This weekend my brother Dan and his wife Linda came to visit me here in Bandelier (sorry Linda – I didn’t get a picture of us).

Dan and I haven’t been here together for decades – I think I was about nine and he was three. Before we moved to Colorado, our family came here often because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, my family has ties to Frijoles Canyon and Bandelier. My grandmother’s first husband was Edgar Rogers, the first park custodian assigned to Bandelier in June of 1932. She lived here with him in small, primitive quarters and served as an Honorary Custodian Without Pay. That means exactly what it sounds like – this was an unofficial park designation often extended to wives of official custodians – we call them rangers today – who worked at a variety of jobs in the parks for free. Despite the lack of remuneration, she relished this role. She quickly became acquainted with Eva Frey who operated the lodge here in the canyon, enjoyed her developing friendships with park employees, and learned all she could about the history, flora and fauna of the canyon. One of her favorite duties was leading guided tours of the ruins.

In the fall of 1933, Edgar died by suicide. Gay remained for a time at Bandelier, taking over many of Edgar’s duties. After Gay left Bandelier she returned often to visit Eva who became a life-long friend.

It followed naturally that we would make Bandelier a regular destination, staying in the lodge or camping across the creek. Eva, her head tilted just a bit to the side, would greet me as if I were a proper adult guest which made me feel very important. In the mornings while it was still cool, my father would walk with me to the ruins. Sometimes my grandmother would come too, and explain what I was seeing and why it mattered.

Though the lodge is no longer open to the public, the structures have been carefully preserved and look much the same as they did when I was small. So too, the ruins have changed little, except for some further excavation and constant preservation measures against erosion and many visitors. Being here is a step back in time. In moments of quiet reflection, I can hear Eva’s voice welcoming us to this space between honeycombed canyon walls, the fresh evening breeze cooling the lodge room in summer, or logs burning in the curved adobe fireplace filling it with warmth and the spice of pinon in winter.

Fires are no longer allowed in the rooms. Other than my brother, the people who made this place feel like home are no longer with me. I like to think they still visit here though, conversing with the Ancient Ones, their voices a gentle murmur slipping through the window screens as I drift off to sleep.

More information about Honorary Custodians Without Pay can be found in this excellent article: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/two-for-the-price-of-one.htm, where I learned much more about this harrowing time in my grandmother’s life than she ever shared.

Photo of Gay Cook Rogers courtesy of author’s family collection

Lodge photo courtesy of Bandelier NPS archives. Link to the Bandelier CCC Historic District brochure, which has wonderful information about the lodge and the work of the CCC here: http://npshistory.com/brochures/band/ccc-walking-tour.pdf