I asked Grace to get photos but she was too deep in watching my driving and making sure from the front passenger’s seat that her imaginary steering wheel kept us on the road and her brake pedal was working as well as, if not better than mine! 
Meryla had the side of the truck with the sheer drop as well and she was calling out “I’m scared of heights” and I was trying to (unsuccessfully) convince her that she was still the same height from the road as when she stepped into the truck !!I have to say though, I’m very, very happy I wasn’t towing the Sierra.
Human presence in the area has been dated back to over 10,000 years. Permanent settlements by ancestors of the Pueblo peoples have been dated to 1150 - these settlers had moved closer to the Rio Grande by 1550.
The main attraction of the monument is Frijoles Canyon containing a number of ancestral pueblo homes, kivas (ceremonial structures), rock paintings and petroglyphs (rock engravings).
We walked the 1.2 mile (1.6 km) predominantly paved, "Main Loop Trail" from the visitor centre and that was a great introduction. There were longer trecks but that short distance with the girls still took us about 2 hours with all the stops.
Some of the dwellings were rock structures built on the canyon floor; others were "cavates" (cliff dwellings) produced by voids in the canyon wall and carved out further by humans. From afar we were a little reluctant to access these cliff dwellings because access was via a ladder and it looked a little dangerous. However, once we got closer, it wasn’t anywhere near as high as we thought so we all climbed in to various caves.
It’s difficult to imagine that we were sitting in someone’s former home from thousands of years ago. An interesting and well worthwhile visit for all the family
How amazing Alan! I love the thought of sitting in those caves and knowing that someone used to live there so many thousands of years ago. I can imagine how Grace would be while you were driving those roads and the sheer drops.....oooooohhhh dear. Don't think I could have looked down either!
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