On 10/18/2006, we arrived at Hidden Valley Resort in Tijeras, NM. Then on 10/20/2006, we visited Pecos National Historic Park in Pecos, NM. The Spanish first arrived in 1540 and soon left to find rich lands to the east that did not exist. Then in 1598 a group of Spaniards arrived to settle and convert the Indians. In 1621 the first church was built. The ruins that are there today is of a second church built in the 1700’s. The ruins became part of the park system in 1965. The park also contains two Civil War sites. The picture is of Pecos National Historic Park Mission Ruins.
We visited NM Capitol in Santa Fe, NM on 10/22/2006. The Capitol of NM is the only round Capitol in the United States. The building was designed to resemble the Zia Sun Symbol when viewed from above. The Capitol was dedicated on December 8, 1966. The picture is of NM Capitol East Side.
The last place we visited before moving on was Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque, NM on October 23, 2006. Petroglyph are pictures and symbols carved in rock by chipping away the rocks thin “desert varnish” which reveals the lighter gray beneath. Organized efforts to preserve the petroglyph began in 1960s with the establishment of Petroglyph State Park and late in 1990 with the created Petroglyph National Monument. The picture is of Petroglyph National Monument in Boca Negra Canyon on Macaw Trail.
We drove to Kiva RV Park in Tucumcari, NM on 10/25/2006. On 10/28/2006, we visited Fort Union National Monument near Watrous, NM. The first of three forts was begun in August of 1851. In 1863 the third fort was started and took six years to complete. The fort was used to protect the Santa Fe Trail which came pass this fort. By 1891 the fort outlived its usefulness and was abandoned. The picture is of Fort Union National Monument Mechanics Corral.
