We decided to not drive the freeways home over the extended July 4th holiday weekend. Instead we decided to stay in Santa Fe, New Mexico until after the holiday. So from Tucumcari we took the road less traveled, New Mexico state route 104 to Las Vegas, then to Pecos National Historical Park. (New Mexico also has a Las Vegas, but it’s much less crowded than Nevada’s.)
We did not see more than a handful of cars until we approached Las Vegas. But we did see one pronghorn antelope and one red racer snake (which I could not avoid running over). Red racers are not indigenous to New Mexico and I was saddened to reduce the population by one… even though ” Red racers commonly end up crushed under tires along the highway,” according to one source I consulted.
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- The pueblo once was home to 2,000 people. They were Pecos People, a subgroup of Ancestral Pueblans (that we used to call Anasazi). Anasazi was a name used by the Navajo to describe them. It means ancient enemies. Today’s pueblans objected. (There are 19 surviving pueblos in New Mexico alone. They are the oldest inhabited places in North America.)
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- Above the ruins of the pueblo are the ruins of a church. It was rare to find the two in such close proximity because the Spanish mandated separation of Spanish and Indian settlements.
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- Inside the kiva, a worship place. Some priests had the kivas filled with sand; others used them as a link between the Indians old and new religions.
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- Rebuilt kiva ceiling.
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- Inside the church which is having additional protection added.
