8 October

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pecos Indians (as they are known today) were a nomadic people who roamed the area of northern New Mexico (as we know it) over 1200 years ago. About 1000 years ago, they gradually developed a farming culture and settled in the Pecos River valley. In the early 17^th century, Spanish Conquistadors rode into the Pecos Indian Pueblo. By this time the natives had evolved a complex society and system of belief. Their town was a fortified adobe structure of four and five storey buildings.

By the time the Spanish arrived, the Pecos Indians had been trading and warring with their Great Plains neighbours, the Comanche, for several hundred years.

With the Spanish came the missionaries and their religion. Change was inevitable, rapid and not always welcome. In 1688, the Pueblo Indians all over northern New Mexico revolted and drove the Spanish out. But not for long. Within 3 years, the Spanish had returned to control their empire for another 200 years.

White settlers and traders arrived in the area around 1821 as the Santa Fe trail brought land-hungry Americans into conflict with the Spanish colonialists who were at the very outer limits of the Spanish Empire. By this time the Pueblo was a virtual ghost town. In 1838, the last family left the settlement that had survived for more than 800 years.

As we found when we visited, not much is left, but the extent and sophistication of the settlement is still evident.

Today, we travelled north to Taos Pueblo, an Indian community that has survived for around 1000 years. An amazing place.

All this history has a modern day parallel. The Route 66 town of Tucumcari in eastern New Mexico, has undergone a similar, though far more rapid transformation. The late 19^th century Downtown area has been dying since it was bypassed by Route 66 in the 1930s. The Motel and Gas Station strip that attracts Route 66 devotees today may survive because of the current '66 Trend'. Its 1940–50 2 km long street is dotted with closed motels and gas stations. Why? Thundering along within eye sight and ear shot of the Tucumcari Strip is the 1980s I-40.

History repeats!

Just as a point of interest, the daytime temperatures in the last couple of days have ranged from 2 to 27 degrees. Today, in the mountains, we encountered snow flurries, but by the time we we back in Santa Fe it was T-shirt weather again!