interesting to me since I haven’t camped at Chaco since the first time I went there with my parents several years ago. It was a different way to experience a place I’ve seen a lot of, and it was fun to go to Pueblo Bonito and Casa Rinconada with my mom and the friend of hers who accompanied us. The friend’s 12-year-old daughter also came, and she found a beautiful turquoise bead in an anthill at Pueblo Bonito that was perhaps the highlight of the trip. Finding it reminded me that I’ve been reconsidering some of my ideas about the relationship between Chaco and turquoise, and I should do a post about the topic when I get a chance.
My mom and I camped for two nights (the friend left earlier because her daughter got sick), and the second night it was very cold, as is typical for this time of year, so it wasn’t the most comfortable camping experience I’ve ever had but it was fun nonetheless. The Chaco campground is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen, and it was quite a pleasant little trip all around. I may not have time this break to do much more blogging, but I figured I should note this experience so people know what I’ve been up to.
I had the same ant hill thrill in a rubble pile at Kin Ya’a. No complete beads but quite a lot of very green turquoise bits. And lots of pissed off ants.
Yeah, I’ve found several pieces of turquoise in anthills before but never a whole bead. This anthill didn’t seem to be currently occupied, so the risk of ant bites was minimal, which was good because they hurt a lot.