The Chacoans built roads that do not seem to go anywhere. From Chaco Canyon, the centre of an extraordinary culture that flourished in the San Juan Basin of north-western New Mexico around a thousand years ago, a road known as the Great North Road runs almost due north for about fifty kilometres, straight as a ruler across mesas and washes, toward Kutz Canyon. Along it stand small great houses, and the site known as Halfway House is one of them, a stone structure about halfway along the road, possibly a waystation or a ceremonial marker. Chaco Culture, including outliers like this one, was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1987.
The Great North Road and its sites are on public and tribal land, and many are not open to the public or are difficult to reach, on rough dirt tracks across the desert. Respect closures and signs, do not disturb anything, and remember that these sites are sacred to the Pueblo and Navajo peoples. Chaco Culture National Historical Park, to the south, is the place to see the great houses, such as Pueblo Bonito, and the road to it is partly unpaved and can be impassable after rain.
The landscape is high desert, at around 1,900 metres, with sagebrush, juniper, sandstone mesas and wide skies. Summer is hot, with afternoon thunderstorms, and winter can be cold and snowy. The light is intense, especially at sunrise and sunset, when the mesas glow red and gold.
For riders, the area is about long distances and solitude. Highway 550 runs north-south through the basin, a fast road with little traffic, and fuel stations are far apart, so fill up whenever you can. Bloomfield, Aztec and Farmington, to the north, have fuel, shops and services. Carry water, and be aware that dirt roads can turn to deep mud after rain.