Chaco Canyon announcements

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-12

[00:00:01]Hello, everybody. Ben Woodford here.

[00:00:02]Just want to do some quick channel updates. So, uh this channel when I started it Desert Lore, the idea was, you know, I want to do videos going out to archaeological sites and kind of focusing in on kind of interpreting these sites and sharing thoughts on them, but also connecting larger pictures that don't get taught, such as the ancient trades of ideas and goods and people going back and forth between Mesoamerica and the Southwest.

[00:00:30]And so, I've tried to do that. So, I've tried to take you to sites, but then there's some things where I've just shared uh deep insight and information just from my office here. Uh and I've also tried to share some experimental archaeology where I actually demonstrate how things were made anciently because I think there's a lot that goes into that that people just are not aware of, you know, how how these things were actually made. I think it adds much depth to our understanding of the history. So, it's been interesting to see. It seems like people really love the videos where I go out and share a location, kind of like, "Hey, we're actually going out on an adventure." And it seems like the ones where I'm in my office sharing any in-depth insight to a site or concept, people like that little less. And it seems like the experimental archaeology where I'm actually demonstrating things, not many people watch those at all.

[00:01:23]Well, that means, you know, that encourages me to do more going out there type adventures. Well, here's the thing.

[00:01:30]So, moving forward, I have videos scheduled out twice a week through September right now.

[00:01:36]But, I have a bunch of trips planned including this Saturday, we're spending all week in Chaco Canyon and Aztec, New Mexico, and Salmon, all these sites, and we're going to get 50, 60 videos out of that. I asked earlier what your thoughts are on if I should just have ding ding ding Chaco Chaco Chaco or if I should split it up.

[00:01:56]And I got answers on both sides, but it seems like there's a desire to split it up. So, coming back from Chaco, I'm going to be editing these videos. And remember, I've still got videos scheduled out through September. So, I'm going to take those videos and I'm going to intersperse them as well as doing new videos. So, I'm going to try to mix it up so that, you know, it seems like you guys don't like the experimental archaeology videos as much.

[00:02:19]So, I'll try to spread those out more further apart.

[00:02:24]And I'll try to have me maybe have like, you know, for the foreseeable future maybe one Chaco video a week, give or take.

[00:02:30]And then something else. So, you get a mix of subjects.

[00:02:35]And I'm still going to be going to other archaeological sites outside of Chaco and filming there and teaching there and doing all that kind of stuff as well.

[00:02:43]So, that's kind of the game plan.

[00:02:46]We are so excited. We were supposed to go. I've got a team and we're going to film out at Chaco. We were supposed to do this in November, but then the stupid government shutdown happened and we weren't able to. So, now we're going out there and now gas is like $5 a gallon and now the water is shot shut off in Chaco Canyon. So, we're having to haul all of our water out there for the entire week of filming, you know, for water for anything, for cooking, for washing up, for drinking. This is going to be a wild trip. Chaco Canyon is incredible and I hope that we can capture the feel of the place and also give you some truly in-depth insight. I do I like I've got the whole trip plan I've got maps that are printed off with very specific sites that we're going to go and see room by room, very specific rooms, and brought replicas that I've made of certain artifacts, you know, to talk about there on site. It's going to be very in-depth.

[00:03:44]>> [clears throat] >> I guarantee you you're going to love it.

[00:03:46]So, thank you for supporting the channel. If you haven't already, if you could hit subscribe, it very much helps keep the channel up and going. But, I appreciate all the love and support everyone has shown in helping to get this channel moving, moving forward. And I hope this Chaco trip, I hope it blows you out of the water. Because I don't think anybody out there has ever done these kind of in-depth videos. Even documentaries, Chaco is so big, they just kind of do surface level stuff. Because if you're going to do like a 45-minute documentary on a key on a cable channel or something, you can't go into this kind of depth. Like, you know, we're going to have episodes about one specific room and the evolution of how it was built and how it had a doorway and what offerings were left there and how it was burned and then how it was buried and certain burials. One room, we're going to go into depth and it's going to blow your mind some of the stuff we're going to talk about. It's going to be so exciting. And I'm so excited to share it. Um, you know, I've mentioned on this channel before, you know, about a year and a half to years ago, I uh had cardiac arrest and I died and for for 9 minutes and had three postmortem strokes. I had to fight to come back from that. And doing this channel has helped me retrace. So, the memories, I didn't lose my memories, but I didn't have access to them. So, relearning this information is like walking over a trail that is grown over with bushes and weeds and grasses. So, you have helped me, me, you watching this channel has given me the motivation and the desire to make these videos. And making these videos has helped me retrace all this information that I've spent years prior learning. So, I appreciate you helping me and coming on this journey with me.

[00:05:28]It's been very profound and very personal. And this is going to be a fun culmination. This Chaco trip, I think you're going to you're going to love all the videos we're going to get out of it. So, thank you. Thank you.

[00:05:40]Thank you for all your support and um stay tuned. We're going to have some great episodes coming up.