Sunday, August 25, 2019

Acoma Pueblo 2

Soooo....we didn't exactly get lost, but we had entered the address in the GPS that we thought was where the Cedar Ridge Complex was located but no, it turns out that address was the Tribal Center office which oversees the complex. No big deal....a friendly local gave us good directions and we realize we were close.... only 86 miles away!

The scenery and roads were wonderful, so the extra miles were just a bonus on an already great day of riding.
Once we did arrive at Acoma Pueblo we finally found the Cedar Ridge Complex....or in the local vernacular; The Apartments.

Will is rightfully proud of his part in bringing this much needed complex to the reservation.
Good job Will!

You can see from the long shadows it was late in the day. We got a room for the night and prepared to visit Acoma Pueblo, Sky City and take the tour on the morrow.

And here (from afar) is Sky City, or Acoma Pueblo, on top of the Mesa, hence "Sky City".

A little closer.

 And we start on the tour by riding the bus up the VERY steep roads to Acoma Pueblo.

The Church, I think the tour guide said this was the 3rd oldest Church in North America.
(we were not allowed to take photos the inside of the church)

The wood logs used to make the beams in this Church were cut down 40 miles away, and human carried (the Catholic Priest in charge didn't allow use of animals) to Acoma Pueblo.

The tour guide was vague on how many people actually live in Acoma Pueblo permanently....he did say numerous members return and visit the city often, staying in their ancestral homes.

And several pix of the city







Looking across some homes to the Church again.




Will and Your's Truly.

At the end of the tour, we were given the choice of riding in the bus back down to the visitor center, or walking down on the same paths that the natives used all those years ago....we took the ancient paths...aka the hard way!


It WAS difficult going down, but I started thinking about how those ancient people hauled the long beams that were used in the Church and homes. It is amazing to think they carried them up these same paths.


After Sky City, we rode part of Route 66 on our way back to Utah.



The famous corner...


We then stopped at the Navajo Bridge.

And some more ruins along the way.



Almost home we stop for a refreshing drink and a short visit with Tow Mater.

1704 miles, this was a super ride and a GREAT way to spend some time with Will!
Life is good.

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