Pecos Pueblo, near Pecos, NM. A traveler in the Four Corner states has to visit a few pueblo Indian ruins, which usually come with a fine old Spanish church. I've visited a couple pueblos located far enough east to have traded with and fought with less settled tribes from the high plains to the east, like the Apaches.
Imagine what it was to be a Plains Indian seeing a five-story pueblo building for the first time. It must have been similar to a pony-mounted Mongolian, in Genghis's era, riding east until he got his first look at a Chinese city.
But what did the more settled and civilized Puebloans think of the Plains Indians? As a Plains Indian rode east, away from the Pueblo, perhaps some of the Puebloans looked at him wistfully and thought, Ahh, there goes a real man, living in harmony with nature.
The best part of visiting the Pecos pueblo was the chance to crawl down into a restored kiva. It's surprising that the Park Service trusts the public that much. (And where was the wheelchair access?)
The roof of the kiva was covered with soil. It was mercifully cool and dark down in the kiva, and warm in the winter, no doubt. Are we not foolish to live above ground? Living partly outdoors is one of my favorite aspects of being a full time RVer.
Imagine what it was to be a Plains Indian seeing a five-story pueblo building for the first time. It must have been similar to a pony-mounted Mongolian, in Genghis's era, riding east until he got his first look at a Chinese city.
But what did the more settled and civilized Puebloans think of the Plains Indians? As a Plains Indian rode east, away from the Pueblo, perhaps some of the Puebloans looked at him wistfully and thought, Ahh, there goes a real man, living in harmony with nature.
The best part of visiting the Pecos pueblo was the chance to crawl down into a restored kiva. It's surprising that the Park Service trusts the public that much. (And where was the wheelchair access?)
The roof of the kiva was covered with soil. It was mercifully cool and dark down in the kiva, and warm in the winter, no doubt. Are we not foolish to live above ground? Living partly outdoors is one of my favorite aspects of being a full time RVer.
Behind the old Spanish church, and aligned with the protruding beams, is the high mesa that has been my home for 14 days. Much to my distress a new housing development is being built up there. Now modern McMansions can look down upon the decay of the Pecos pueblo, the housing development of an ancient day.
Many times the old churches steal the show at Indian pueblo ruins. Perhaps that's the final indignity for a conquered culture.
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