Page 24 - 2019 Las Vegas & San Miguel Co. Visitors Guide

SAN MIGUEL COUNTY
PeCos naTional hisToriCal Park
Southwestern Gateway to Past and Present
Thousands of years of vivid history is preserved at Pecos National Historical Park in northern New Mexico—a site that demonstrates to modern visitors the cultural exchange that has long been central to the Pecos Valley. Here remain vestiges of the pueblos and mis- sions that lie on the east bank of Glorieta Creek near its junction with the Pecos River at the southern end of the Rocky Mountain chain, known as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Between those mountains and the flat-topped, high cliffs of the Glorieta (or Rowe) Mesa is the Glorieta Pass, through which an unceasing chronicle of human culture has unfolded for millennia.
Along the north side of the Glorieta Mesa escarpment winds the long natural pass used as a major travel route through history by Native groups, Spanish, and Americans. The pass is crucial to most of the stories told at the park; its elevation is never less than 6,000 feet and its summit (7,432 feet) is at the village of Glorieta.
The Santa Fe Trail passed through here from 1821 to 1880, serv- ing as a major commerce and travel route between Missouri and Santa Fe. The trail took many weeks to traverse in often inhospita- ble conditions. Interstate 25 now carries automobile traffic through the Glorieta Pass alongside this route and the railway which re- placed it.
Much further back in time, indigenous people navigated this route, and eventually Coronado’s expedition came through the pass in 1540-41. His soldiers encountered Cicuye, later Pecos, one of the most powerful of the northern New Mexico pueblos. A major reason for its dominance likely was the pueblo’s defensive location. The Great Plains lay to the east, the Rio Grande Valley to the west.
Whoever held sway here controlled migration and trade routes of an immense region.
According to notations made by those who accompanied Coro- nado, the pueblo had as many as 500 warriors who could respond to any unfriendly incursions of the Apache and other Plains Indians, as well as to the Spaniards, at least for a time. This area also saw passage of the U.S. Army under General Kearny on its way to Santa Fe in 1846, as well as the Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass in 1862.
With the acquisition of the Forked Lightning Ranch and Glorieta battlefield units, Pecos National Monument became Pecos National Historical Park in 1990.
One activity visitors are likely to see in the summer is the mak- ing or use of adobe bricks for preservation treatments at the church and the convento, which is the large complex of rooms south of the church that served as the Franciscan’s living, teaching and work area. Adobe is a traditional earthen building material that has been em- ployed for thousands of years. The origin of the word can be traced to ancient Egyptian; from there it was adopted into Arabic and then Spanish. Types of earthen construction were previously used in the Southwest, but adobe brick technology was brought to this region during the Spanish Colonial period and remains in use today.
The park offers guided ranger programs and special events all year. These include a Civil War Encampment, night sky programs, cultural demonstrators, Las Posadas - a beloved New Mexican hol- iday tradition and much more! For specifics about these occasions please check the Pecos NHP calendar web page at http://www.nps. gov/peco/planyourvisit/calendar.htm
24 | Las Vegas & San Miguel Co. Visitors Guide 2019