Chaco Culture Conservancy

As the days get longer, we are quickly approaching the summer solstice 🌞

Looking for a way to welcome the sun on June 21st? Join us at Aztec Ruins National Monument for a sunrise observation and programs throughout the morning. NPS will host an interpretive presentation, music, and a lecture - and the CCC will be there, too!

Here's what you need to know:

⭐ Sunrise observation will take place at the north wall of the Aztec West great house at 5:53 a.m., June 21st - gates will open at 5:30 a.m.

⭐ Enjoy a short ranger talk before the sunrise - you'll learn more about the alignment and how the Ancestral Pueblo peoples used their knowledge of the sky to build it

⭐ After the sunrise observation, you'll get to enter into the great kiva to see a sliver of light appear through a doorway and travel across the west wall before it aligns with a wall niche

⭐ Experience the flute music performed by Travis Jensen inside the great kiva, then chat with Jensen about his instruments and the songs that he plays

⭐ At 10:30 a.m. join park staff and Shawn Price, from the Dine'Tah Navajo Cultural Program, for a lecture titled "Route 66: Travelers and Tribes 100 Years." This lecture will explore how the automobile and America's first interstate further opened the west, and how these innovations in travel impacted Tribal communities and created a crossroads of commerce for travelers on the Mother Road.

We can't wait to see you there! Stop by our table to learn more about the Conservancy and how you can support Aztec Ruins National Monument and Chaco Culture National Historical Park - and to get yourself a special event sticker!


Photo: Travis Jensen playing flute in the great kiva. Patrick Christman.

Last week the National Trust For Historic Preservation placed the Great Chaco Cultural Landscape on its annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2026.

The inclusion of the Greater Chacoan Landscape on this list is a testament to its incredible importance and to the urgent need for public support of its preservation and protection.

The Chaco Culture Conservancy remains committed to our mission of supporting Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument. Each of these National Park Service units protects an irreplaceable piece of the Greater Chacoan Landscape. We will continue to fight for their preservation, for past, present, and future generations.

Yesterday we joined the on Capitol Hill!

We spent the day speaking with New Mexico congressional delegation staffers about our parks, their unique needs, and the work that we do as a philanthropic partner organization.

It is our pleasure and our honor to share in the stewardship of these irreplaceable national park sites, and we were excited to bring our mission to D.C.

Huge thank you to the National Park Foundation for organizing this Hill Day and for inviting the Chaco Culture Conservancy and other partners to be a part of it. And, another huge thanks to the entire New Mexico delegation and their staffers for meeting with us and for their continued work to preserve and protect New Mexico's national parks!

Together, we can make a difference for our public lands 💚