Acoma Pueblo Tour, Turquoise trail and  I SAW A BLUEBIRD

Yesterday we drove toward Santa Fe on another scenic byway called the Turquoise Trail.  The landscape was not as interesting as the other scenic trail but the little towns along the way were interesting.  Mostly it is an area where they mine Cerrillos turquoise.  The many small towns have turned  adobe homes into small shops and studios.  The movie "Young Guns" was filmed in Cerrillos.  There were dogs lazing in the streets and they were what you can imagine small dusty western towns were all about.
Again, a lot of the turn offs were not well marked and we went right on by before we realized it.  Turning around was not so easy on this trail.  We decided to poke around the little shops and call it a day.

 This shop sold only things that were made from re-cycled items.  The sculptures and wall hangings were so fun to look at.  The artists are not a fan of picture taking so I was pretty limited to outsides of buildings.  I did a little Christmas shopping and I would love to show you what I bought but then . .. . I'd have to kill you - LOL.

We saw a lot of turquoise, the Cerrillion turquoise is just beautiful.  It mostly had a bit greener tinge to it than the Arizona turquoise. You could also see where they had mined the turquoise along the trail.
There were some amazing metal sculptures as well as wooden bows, a lot of pottery and jewellery.  Although I could not take pictures of the amazing glass at this gallery I did get the link so you could look at it if you are so inclined.  The chandeliers were the prettiest things I have ever seen.  Some of them were HUGE  - in fact Rhonda and Earl  - I could just picture one in your beautiful high entry way!!
http://jezebelgallery.com/

We also stopped in and bought a loaf of this Pueblo oven bread.  That's a hearty loaf if I ever saw one.  We made some into french toast for breakfast this morning.
Today we drove west about 80 miles to Acoma Puelbo in Sky City.  We didn't really realize it was so far and Don looked at me and said "this better be good, its a loooong way".   Half way there I said the landscape was worth the drive.

Once we got to the Pueblo we went on a tour up the mesa nearly 370 feet off the desert floor.  The history of the Acoma people and the Pueblo date back to 1100 AD

 This is the San Esteban del Rey Mission.  It was an amazing structure.  It was basically constructed by the Acoma people using traditional rock and mud as well as the adobe bricks the Spanish insisted that they use.  They were basically forced to construct this mission and had to walk to the mountains about 30 miles away to get the huge trees they used for the ceiling.    We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the church or the graveyard.  Keep in mind that when these people did this building they had to climb up the side of the mesa 370 feet carrying heavy logs.  Some of the windows were actually made out of mica.

Off to the right you see the round structure with the protruding rocks - this is the wall around the grave yard. Only important people in the tribe can be buried here now as it is getting full.  In fact under the top level there are 3 levels below.  Once the graveyard was full, the women covered it up with sand and then they filled that layer and so on. The protruding rocks represent the head of the guards that watch over the graveyard.

 They had a few natural pools that collected rain water.  These became contaminated and are not used now.

Our tour consisted of 8 people, 2 from Sweden, 1 from Germany, 2 from France, us and one from Mexico.  Our tour guide's name was Brandon and he lived in the Pueblo in the summer growing up.  He really knew the people and the area and said the summer "school" taught him many things.  One of which was to be a little billy goats as the children climbed up the side of the mesa with foot and hand holds.  The roads are basically rocks and dirt and the homes and streets are the same colors.
About 10 families still live here year round.  Many others are seasonal or just come for religious events and holiday times.  They have not updated the Pueblo with running water or electricity as the elders want the culture to stay just as it was.

Their home was originally on top of this mesa.  When the people were down in the valley lightening struck the mesa and they took it as a sign they needed to  move to another area.  They chose the spot that we were fortunate enough to be able to experience today.

 This is a hornoi which is an oven that the Spanish people introduced to the Acoma people. They make a fire in and then remove all the ashes when it is hot.  Then they put the bread in for about 45 minutes.
  These Acoma people are very in tune with their culture and history.  They are happy and have put the past injustices behind them and harbour no resentment towards the Spanish or anyone.  They are super friendly and happy to share their culture.  We talked to many of the artists who explained their art and what the designs and colors represent. Everything relates to "mother nature" and they have a deep respect for the earth and other people.  Every car that went by in this area had a driver that took the time to wave to us.  We could only tour the Pueblo in a tour, individuals are not allowed up unescorted.

This was the way down the mesa, they had carved steps out of the rock unlike earlier days when they just had hand and foot holds in the rocks.  Hunters had to strap their kill on their backs and climb up the steep side to bring it to feed the families.  Water had to be gathered by the women and put in bowls on their heads and brought up the side as well.  The pottery we saw  included bowls and also little seed bowls that they had to seal up with the seeds inside so they would not get mouldy.  The next season they would break the bowls to get the seeds out to plant.
There is an area in the valley that they still use to plant 4 colors of corn.

Picture taking was difficult today as the sun was not my friend as I was trying to get it in the right position,

 They used ladders to get to their living area, the area below was called a kiva and it was for worship.  When the Spanish took over the Pueblo they were not allowed to have their traditions and were made to go to the Catholic church that they were forced to build.  Once the Spanish were gone they kept the huge church and use it for the harvest and Christmas holidays only and reverted to back to their traditional religios beliefs.

They also told us how they made the pottery and many of the Acoma have continued the traditional methods.  It was interesting how they gather the clay, let it dry twice and then grind it to a powder between rocks.  They use yucca leaves to paint the designs on and the colors are rocks that are ground and mixed with water. 
It was a very interesting tour and I would recommend it to anyone. 
On the way back I saw a bluebird - oh did I mention that already?

Tomorrow we are heading south to Alamogordo.