Pecos National Historical Park

Santa Fe Skies RV Park

Santa Fe, New Mexico

August 27, 2026
 

About a 30 - 40 minute drive from Santa Fe, an ancestral pueblo and the remains of an adobe mission stand as a meaningful reminder of people and cultures that once lived here.  As usual, the first stop was the Visitor Center and small museum.  Though small, the museum serves as a great introduction to the region's history, archeology, and contemporary connections.  

The Pecos People who belong to the Puebloan culture were the first to settle here.  By the 1400s, smaller scattered villages consolidated into a singular massive  multi-story stone and adobe fortress-pueblo housing over 2,000 people. The location between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Great Plains was the perfect place to host massive "trade fairs" where the Plains tribes (Apache and Comanche) exchanged buffalo hides and flint for Rio Grande Pueblo pottery, crops, and turquoise.  Around 1540 when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived, smallpox epidemics and intense Comanche raids drastically reduced their population. 

These beautiful pots were made entirely from locally sourced earth (without a potter's wheel) and reflect a deep spiritual connection between the land and centuries-old indigenous traditions.  Traditional pottery is created using a hand-coiled method where ropes of clay are coiled/stacked then scraped smooth with a gourd tool. Paint was made from dark minerals and plants.

Ancestral puebloans created sacred or symbolic animal and human ceramic sculptures. These were used for religious expression and cultural storytelling.   

In 1540, the first Spanish expedition arrived from Mexico in search of gold and silver.  After 80 years of religious oppression, disease, drought and discontent, the Puebloans drove out the colonizers and today, the Pueblo Revolt is the only successful indigenous revolt against European colonizers on North American soil. 

Several different missions were built on site. The last one was completed in 1717 on the rubbles of the 1625 mission that was destroyed in the revolt. 

When Mexico gained independence from Spain 1821, new settlers and traders moved into the region.  Hispanic towns grew as the population of the Pecos Pueblo dwindled.  Five homesteads were established within the current park boundaries.  As the United States also expanded westward, trade routes emerged between Santa Fe and Missouri. And by 1880, railroad lines connected New Mexico to the rest of the country.   

Archeologists have been studying Pecos since the 1880s when Adolph Bandelier first mapped the Pecos Pueblo. Excavations began in 1915 and discoveries formed the basis of cultures from the ancient Southwest. 

Dude Ranching became a way of life. A working cattle ranch that welcomed tourists to Pecos to experience the Old West.

The ranch was purchased in 1941 and from that time until 1990, the owner spent summers there raising cattle and entertaining guests. 

A 1.25 mile loop begins and ends at the Visitor Center.  It is an easy walk on a gravel/dirt path and is puppy friendly. 

Kivas are sacred subterranean or surface rooms used by Pueblo Indian people for religious ceremonies, community meetings, and social gatherings. 

Back at Belle, we enjoy our leisurely strolls every morning and late afternoons.  

And the patio view from our site, Y 17...it never disappoints! 

Sunrise

Until next time, 

HAPPY TRAILS...

and SWEET DREAMS!

Up next...one of the most unique landscapes we have ever seen.

Our First Taste of Santa Fe

Santa Fe Skies RV Park

Santa Fe, New Mexico 

August 25 

But first...three highlights from before we left home.  

We had nice monsoons with lots of rain, high winds and it even hailed.  

Lucy got a new ball for for her 2nd birthday.

And Jeff Gordon won the IROC race in DC...not once but twice!  And from behind both times!  It was a blast watching the 24 again with him driving.  For years, we visited race tracks all over the country and watched Nascar on TV.  We met Jeff at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware the second time we visited that track.  He autographed my hat and I had a photo made with him...good memories right there!

Monday morning we were up bright and early. It was travel day.  We had an overnight stay in Hatch, NM which was easy in and easy out and very quiet.  

And Tuesday was arrival day...a two week stay at Santa Fe Skies...yep, Santa Fe, NM.  This rv park and the capital of New Mexico has been on the "let's go there" list for a decade!  

I love this park...

There is a walk that goes around the park with all sorts of interesting things to check-out.  Early morning and late afternoon are perfect times to enjoy taking Lucy. The weather has been so nice with chilly mornings, a breeze all day and afternoons thundershowers.

Sunrise

Sunset

Our first taste of Santa Fe on Monday was awesome.  We headed to the historic town with no special plan.  It did not disappoint! Cathedral Park is gorgeous...green, shaded, and colorful. It has been preserved as a public open space for the past 100 years and is located next to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.  The original adobe church was built in 1598 with changes made throughout the years.  The cathedral we see today was built in 1869 -87.  When it was finished, the old church was torn down and removed thru the front door.  The only part of the original adobe church that remains is a chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora.  The statue in that chapel was brought from Spain in 1625 and is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States.  

Cathedral Park

The entrance doors  to the Cathedral are 16.5 feet tall and each door is 5.5 feet wide. 

The bronze panels depict the history of the church.

Visitors are always welcome to come inside the Cathedral, but this day there was a free concert in progress so we could not enter.  

A Statue of St Francis behind the rose garden.

I read The Plaza is the heart and soul of Santa Fe.  Santa Fe was founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo Mexico, making it the oldest state capital city in our country. It is often referred to as The City Different because of its unique blend of history, culture, and distinct southwestern character.  To this day, city laws require traditional Spanish-Pueblo style architecture with earth tone stucco or adobe and maintain a low-profile that blends with desert light.  

The Plaza is a National Historic landmark serving the culture, economic, and historic heart of downtown Santa Fe for over 400 years.  The Plaza, also founded in 1610, was the focal point of the traditional Spanish-American colonial city.  

The park is surrounded on four sides with historical buildings that today house cafes, galleries, museums, and boutiques. 

The New Mexico Museum of Art.  We enjoyed the gift shop there.

If you squint, you can see folks waiting to be seated at The Shed.  That was our choice for lunch.  This family owned business since 1953 serves award-winning red chile, creative New Mexican dishes, and cool margaritas.  

The Shed has a lovely patio that's just perfect for puppies and their humans.   

The Shed serves house-made corn tortilla chips...both blue and yellow corn varieties...with house-made quac, salsas, and queso.  Sooooo Yummy! All of their chile is grown in Hatch exclusively for The Shed. They process the chiles themselves in their own mill in order to capture the flavor and freshness. And yes, it definitely has bite!

For lunch we enjoyed soft blue corn tacos filled with lean ground beef, cheddar cheese, and we chose green chile served with a side of beans and posole and house-made bread.  I had to look up posole.  The posole we were served was cooked with tender pork bites and hominy.  Quite tasty!  

The picture doesn't do it justice.  The umbrella gave everything an orange glow. 

The hacienda style adobe that is The Shed today was once the home for an elite Santa Fe resident, Captain Diego Arias de Quiros.  The land and original structure , Prince Patio, was given to him by the King of Spain in 1692. The owners of this quaint cafe moved to its current location at Prince Patio in 1960.

Don't forget to duck!

Our first taste of Santa Fe was everything and more than we had hoped for. We are so happy to be here and I have a feeling the two weeks will fly by!  

Up next..."a walk among the ancients".

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS!