Saturday, May 28, 2011

between the earth and the sky

day two on the road: puye cliff dwellings (new mexico ruins) espanola, nm

after we left the folk art museum, it was kind of hard. my sister didn't seem to really care about the stopping and the seeing of things like i did. when we got to the puye cliff dwellings, she wasn't excited, and actually told me that 'she didn't care'. it was really hard for me to figure out how to deal with her and explain that this was important to me. a lot of the times i ended up frustrated and got upset. but it was a learning experience. but this day wasn't easy.


a bit of history:
Puye Cliffs was home to 1,500 Pueblo Indians who lived, farmed and hunted game there from the 900s to 1580 A.D.
Puye Cliffs' inhabitants then moved into the Rio Grande River valley. They became the ancestors of today's Santa Clara people, who now live at Santa Clara Pueblo, 10 miles east of Puye.


the rock in which they carved their homes out of was actually a soft lava rock. the area used to be a super volcano? don't quote me on that.

the bigger holes are where they put branches/sticks out so they could build the front room, the smaller holes are how they would climb up and around the houses.

the views in new mexico were amazing.


our tiny tour group


the markings out in the front were about how far their houses went out from the cliff face.


our tour guide, and a ladder we later climbed.






shards found amongst the cliff houses.










this was after i climbed the ladder. it was a little scary. but amazing to be up there and see everything. i wish it didn't cost $40 a person to see the dwellings and the mesa top.




i'll come back for you some day new mexico.

4 comments:

  1. Oh, this is super interesting! I love this kind of tours! And I totally understand how you felt about your sister not being interested in the same stuff :/ ... That's why I don't mind going on vacation alone. I actually enjoy it. It's hard to agree on everything and want to manage the time the same way when you're with friends or siblings.

    Lovely pictures! Hope you're having a nice weekend!

    Miki.

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  2. That's pretty cool - what a shame it cost 40 :/
    Maybe they got sick of walking up the hill after 600+yrs haha.
    The folk museum looks pretty good too! So much attention to detail it's painful.
    When I went to the Bunya Mts my friend started p*ssing me off around day 2. I felt like I was just cleaning and cooking for her - on my birthday! I was not impressed. And she ate cake for breakfast. And called me 'ungraceful' for bitching about something... when I should have just been bitching about her -___-
    Road trips are something else alright.
    But, you get that I guess! At least your pics are pretty haha.

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  3. Shame about your sister being like that, hope it didn't spoil your day too much :( It looks so beautiful there, the views are breathtaking, definitely worth stopping for. Love your dress too, especially the neckline & sleeves :)

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  4. ~ a very sacred and spiritual area! ~ trivia: a lot of the film industry now comes to NM to shoot...Yes! We are worth a return trip! Our skies are second to none!

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