If Only The Walls Could Talk!

Type I Wall Type II Wall

Type III Wall Type IV Wall

If these walls could talk what would they say? We’ve all heard that before, but a Chaco Culture NHP, I really wanted the walls to have the power of communication.

We toured Pueblo Bonito, the largest of the great houses, with Ranger Adrian Jones, who talked of the history of the pueblo. He pointed out the four types of walls found in the canyon.

The walls at Chaco were first just slabs of sandstone laid in such a way as to reinforce each other. The wall was relatively weak and would support only a single story. It was also as rough on the outside as it was in the center of the core. But construction evolved at Chaco over the 3-1/2 centuries it was occupied. Builders began to face the rough Type I wall with a veneer. With each successive style ... there are four types of walls ... the veneers became smoother, stones fit tighter, and there was increasing artistry in the construction. “Ah,” I thought. “I see.” Only I didn’t.

Ranger Jones told us, after building the walls, the Chacoans plastered them inside and out. That sort of made sense, too. Lighter colored plaster increased reflection from light sources. Plaster made a smoother wall. It gave the building a uniform consistency.

Why, then, would the people have gone to so much trouble to build walls with beautiful veneers if they were only going to plaster over them? Were they just building styles that reflected changing generational ideas of how things were done and have no particular significance, including artistry? What was the purpose of investing so much time and energy in something no one would see? Was it sort of like a woman wearing fancy underwear no one but her ever sees just because it makes her feel good? Was there a self-serving satisfaction the builders derived knowing beneath the plaster lay their remarkable work?

Or ... is there something more going on? Is there meaning in the distinctive patterns, meanings we can not know? Something of which we are unaware and can never fathom just from looking at the walls?

I sat and studied the patterns. I might as well have been watching paint dry for all the good it did me in expanding my understanding. I photographed each style in various pueblos and I look at them now ... each style is represented in the blog from Type I to Type IV, left to right ... and all I see is artistic architecture that I might find anywhere someone is working with sandstone. You be the judge and help me understand the why.

Posted by Bud Russo

Visiting the Ancient Ones at Bandelier Nat'l Monument

I first visited Bandelier National Monument -- home of an ancient pueblo people -- in 1963. Not much has changed in 47 years. And why would it! The "ruins" are 800 years old. Kendrick Frazier, in his book on Chaco, said "ruins" was "our curiously inadequate work for the tangible remains of culture."

There is both a circular pueblo -- once 400 rooms in two to three stories -- and a series of long houses with both rooms carved into the tuff -- ash from an even more ancient volcano -- and stone rooms built in front of the cliff. As many as 500 people lived in Frijoles Canyon -- site of the pueblo near Los Alamos -- and not all areas were occupied at the same time. The canyon had people living there for perhaps two centuries.

We hiked the trail past the ruins -- climbing a hundred feet above the pueblo to the cliff dwellings. After 3/4 mile, we transitioned to the Alcove House trail another 1/2 mile farther into the canyon. The last 140 feet of this journey was straight up through a series of four ladders and narrow foot paths and stairs. There's only a kiva in the alcove and a great view of the canyon. The houses of the people who lived there are long gone.

The trail took us through Ponderosa pine with its heady scent, past yellow cone flowers, red penstemon, and purple beebaum, and over babbling Frijoles creek.

One highlight of the hike -- if not THE highlight -- was the three-foot-long diamondback rattlesnake we spotted creeping through the underbrush -- minding its own business.

Not only were we immersed in the history of the puebloans but also embraced by the natural beauty of the canyon.

Posted by Bud Russo

Enjoying Northern NM: History, Art, Farmers Market

Today Bud and I visited four places, continuing our trend of filling our days with activity. Since we decided to return to the Folk Art Market on Sunday rather than today to face slightly smaller crowds, today we first stopped by the Santa Fe Farmers Market before heading north on I-25 to see Fort Union, Las Vegas and Pecos National Monument.

The Santa Fe Farmers Market reminds me of markets in California, but with a Southwestern flair. It is located at the Railyard, which is a thriving, upscale repurposed area. It has a large outdoor market supplemented by another indoor space. Shoppers can find a cornocopia of fresh produce, goat cheese, locally raised meats, flowers, freshly baked breads, garden plants, local honey, beeswax candles, and herbs. You can even leave with an official farmers market T-shirt, tote or apron. Musicians were livening the atmosphere and tucked into a corner of the indoor area, the local NPR station was broadcasting live. I bought some fresh goat feta cheese and Bud left with a pastry in hand, then we hit the road.

Bud is fascinated by old frontier forts and as Fort Union was the largest of the forts in New Mexico, we had to drive out to explore it. Once we arrived, I agreed that it was a fascinating place to visit. The skeletal ruins of the once-bustling fort now stand like silent sentinels over the grassy plains. As we walked the grounds, thunder rumbled in the distance, reminescent of the boom of cannon or the sharp cracks of rifle fire. But there is no longer a reason to fight here. The Comanche are gone and the Santa Fe Trail is reduced to ruts in the grass.

But you can stand at the edge of the trail, where thousands of hopeful 49ers once traveled on their way to California in search of gold. You can squint your eyes and imagine the wagons laden with only the most essential household goods and supplies, arriving with great relief at the safety of Fort Union. You can also imagine the soldiers and their families living out on these plains, far from any bustling city life, wondering what might happen next. One highlight may have been a trader's wagon train passing through on its way to Santa Fe, laden with merchandise from the East. The Santa Fe Trail was first a traders route, then used by the 49ers, and finally primarily a military route. All that is left to help your imagination are the remains of adobe walls, brick fireplaces and a few wagons. But it does still remain, providing a glimpse into the past of northern New Mexico.

From there, we made a brief stop in Las Vegas - the original Las Vegas as they like to say there, which this year is celebrating 175 years since its founding. We focused on the plaza, having read that it is the largest and nicest plaza in New Mexico. It is more like a central park, with green grass and tall trees with a gazebo in the center. While we were there, boys were skateboarding in it. The plaza is surrounded by a variety of galleries, shops and the cornerstone, the Plaza Hotel. We wandered about and greatly enjoyed the lovely shop the adjoins the hotel, which was hosting a Second Saturday wine tasting while we were there. Then we went into the lobby, which is certainly characteristic of the Victorian era from which the hotel dates. We even took a peek into some guest rooms, finding them comfortable and somewhat like a guest room at your grandmother's house where she keeps some of her nice antiques. One of the rooms we saw even had a mini-fridge and a microwave.

The town is working hard to revitalize this area. I found it charming and was fascinated by the historic plaques mounted on the walls of many of the buildings that indicated its original purpose and when it was built. One we saw had a link to some dark dealings: two members of the James Gang, Robert Ford and Dick Liddell, opened a saloon here after Liddell was pardoned for shooting Jesse James in the back.

From there, we headed to Pecos National Monument as Bud wanted me to see the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo. I wanted to climb down into the reproduction of a kiva. I had seen many beautiful pictures other photographers had taken from inside the kiva and had to try my hand at it. We wandered the trail, visiting only the areas with excavated ruins as we arrived close to the time that the park would be closing. The ruins of a church is the largest building on the grounds and it was the second and smaller of the churches built in this spot, the first having been destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The second church was completed in the next century.

All the locations we visited today gave us the opportunity to learn more about the people, places, history and culture of New Mexico, from the early Pueblo Indians and the Spaniards who came to convert them to the American army who was much later charged with keeping peace on the prairie. We saw how people, past and present, strive to build a sense of community, whether it be with art on a historic plaza or with fresh produce near an old railyard.

Posted by Cheryl Fallstead

Explore! New Mexico

We've arrived in Santa Fe!

We've arrived in Santa Fe and are settled into our condo. Tomorrow we'll begin exploring in earnest, by heading out to see several pueblos near Espanola, the chapel at Chimayo, and Abiquiu. Bud wants to go to Rinconada because he read that an adobe house there - 80 years ago - was adorned with two capstans from Mississippi river boats. If we find them, we'll take a picture and then tell you how Mississippi river boats ended up in northern New Mexico!

At Nambe Pueblo, we hope to see a cascading waterfall. At San Ildefonso, the home of famed potter Maria Martinez, we'll tour the pueblo and see the museum that displays the pottery of Martinez and others. Ohkay Owingeh was the home of Popay, who led the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, and today they have a herd of buffalo at the bison park. But truly, what we want to get a feel for is the uniqueness of each pueblo, the people and the artisans who call them home. We'll be able to tell you more after we've spent time at each tomorrow.

Abiquiu promises a museum of anthropology as well as a museum of paleontology and the Ghost Ranch Piedra Lumbre Education and Visitor Center. South of Abiquiu is the Pashouinge Ruins with vistas of the Chama River Valley.

So, a full day is planned for tomorrow! We'll keep you posted each day on our travels, so keep checking back.

Posted by Cheryl Fallstead
Explore! New Mexico

Mescalero Maiden's Puberty Ceremony ... Amazing Experience To Witness

I stood watching the sun climb above the Sacramento Mountains. It was July 4 a couple years ago, too early for fireworks. I was in Mescalero for the maiden’s coming of age ceremony, also known as the Maiden’s Puberty Sunrise Ceremony. While this is called a sunrise ceremony, it doesn’t necessarily begin at sunrise. It starts when the Mescalero holy men say it’s time.

The four-day ceremony is a solemn, serious time when a girl child ends her girlhood and enters womanhood. Some events, like the one I’m watching this morning, are public. Others are private, for the young women and their sponsors alone. There’s also a rodeo and, at night, pow-wows and traditional dances. You’re welcome, even if you’re not Native American, but you must always conduct yourself with the proper respect. I’m a writer, but I couldn’t take notes. Cameras are not allowed. One woman told me, “What you take away from here, you take away in your heart.” That’s good advice. For more than just this Mescalero ceremony.

After the holy men bless a number of pine logs stripped of branches, they begin to chant. They are joined by a group of women wrapped in blankets and shawls and who contribute to the chant at appropriate times. Meanwhile, a group of men muscle each 30-foot-long log until it stands on end, holding it upright, while one man lashes the logs together at the top, forming a tepee. It’s arduous work.

When the men complete work on the ceremonial teepee, which includes laying a bed of reeds for a floor, creating sides from leafy branches of oak, and forming an east-facing entrance, the ceremony begins in earnest.

Three young women arrive, each wearing a white doe-skin dress decorated with intricate bead and quill work. In the hair of each girl are ribbons, the colors of which, I note, match the colors in the blankets and shawls of the women chanters. I wonder about the connection.

The ceremony this morning is simple. The girls run toward a basket. They run toward the east and return to the tepee where they started. The basket is moved closer and they run again, and again. The holy men lay each girl on her back, her face with sacred corn pollen. This is a re-enactment of the White Painted Woman or Changing Woman myth. This public ceremony ends with the girl’s receiving gifts from her people, but also their families share gifts with all participants. That morning, even I was welcomed and given a small gift of food.

At the end of the ceremony everyone is also invited to dine with the participants. There’s fry bread, stew, corn chowder, and other traditional dishes. Again I’m included. Everyone is Mescalero this morning.

For the rest of the day and the three following, the girls are subjected to rituals and recitations, praying and dancing throughout most of the nights as they demonstrate they have mastered the knowledge of Mescalero womanhood, their capacity to hear, and the strength and endurance that goes with being a woman.

What impressed me most about this simple, yet profound, ceremony was the time and energy invested by the tribe. You’d had to be there to appreciate that: felling and shaving logs, cutting enough oak branches to complete not only the lodge but an expansive arbor where families live during the ceremony, gathering all the other materials, along with the expense of food and gifts. The girl’s dresses are works of art and no doubt costly. This is serious business and it’s evident by the solemnity of the ceremony.

But more than that, this ceremony shows just how valued women are in Mescalero society. Traditionally, men and women each had distinctive roles. The tribe could not survive without each man or woman fulfilling their obligation to family and tribe. In modern times, roles of women and men have evolved, but women have not always been valued for who they are or what they contribute. They still aren’t. For a Mescalero girl facing womanhood, this isn’t the case. She may go to Harvard or Berkeley or Columbia. She may be a doctor or lawyer or CEO. But she’ll always have the confidence of her place in Mescalero society. She’ll always be certain of her heritage and how, on this special day, she was valued above all else.

If you’re parents of girls, or a woman who wonders what it would be like to be truly valued for who you are, I’d recommend this July 4 ceremony. Except for the early start, it’s pretty easy to do. Travel U.S. 70 to Mescalero. About a mile or so east of the village, is the rodeo grounds. You can see the grandstand from the highway. Find you way there. Find you way back in time to see your way into a brighter future.

The Mescalero Apache Tribal office phone is 575-464-4494.

Posted by Bud Russo

Explore! New Mexico