Enchanted Journey

October 23, 2022

Hello everybody,

Well, we had a jam-packed, adventurous weekend! At least, we had a jam-packed, adventurous Saturday...I'm not sure that either of us got out of our jammies today, as we braced for our first winter storm of the year. Erin never made it off the ranch last week and was really feeling cooped up, so we finally pulled the trigger on one of the trips to a National Park that we wanted to do and went down to visit Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument in Mountainair, New Mexico. Only about two hours drive from home, the site is centered around the headquarters itself in Mountainair and then the three far-flung ruins that lie on all sides of the town. We pried ourselves out of bed around 6am and were rolling by 8am, heading straight south on NM Route 3 towards beautiful Villanueva, just 20+ minutes away on the Pecos River, and then on further south to Encino, a little settlement on a main east-west railway line and highway. From there, we turned west and headed across the now flat and barren landscape towards the Manzano Mountains in front of us. Along the way, we stopped at the Laguna del Perro, which are a series of ancient, shallow salt lakes that have been used for millenia for the purpose of salt gathering. That view alone made the trip worthwhile, and we then soon continued on our way, while freight train after freight train kept busily chugging by us. We then drove through Willard and finally just got into Mountainair, before immediately turning south towards the first set of ruins at Gran Quivira. After a great time spent there at that very lonesome place with absolutely no one else there, we headed the half-hour back up to Mountainair and then went west about ten miles to Abo Spring. Here was another Ancient Puebloan settlement that was very early turned into a Spanish Mission during the historic period, just like Gran Quivira(although there the first people were Mogollon, I think). The dogs, who had been so good thus far, did not react well to half of Albuquerque walking their dogs by the back of our car here, so Erin stayed in the car while I went to check things out. Then, we returned to town and then headed north this time to the most magnificent site of all three at Quarai, set in an amazing cottonwood grove that transported us back to the East Coast in sight, sound and smell. After this, with the suggestion of a ranger, we drove north a bit to Tajique and then drove up into the Cibola National Forest so that we could let the dogs out for a while and stretch our own legs, too. Soon, we were running north again along the backside of the mountains just southeast of Albuquerque, heading towards our favorite brewpub in Cedar Crest, Rumor Brewing Company. Here we found the lot jammed up for a fall festival with people and dogs everywhere and barely anywhere to park, so we kept heading up NM Route 14 towards Madrid, where we then decided to stop at the Mineshaft Tavern to eat...a place that we had already driven by and read about, but had not eaten at yet. We were not disappointed by the Green Chile/Bleu Cheese Cheeseburger or the Smoked Ribs! A short hour later we were back home with the dogs crashed out on the couch, with us not very far behind them.

Here's what we saw:

1. A casita on the way down to Villanueva, with tons and tons of Prickly Pear cacti out front.

2. One of the many, ubiquitous roadside shrines that you see out here...Catholic in origin, Native in spirit.

3. South of Villanueva, we rise up out of the Pecos Valley and hit the higher ground rolling southwards.

4. A little further, we turn back to see the Rockies behind us, and our home in the dark green strip in between.

5. Below I-40, the land really bottoms out and the vegetation starts to become near non-existent...lots of sheep, though.

6. Having turned at Encino, we head west toward the salt lagoons and run through hundreds and hundreds of windmills.

7. Atop a rise, we can now see the Manzano Mountains that separate the plains from the Rio Grande Valley.

8. Driving west on US60 as freight trains thunder along in each direction, one hauling tankers, the other containers.

9. The salt lagoons at Laguna del Perro(Dog Lagoon), which filled up at the end of the last ice age.

10. A closeup of a BNSF locomotive going by, as we took a break at a rest area to take in the salt lakes.

11. Now heading south from Mountainair and well into central New Mexico, we can see the Gallinas Mountains.

12. Back to the west of Mountainair at Abo Spring, we see the grave of its longtime caretaker, underneath a juniper.

13. Don Federico Sisneros(1894-1988), a plaque honoring his life and his life's work, the care of Abo.

14. Now north of Mountainair and heading west towards the Manzanos, we are just about to Quarai.

15. The lovely, lovely grove of cottonwoods and other trees along the stream and acequia at Quarai.

16. Erin finally smiling again, well away from the ranch and all her duties, below the church ruins at Quarai.

17. A shot of me in the same spot, hiding beneath my big straw hat and still with Friday's work clothes on!

18. A junction of two trails at the Quarai site, complete with wooden foot bridge and whooshing leaves.

19. Almost to Tajique and looking up into the mountains where we were heading for our break.

20. Perhaps 4-5 miles up the road we hit public land and find ourselves a place to stretch our legs.

21. The dogs were out for ten minutes at Laguna del Perro; now they have a half-hour to explore.

22. On the way back down to the car, Rui stops to ponder the wilderness and his place in it.

23. At the end of Fourth of July Road in Tajique, we find the most New Mexican church ever!

24. Now above I-40 again, we skirt the San Pedro Mountains and see the Ortiz Mountains before us.

25. Looking to the west, we see Mount Taylor way in the distance, or Blue Bead Mountain to the Navajo.

26. We see the Ortiz Mountains again basking in the sun, just below the village of Madrid.

27. The bar at the Mineshaft Tavern, a well-known watering hole for the whole area.

28. My 2920 draft IPA from 2nd Street Brewing Company in Santa Fe, with the bar behind it.

29. A peculiarly mischievous glance from Erin as she samples her Prickly Pear Margarita.

30. And, finally, a playfully manipulated shot of the dining room with the stage in the background.

Next week, I'll have shots from the three different sets of ruins that we visited!

See you soon.