It isn’t easy to reach Chaco Canyon, but it is worth the effort. We drove into the canyon on from Albuquerque, taking I-40 west, then New Mexico roads 605, 509, and finally 57, which is also marked as Navajo Service Rd. 9. Roads 605 and 509 are small, paved two-lane highways, but once you turn north on 57, you have 18 miles of unpaved washboard road. There are several places where the road appears to be smooth rock that would be slick in the rain.