Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument - Gran Quivira Unit and Visitor Center — Attraction in New Mexico

You'll find this almost unknown National Monument about 25-miles south of Mountainair, NM. If you wish to stay in the area, the nearest town with hotels and services would be Moriarty, east of Albuquerque on I-40. Its roughly 40-miles. Gran Quivira is one of three missions of the Salinas Pueblo Missions spread across roughly 40-miles, near Mountainair. It is the farthest away at 26-miles. The main Visitor Center is in Mountainair, but each pueblo has its own Ranger Contact Station, with adequate parking and restrooms. Some have picnic areas and even small play places. Construction of the missions began in 1622 with the advent of the Franciscan priests and was completed in 1635 . Gran Quivira was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. In these pueblos, the National Park Service has this pet policy: "Leashed pets are allowed on the trails, provided the owners will clean up any messes the pets might make". We visited Gran Quivira. It is the largest of the three, with 7 kivas and well over 200 rooms, and is only partly reconstructed, including two church ruins. The Franciscans came on order of the Spanish king, who in turn had orders from the Pope to 'christianize' the natives of the New World. None of the three pueblos had a full-time priest, so when the nearest priest travelled to visit on rare occasions, they were known as ‘visitias’. Efforts began in good order on the building of Gran Quivira. The pueblo started out with a good reserve of stored food and became so busy, learning the new language, taking Christian-Catholic classes to learn the new faith, building the second and much larger church, and quarters for the priest to stay in, that they had no time to work in the fields to raise the crops. Since there were three years of food reserves, this was not a problem and they ate into those reserves. Then there was a severe drought which resulted in a famine. By 1670, 70% of the population was dead, (450 at Gran Quivira alone) having starved to death. This ended the construction effort and destroyed the pueblo. Today, the ruins are left for us to see and contemplate this life lifestyle. They are remarkably well -preserved due to the arid climate. There is a paved .05 trail running through the ruins. where one is free to explore at will. Be advised that the sun is very bright and strong and sunburn happens quickly. It is hot and dry and there is no shade. We found the Ranger very helpful and interesting. He obviously loved his work and this...

Out of the three, this is the big beauty! It's pretty out there away from the other ruins. We got there an hour before closing the gates were open. We saw no cars at all. Everything seem open even the bathrooms, which were clean. Just the vistor center was closed. Through the whole visit, we saw no one. The path is all paved except for in the ruin itself. First going up to the ruins is a very step ramp and path, so if you're in a wheelchair or have a stroller, going straight on the path instead of up the ramp might be easier. The path goes in a circle. There are benches to take a break from the heat. And a water station to refill your water bottle where the bathrooms are. The ruins are stunning! The stones to build it seem to be different from what the other Salines ruins were built of. The whole view all the way around...

Gran Quivira was the largest of the Salinas pueblos. When the pueblo was at its largest it housed 1,500 to 2,000 people. Because of its location between the areas where pueblo Indians lived and the areas where the plains Indians lived, Gran Quivira was an important trade center. Today, one can see the ruins of a large church and large kiva, as well as smaller kivas, rooms, etc. There is a good, paved path and many signs explaining what you see. The bathrooms are heated. The visitor center was closed due to COVID. There are a few picnic tables. One comment on directions. From Albuquerque go to About ruins first (from Belen going SE), then to Gran Quivira, then to Quarai ruins to then drive back to Albuquerque on the East side of...