What a contrast between parks. The Petroglyph was a bit of a disappointment the Salinas Pueblo Missions was a treat. There are three main areas and a VC all separated by a few miles. These are pueblos that the Spanish in the late 1500’s assimilated into Catholic Churches. The church buildings are massive for the day, the largest could hold 500-600 people at a time. The people stood, no pews, but that too was normal for the time. The buildings were constructed along side of and in one case attached to the existing pueblos. There was a strong desire on the part of the Spanish monarchy to spread Catholicism and many of the priests and monks were sincere in their efforts. However, they also trampled many cultural and ethical boundaries in their quest for converts. It spilled over into a revolt in 1680 that ousted the Spanish for 20 years. Today you view the remains of the pueblos, the second churches - built after the reconquest and some of what is called the second resettling by Mexican farmers in the early 1800’s after many of the Indians were gone. Standing in the ruins of the church you get a sense of the scope of the complex, the size and grandeur of the main sanctuary and the effort it took to build. The walls were covered in a mud mixture, they had elaborate painted walls inside either on the plaster on on wooden panels and the entire building was bright white with a limestone final coat over the earthen colored walls. It gleamed in the sun and was visible for a long distance.
Imagine this much longer and about 25% taller, coated in a bright white limestone wash. It is impressive today, but a bit older than Bruton Parrish in Williamsburg it must of been amazing to see 300+ years ago rising from the plains.
Flagstone floor in the second church
I like this image of the barefoot boys trekking up these stairs - there were no stairs in the pueblos.
Note the kiva on the church complex. In the first effort the Spanish filled the kivas. In the second they used them for instruction on the church doctrine. Cultural adjustment!