Originally Posted by
tomwilliams
If I was making a trip that accented pueblos and cliff dwellings, in and around New Mexico, I'd probably start at Mesa Verde in SW Colorado, then head south from Durango to Aztec, NM (some ruins there) and Chaco Canyon. Thence to Acoma and then to the Spanish mission ruins east of Albuquerque.
South of Chaco and just east of Grants on US 40 is El Malpais National Monument, a huge lava flow bordered on the east by sandstone plateaus, which include a pueblo probably already on your list: Acoma Sky City Cultural Center. There are interesting hikes out of The Narrows picnic ground inside El Malpais park, east to the sandstone and west to the lava fields. There is a first-come, first-served campground between The Narrows and the ranger station on highway 117 (aka El Malpais road, off US 40).