Pecos National Historical Park

IMG_3215

Hi everyone! During my last few days in New Mexico, my family mostly spent time together visiting cousins and aunties.  Still, we had time to make it up into the mountains to visit Pecos National Historical Park. I really wanted to visit this park, because they award Junior Ranger badges in Spanish! My moms and I drove through the hills, past a truck selling chile powder, and finally arrived at Pecos.


IMG_3229

The hike at Pecos is pretty short- it only took about 30 minutes.  As we headed out from the Visitor Center, we saw this sign. Yikes! I thought it would be awesome to see a rattlesnake, but we didn't.  I guess that's probably for the best.


IMG_3223

Pecos Pueblo was one of the many Pueblos in New Mexico, but about 100 years ago, their numbers grew too small, so they left and joined other Pueblos.  The village is still there and it's fun to explore a bit! I imagined what it would have been like to be a girl living at Pecos a hundred years ago.  Next to the Pueblo was a large Spanish mission, so there were many Hispanic families living at Pecos as well.


IMG_3226

Even though the hike was short, my family got to see the beautiful landscape surround Pecos Pueblo. Some of my friends have told me that they imagine New Mexico as being brown, but in many places, it's very green.  The weather is a little crazy though- even though it was mid-April, it started snowing pretty hard on our drive back down into Santa Fe!


IMG_3237

Here I am with the Pecos Mission behind me.  Hundreds of years ago, Spanish priests came to settle this part of New Mexico.  They built a large church, but it was destroyed during the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.  The Pueblo peoples rose up against the Spanish and kept them out of New Mexico, but they came back after 12 years.  This church is the second church.  It was abandoned when everyone left Pecos.


IMG_3250

When we finished the hike, I still had a few more questions to answer in my Junior Ranger book.  The Visitor Center has a really nice museum that tells about the Pueblo and Hispanic people who lived at Pecos. When I finished the booklet, this retired ranger swore me in.  Even though Pecos is one of the smaller park sites in New Mexico, I was the third Junior Ranger that afternoon! Two boys from France finished just before me.  The retired ranger let me choose if I wanted an English-language or Spanish-language badge, so I chose Spanish!

If you're ever in Santa Fe, this is a fun little park to visit.  You can check out their website at this link: www.nps.gov/peco.

This is my last New Mexico post. A few days after we visited Pecos, my moms and I flew back to New York City.  Even though I'm homeschooled, we only had a week off because of my parents' work and my ballet lessons.

Have you ever been to a place where different cultures lived at the same time? What was it like?

12 comments

  1. Hi Inky! It looks like you had a lot of fun there! Personally, I'm not a huge fan of hikes, but I know that my sisters would love them! I hope you had fun in New Mexico! I've always wanted to travel there.

    Love,
    Reese <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Reese,

      Sometimes I really don't like hikes either! My moms LOVE hikes, so they are always taking me on them. Sometimes I just want to get a milkshake and sit! Actually, when I was little, they used to pull me in a red wagon. I kind of wish I was still that little.

      Someday you'll go to New Mexico and you'll love it. :)

      <3,

      Inky

      Delete
  2. Looks like a beautiful, fascinating place! I love your pictures. You're so photogenic.

    Newfoundland has always been a place where various different cultures inhabited - often at the same time and often in conflict. It was home to the Beothuks, the Mi'kmaq, the French, the British, the Irish, and even the Vikings. If you ever get a chance to visit here, I think you'd enjoy all the historical sites.

    Love,
    Bree

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Bree!

      I would love to visit Newfoundland. My mama has been twice, but only to the airport. She was flying to Germany as a little girl and they stopped in Newfoundland on the way. She remembers they had delicious ice cream. :) I would love to visit someday myself.

      <3,

      Inky

      Delete
  3. Hi Inky
    Congratulations on earning another badge and one in a foreign language. Did Josefina tell you what to do if you get bit by a rattlesnake?

    You know from your Junior Ranger booklet you got here that the Indians and English people lived side-by-side for many years in the 1600s. In another part of what's now RI, Indians were made into royalty and had more rights than they did in some other places. The Indians and English traded goods with each other at trading posts.

    Susanna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Susanna! Yes, Josefina told me just what to do! I think Josefina lived very close to Pecos, because it is a day's ride from Santa Fe!

      I'm glad you and I got to learn all about the history of Rhode Island; thank you for teaching me!

      Inky

      Delete
  4. Your Photography is amazing!! Please check our blog...
    http://the-spicys-doll-blog.blogspot.com/
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. New Mexico looks so fun! Sorry for pestering you on email:) I'm just SUCH a huge fan! I am also a fan of hikes, but I've never been to New Mexico. It's a LOOOONG drive from Vermont!

    Thalia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Thalia,

      You can e-mail me anytime, don't worry. Do you like to go hiking in Vermont?

      Delete
  6. I wish you could visit England and see our history! Stone henge, hadrians wall, London, we gave nearly everything over here :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous! My aunt actually lives in London, so a trip there is in the future. Probably not for another year or two though. :)

      Delete
  7. Love your Jr Ranger T-shirt. Where did you get it from, I would love to have one like it. Thanks Tommy

    ReplyDelete