Salinas Pueblo Missions

The next stop on my National Park checklist was the Salinas Pueblo Missions. They are a collection of three discontinuous units, each with distinct Spanish Missions, Native American Pueblos, and a variety of other historic buildings and ruins. A combination of disease, drought, famine, and Apache raiding led to the abandonment of all the ruins but they are each spectacularly preserved.

My first stop was at Quarai ruins which is the smallest of the three units at approximately 90 acres. Pueblo Mounds at the site suggest that prior to Spanish contact, Quarai was a very large pueblo. This fact is mainly due to the presence of a year round water source flowing from springs along Zapato Creek which is why this site was fairly lush.
The Quarai Mission and Convento were established at Quarai in 1626 and abandoned in 1678. Settlers would return to Quarai in the early 1800s constructing the Lucero Structures which included a defensive Torreon and the later Manzano Church. 

A wedding had taken place the night before

Next up was Abo Ruins which is approximately 370 acres. 

The number and size of unexcavated pueblo mounds suggest that when the Spanish arrived in 1581 they would have found a thriving community.  Abo was abandoned in 1673. In 1815 Spanish sheep hearders attempted to return to the area, but were pushed out by Apaches in 1830. Settlers would permanently return in 1865.

  

What I found interesting at these first two pueblos is that both contained kivas which is such a huge contradiction from the churches being established as Missions. As best as anyone can guess, the kivas probably aided in early conversions.

The last (and biggest) was Gran Quivira which is the biggest of the three units at 611 acres. Prior to Spanish contact, Gran Quivira was a vast city with multiple pueblos, and kivas. First contact with the Spanish probably happened in 1583. The Spanish returned in 1598 with the expedition of Don Juan de Oñate who was the first Spaniard to colonize what would become New Mexico. Gran Quivira became a a satellite mission of Abo in 1629. That same year construction began on the first permanent mission at Gran Quivira. By 1672 it was abandoned.

This one was by far my favorite of all the missions I had seen. It is absolutely massive and its not even fully excavated. The view was just spectacular and you can explore throughout a variety of different pueblos.