3 Best Sights in Northwestern New Mexico, New Mexico

The village part of the Aztec Museum & Pioneer Village contains more than a dozen late-19th-century buildings—a blacksmith shop, a schoolhouse, a wooden oil derrick, and a log cabin, among others—that convey a sense of life as it used to be lived in these parts.

Dating from the early 1100s, North America's largest reconstructed Great Kiva (a partially submerged, circular earthen structure used for ceremonial and community-wide activities) and a pueblo dwelling that once contained more than 500 rooms, Aztec Ruins National Monument and Museum, makes for a rewarding stop. The ruins have been designated a World Heritage Site because of their significance in what is known as the Chaco Phenomenon, the extensive multitribal social and economic system that reached far beyond Chaco Canyon. This pueblo was abandoned by the mid-1200s. Early homesteaders thought they'd come across an ancient Aztec ruin, hence the odd name. You only need an hour or so to tour the ruin, which is less spectacular but considerably more accessible than those at Chaco.

In the Four Corners area Mesa Verde National Park tops the list of must-sees. Spectacular doesn't even begin to describe its 13th-century cliff dwellings; Balcony House, Cliff Palace, and Spruce House are the biggies. Visitors to these Ancestral Puebloan ruins are also in for a rare scenic treat—and the hairpin turns that go with it. Weather can shut this place down. On-site accommodations (800/449–2288 www.visitmesaverde.com)include Far View Lodge (late April to late October), near the visitor center, and Morefield Campground (early May to early October), 4 mi inside the park.