The meeting of cultures, where the Plains meet the High Desert

The meeting of cultures, where the Plains meet the High Desert

We have a short journey from Pojoaque, north of Santa Fe to an RV park near Pecos, just south of the
city.  The shortest route would be straight thru town, but since it’s the start of their annual Indian Market and the town is packed, we take the Relief Route (New Mexican for By-Pass or Ring Road) and make the trip in about 4 minutes.


The reason for this short stop on our journey to southern New Mexico (our new region to explore this year) is to visit Pecos National Park.  This is located right where the Great Plains (Prairies) meet the High Desert and was the ancestral home of the pueblo people, a highly sophisticated society who traded with the different nations (tribes) from East and West.  It was a true meeting of cultures, as evidenced by the wide variety of archeological treasures discovered during the last hundred years.  Items from the Pacific Coast as well as the Northern Plains have been found.


The settlement, consisting of two principal areas with large living complexes (now one story but originally up to 4) and several ceremonial kivas (underground pits), was surrounded by a low wall parts of which are still visible.  It sits in a strategic high position with sweeping views in all directions and the wall, which delineates the borders of the settlement, was not to stop invaders from getting in (they could have stepped over it!) but probably to shield defenders.


This was, as I said, a sophisticated society.  But the Spanish explorers and friars had other ideas.  There don’t appear to have been a lot of battles in the area, but there was obviously a concerted effort to convert the Pueblo people to Christianity.  There are remains, in varying states of decay, of three different churches on the same site, interestingly oriented in different directions.  One was largely destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt, when the various groups in Northern New Mexico successfully drove out the Spaniards for 10 years.  The others simply decayed over time.


The visitor center and the interpretive guide are full of interesting historical details.  We feel this area is worth an extended visit in efuture years.

The contemporary town of Pecos is quite small, but we have an inexpensive but tasty Mexican lunch (tacos for me) before visiting the historic site, and to cool down afterwards we visit Dairy Queen for the first time in years, reinforcing our belief that the best ice cream is found in local stores rather than national chains.t


This is a worthwhile stopover and tomorrow we head for Roswell to investigate the aliens many believe crashed there in the 1940’s.  Stay tuned!