Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we found ourselves in the Farmington, NM area for a second consecutive weekend. Thankfully, there was still much to explore. While in the area, we also explored the Aztec Ruins. The Aztec Ruins were not built by Aztecs, but rather the same people responsible for Mesa Verde and the Salmon Ruins, but because they resembled the Aztec ruins in Central America, they were misnamed. On the 7th, we attended a talk about the ruins that was hosted by an archaeologist that had been working in the area, and then on the 8th we returned to visit the park.
The ruins that had been uncovered represented about half of what could be found at this site. The rest of the ruins were underground, but had been found using ground penetrating radar and other techniques.
The rooms had been uncovered, and in several places, had been repaired. The timbers had been replaced to form rooms, just as they would have years ago.
I also felt like the Aztec Ruins Kivas were better preserved/uncovered than at several of the other sites we visited. They had built a grand Kiva in the courtyard, but it was built in modern times to represent what may have stood there.
An Engineer in the World 