In mid-April we visited 2 more Salinas Pueblo missions at Abó and Gran Quivira. We also visited the White Sands National Monument. We finished our trip with a 2-day exploration of Cañada Alamosa with the School for Advanced Research

In mid-April we visited 2 more Salinas Pueblo missions at Abó and Gran Quivira. We also visited the White Sands National Monument. We finished our trip with a 2-day exploration of Cañada Alamosa with the School for Advanced Research.
Abó is one of the 3 Salinas Pueblo Missions. At this site about all that can be seen above ground are the remaiins of the mission itself. The pueblo itself is…
What we are looking at is actually the second church on this site. These ruins enclose the original church.
There is a kiva right next to the church. We have seen this before, but it seems unusual.
Here is the kiva itself. It would have had a roof of some sort when it was in use.
Look at the thickness of the construction. I find it interesting that some parts survive the years better than others.
Abó from behind one of the pueblo mounds.
The shadows seem to show that the walls are crooked, but they are pretty straight.
Gran Quivira has had many names over its more than 800-year history. Las Humanas is just one of them. Look here for more information about Gran Quivira.
The site is on top of a hill, and seems very dry today.
Patricia at the entrance of the second church at this site. As you can see, it was a large church.
Interestingly, neither the constructon materials nor techniques seem as sophisticated as what we saw at Chaco Canyon or Aztec Ruins. Maybe the available…
But this is still a pretty impressive pile of rocks.
Notice how thick the walls are. I suppose that lends to the stability, but I wonder if there were other reasons such as defensive capability.
As I noted before, the site is on a hill that offers a lot of visibility.
Patricia and I both noted how evenly these windows (?) were aligned.