A Visit to the Pecos National Historical Park

The church ruins at the Pecos National Historical Park

After several days of moderate hikes in the Santa Fe National Forest, we took a short drive to Pecos, NM to visit the Pecos National Historic Park.  Over 40 years ago when David and I were dating and taking backpacking trips into the Pecos Wilderness we visited this park.  Then it was designated as Pecos National Monument but in 1990 new lands were authorized by Congress expanding the size and mission of the park and a new visitor center was built.  We were definitely overdue for another visit. 

Outer pueblo wall ruins with the Sangre de Christo Mountains in the distance

It was a cool day so we left Maya in the car while we checked out the new visitor center.  The exhibits were very well done with many pieces of pottery painstakingly put together to tell the story of life in the pueblo. Archeologist, A.V. Kidder was largely responsible for piecing this story together.  Kidder tested his theory of dating by stratigraphy as he examined the great trash mound on the pueblo’s east side.  Kidder had no sophisticated dating technology but was able to identify the occupation of the Pecos Pueblo by the changes in pottery styles and techniques. 

David checks out a kiva while Maya stands guard

After a great time in the visitor center we returned to the car to get Maya as she was allowed on the 1.25-mile self-guiding trail that winds through the Pecos Pueblo and the Mission Church ruins.  It was windy and clear on the ridge and the 360 degree views of the surrounding valley made us understand why the pueblo was built here.

Interior of the kiva

Kivas are special places of ceremony to the Puebloan peoples. 
They are located between the underworld and the world above.

The Pecos Pueblo is no longer standing like many in New Mexico but the ruins are well preserved.   And the really cool thing about this pueblo is its story.  From about 1100 the first Puebloans were building rock and mud villages in the Pecos River Valley.  Over two dozen villages rose here over the next two centuries including the ruins of the village where the Pecos Pueblo stands today.  In the 1300’s the settlement grew larger and by 1450 the pueblo had become a fortress five stories high with over 2,000 people.

Maya is concerned that I am not coming out

There is speculation about the sudden growth.  Many think that settling on the rocky ledge freed up more land to be farmed.  But also the Plains Indians began to arrive and raid about this time and the Pecos Pueblo up on the ridge offered views in every direction and an excellent defensive position.  The abundant water, rich farmland and variety of plants and animals in the valley made the Pecos Pueblo a trading force both economically powerful and adept in the arts and customs of the Plains and Pueblo tribes.  And then the Spaniards arrived…

Ruins of another kiva and the pueblo wall

We spent about an hour wandering the ruins and exploring the mission church.  The first mission church was completed around 1625 but was destroyed by the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.  The Spaniards were driven back to Mexico but returned 12 years later and in the Pecos Pueblo, they were actually welcomed back. (Not so everywhere in New Mexico.) The second smaller church was finished in 1717 and those are the ruins that are seen today.

Outer church wall and viga

This is the second National Park Service administered site that we have visited this year and the first on our summer adventure.  (We visited the Big Thicket just a few weeks before leaving Nacogdoches.) We will see how many NPS locations we visit on this 100^th anniversary of the National Park Service.

Interior of church looking through portal

On Memorial Day we had a fantastic hike into the Pecos Wilderness from the Santa Fe Ski area.  We hiked the Windsor Trail to La Vega and ran into snow at about 10,500 feet!  Over 8 ½ miles and we are all moving slow this morning but we all survived and Maya even frolicked in the snow.  But we may pay today!  Hope you all had a nice Memorial Day with family and friends. 

Maya and David hit snow on the Windsor Trail in the Pecos Wilderness

We are leaving Santa Fe this morning to spend about 5 days up in the Santa Fe National Forest in a campground near the south central border of the Pecos Wilderness.  There will be no electricity, no water, no phone or Internet so we will be roughing it and doing some ‘real camping.’  We will be back in Santa Fe next weekend and back ‘on the grid.’  More later…

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked  6  
Total Miles Hiked    30.89
Ave. Miles per Day   5.15  
Total Elevation Gain     4,888
Ave. Elevation Gain per day   815