8 Salinas Pueblo Missions

For our last full day in the ABQ area Gary, Shirley and I headed southeast to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. There are three sites of ruins. We first visit Quarai. It is a tall red church ruins and adjacent structures. Shirley estimates it was at least 3 stories tall. We read more about the clash between the native Puebloans and the Spainards, especially in regards to religion and rule of law. The Puebloans had a well-run, harmonious life before the Spainards came.
The ruins are about an hour's drive apart from each other. On our way to the second site we stop to take pictures of an old, abandoned pick-up truck which has obviously been used for target practice.
Gran Quivira, our second set of ruins, is large and made of gray limestone. There are ruins of a church as well and a large settlement. Some of the kivas have been excavated but there were hidden kivas underneath the living quarters so the natives could continue their spiritual practices without the Franciscan friars' knowledge.
We decide to not go to the third site called Abó. It's been a long enough day. Gary is learning to managed with his new boot. Not being able to bend the ankle makes driving harder so he would switch back to his shoe for driving and the boot for walking. He needed to figure it all out since he would be driving his big Ford truck back to Austin.
We spend the evening cleaning out the fridge and packing. It is the first time we have had significant downtime. It's been quite a stretch of daily activities. All very enjoyable and interesting.Read more