Acoma Pueblo New Mexico

[asirimarco]

Today was a beautiful day so we went to visit the Acoma Pueblo. Altitude 7000' walked slowly. Took guide tour of site. Very interesting but somewhat disappointing. I thought it would be more like Taos - but this has had buildings added to up to now. Cars and pickups parked all over. No electricity or running water. All water is brought up from valley floor 320 feet down. Wood stoves for heat and cooking. Outhouses for necessary - in fact quite a lot of outhouses. Big outdoor bread ovens. And lots of pottery for sale. Any way that said, learned a lot.
The 2000 year old "Sky City" has the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited community in No America. When the Spanish came they Made the Acoma learn Spanish in this school room.

The San Estevan del Rey Mission was completed in 1640 on top of a destroyed Kiva - walls are from 5 to 10 feet thick

The Acoma National Forest - the only tree on the mesa - a cottonwood standing right next to a sistern

The old and the new - older buildings and a residents car

A grinding stone

One of the remaining Kivas - built square to confuse the Spanish

just an interesting entrance - note trim design

One of the ovens

The homes were built of gold/yellow straw and mud and when the sun shone on them they glowed gold - thus the cities of gold the Spanish were looking for

Some of the pottery

The desert below the mesa

Hope you enjoy the pictures

[rvgrammy1953]

Wow....great photos!!! Thanks!!

[Cedar518]

Even if disappointing, it's interesting. you always take us on such great little tours!

[Carolinagal]

I have really enjoyed all of your pictures, what a nice trip you all have had, I have enjoyed it very much. Thanks for posting and please don't stop.

Take care,
Carol

[Liz]

Interesting place and beautiful pictures. Loved the pottery...is there a significance to the owls? And the Acoma Nat. Forest! Couldn't see the forest for the tree.

[Bethers]

Very, very interesting. Do you think it was disappointing because you were led to believe more of it?

I love the pictures -

[asirimarco]

lots of the buildings were newer and/or had been added to recently. cars parked all over, something for sale around every corner. kind of made it seem like a movie set we had blundered into. very glad we went and would recommend it - but if you get the chance go to Taos instead. The ruins around Cottonwood were more interesting -

[retiredhappy]

The best time to see Acoma is when they're having a festival and dancing that's open to the public. Didn't you love the history about the women being the "leaders" in Acoma society? They decide who will marry who and the property inherits thru the women. When I was there, we had a bunch of Texas men in the group who were having a problem with this idea. Funny!