One of the best surprises about the remote Air BnB we stayed at in New Mexico was the proximity to these ruins.

Tony had chosen the place to be near the alien crash site (something that was cool, but more up his alley than my own). However, when looking at the 2 bedroom remote house with fireplace and deck, I first went to " I wonder what hiking trails are around here".

This location was right around the corner.

According to wikipedia "Gran Quivira is the most remote of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. It's located about 25 miles south of Mountainaire, Nm. and leads you through partially excavated pueblo ruins, and ruins of the uncompleted mission church."

Apparently, it's one of the most celebrated ruins in all of the Southwest.





I had a mixture of awe and depression over the fact that it was primarily built by women and children. Somehow, the knowledge that a child could learn carpentry and were taught by moms instead of dads show just how much times have changed.

In this time and age if any child knew how to do a bit of woodworking then it's just assumed that a grandpa, dad, or some other male figure in the childs' life was the one that taught them how to do it.

Sometimes the world we look at can be viewed in very backwards ways. I know that I was blessed enough to have a mother very skilled in carpentry, others aren't but sometimes it's nice to know that we weren't always considered incapable of things, even if you tried to do that in our general time and age, child labor laws would be enforced.

It was very interesting how large the area was, the way people had once traded salts, how The natives tried to hide from the christianity. Guessing what had been used for what was one of my favorite parts of this excursion. So many small rooms and circular areas, it's hard to envision some of the quarters.

My favorite part was actually learning about the Kivas (hidden ceremony areas). It's crazy to think of life before our "free" country. To be considered crazy to view the world in a different way than the Spaniards.

I know people with many different views than my own and the thought that they would be ostracized just because they believed something I didn't, just makes me feel like I was on a different continent. It was one of the things that made me happy to say I'm still an American, even if I feel we still have several flaws as a country.



As we wandered through the ruins, it brought a new aspect on how people lived before us. How much change and progression has happened, how minute we can become. Once upon a time that area had so much more human life than it does today. Seeing as how we can't travel back in time, all we have left is to ponder the past. We guess after excavating. We turn it into a giant puzzle of the past so as not to repeat what brought the downfall.



History is amazing. It gives you small glimpses of just how technology is shaping up versus just how much it has also has handicapped us. We are handed information constantly, it's up to us to decipher what's wrong or right and to fact check. History is the same way. We don't know if what we have gathered is completely accurate, all we can do is piece together what we were given from places like this, from archeologists who have uncovered written words and decipher the petroglyphs, and from the natives whose ancestors settled in the area and carry on the traditions.

Things get lost in translation, and some people only see what is in front of them. Crumbling rocks and a forgotten civilization.

Maybe you need to experience things for yourself to feel the awe and remember that life for them was much more difficult without modern tools/information at the touch of a finger, and inability to just phone a friend to help.

Places like this remind me just how important it is to never forget your past. The good and the bad. The past shapes us into who we are.

The native american ways have been passed down from generation to generation, the same way we are taught by teachers, parents, friends. What we are taught has changed but the ability to learn has not.

Learn from the past to explore a better future. Try it.