Mission Country

The Road Less Travelled - Again

Well, today I decided to some exploring. I'm tired of this apartment stuff and they all look the same anyway. I decided to head south and east out of Albuquerque to see Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument near Mountainair, NM.  I took my hat, sunscreen and bottled water...the three other things you need here besides food, shelter and clothing. i also took my trusty GPS. I usually take her along for female companionship and conversation but she is such a nag. "Turn right....Turn Right!....Recalculating." I usually ignore her but I admit I get some perverse joy out of making her recalculate all the time. It's a power thing, I guess.

Anyway, I (we?) headed south on I-25 to the town of Belen (Spanish for Bethlehem) and then headed east toward the Manzano Mountains (Spanish for apple trees). This turned out to be pretty drive but so straight that I could have climbed into the back seat if i could have secured the steering wheel. It just continued on a slow straight climb up from the Rio Grande River. After twenty miles the road started to thread its way through the Abo pass -- a gap between the Manzano and Los Pinos mountains. There was almost no one on this road. I finally got to US-60 going east toward Mountainair.   About twelve miles further I got to the Abo Mission.

The Salt Missions:  Abo - San Gregorio de Abo'

Quick history lesson: The Pueblo Indians occupied several villages/pueblos in this area because it was a trade route between the Rio Grande Valley pueblos and the Indians living out on the Great Plains. It was also rich with salt. The Indians had salt making operations and traded salt to their neighbors. The Spanish conquistadors came through here around 1580 and made contact and claimed Spanish authority over the land and the 15,000 people that were living in the scattered pueblos. Around 1622 the Franciscans sent solitary friars out to convert the Indians and build mission churches. Surprisingly, this was sort of successful but the Spanish civil authorities soon got into the act because the trade route and trade goods meant wealth. An "Encomienda" system was established which forced the Indians to work for the Spanish overlords. There was friction between the friars and the Spanish settlers over use or misuse of the Indians. Things stumbled along for about fifty years until a drought and famine coupled with attacks by the Apaches forced the Franciscans and Spanish to abandon the whole operation and withdraw, along with the few remaining Indians, to areas along the Rio Grande. Later a few Spanish settlers came back in the early 1800s but the ruined missions were pretty much forgotten until 1858 when a U.S. military expedition rediscovered them.

I pretty much had the missions to myself. Even the ranger left for his lunch break.

Baptistery at Abo

Abo mission was closest to the river pueblos and the lifeline to Mexico and was the last to be abandoned. Friars and Indians from the other missions came to Abo hoping to survive the famine but they all eventually had to seek refuge closer to the Rio Grande where they could get supplies from Mexico and the river pueblos. The mission ruins are extensive and there is an interpretive trail and a guidebook that helps the visitors make sense out of what they are seeing.

The structures were designed by the friars with a mix of local and European styles. The massive walls were supported on the outside with large buttresses. The structures were largely built by the women. Abo had two churches. The original church was reconstructed and greatly enlarged only to be abandoned a few years later.

Mountainair, NM

By the time I left Abo Mission it was time to think about lunch. I figured I'd just stop off at a McDonald's or Wendy's in Mountainair and then go on to the next mission. Well, Mountainair doesn't hardy have a pot to pee in. For some reason I thought this was a thriving ranch community ...sort of the Paris of the high desert. Not much going on that I could tell. There was a train going through town that was about a mile long with flatcars loaded two-high with containers and propelled by six locomotives. That was about it. It looks like there are a few artsy folks with workshops or galleries. I don't know if they are the advance party for the town's renaissance or the few that couldn't manage to get out.

The Salt Missions: Quarai - Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion de Quarai




The Quarai mission is most impressive. There are still some wooden beams embedded in the stone walls. The front facade is still standing and the nave is mostly intact. The Ranger said that there was a major religious conclave of regional priests from as far away as Louisiana held here a few years ago. Each of the mission churches is surrounded with the usual supporting and depending structures. The friars had small cells in the convento. There was a sacristy and baptistery. Quarai had a number of farm buildings and corrals and a defensive tower. Quarai was also seat of the local Spanish inquisition authorities. The friars used the inquisition as a means of keeping the Spanish settlers in line when the occasional church and civil conflicts became too much of a problem.










Square holes in the walls served as sockets for the huge supporting beams.

The nave was 100 feet long with transept and three altars. A choir loft was located above the entrance.

Quarai was unusual because it had a floor paved with flagstones. Other missions had dirt floors in the nave.





The Wet Side of the Mountains

Land grant village - a church and a corral

I was a little surprised with how green everything was. This seems to be the wet side of the mountains. I guess the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico might make it this far. This area is also dotted with little Hispanic villages and ranches. There are still several active land grant communities with descendants of the earliest settlers. The ranches have large entrance gates with the family name shown over the top...names like Lujan and Vigil...some old New Mexico names.

Get Plowed!

As you may recall, I missed lunch. I finished my exploratory jaunt and made my way to Tractor Brewing;s new Albuquerque tap room on Tulane near Central Avenue. I planned to get something to eat but they don't serve food. they said I could bring some in or have some delivered. I decided to have a beer anyway. I picked up a sandwich at Arby's. I have to clean out the fridge tonight so I'll be eating a bunch of stuff.

While I was driving back into town I got a phone call from my builder. she and the designer want to get together with me tomorrow morning. I was planning on leaving Albuquerque and heading for home in the morning but I'll stay around and then just drive back to Amarillo for tomorrow night.