Sketching in Aztec, New Mexico

Mistakenly considered to be Aztec in origin by early white settlers, the site actually contains the ruins of a 12th-century Ancestral Pueblo settlement built by people associated with Chaco Canyon to the south. The Ancestral Pueblo people, formerly known as Anasazi, were ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. They lived in multilevel communal dwellings constructed of sandstone, mud, and stones.

100 degrees outside at Aztec Ruins, New Mexico

On this sweltering hot hilltop, my granddaughter and I sketched as fast as we could and escaped into the cool indoors to add color later.

A section of the ruins at Aztec, New Mexico.

Aztec Ruins National Monument, archaeological site in northwestern New Mexico, U.S. It is situated on the Animas River, in the city of Aztec, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Colorado state line. The national monument was established in 1923 and designated a World Heritage site in 1987 (along with Chaco Culture National Historical Park to the south). It has an area of about 320 acres (130 hectares).

Looking east across the Animas River from the ruins. 

From another viewpoint, I got most of the color before I couldn't take the 100 degree "dry" heat. At least my watercolor washes dried quickly.