Road Trip - Pecos National Historical Park, Saint Francis Cathedral, and the Bell Tower Bar (Santa Fe)

**** No food in this one; but if you'd like to see photos of what was once considered one of the crossroads to the west, along with what is considered the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in North America, read on.

After spending the evening in Prescott and visiting Montezuma Castle National Monument and having lunch at a favorite spot of ours, we headed off to our next destination. Taking the 40 East, then transitioning to the 25, we bypassed our next destination for the night, Santa Fe, and went to Pecos National Historic Park. Once upon a time, the Glorieta Pass was considered the most direct route to the west. Everyone from the ancient Pueblo Indians, to the Spanish, to the settlers head to the west used this pass. In fact lest you think that New Mexico was too far west, the decisive Battle of Glorieta Pass was fought here during the Civil War. The park is fairly large and sprawling, nearly 350 acres.

The main area I wanted to check out was Pecos Pueblo.

Here stand the ruins of the Pueblo, with the foreboding walls of the Mission Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles rising up from the area.

There actually a recreated Kiva. Which really stirred one's imagination of how things must have been.

The large eye-catching ruins are of the Pecos Mission Church.

The first church was completed on these grounds headed by the Franciscans who gained permission from the Spanish. Of course, the labor was provided by the Puebloans. To quote the NPS page:

"Construction of the Mission Church and the Convento were supervised by the Franciscans, but Pecos people provided the labor; the Pecos received no pay for their work, raising questions today about the nature of slavery in the Southwest."

In 1680 the Puebloans rejected the religion and rule in the Pueblo Revolt and the church and convent were razed.

In 1693, the Spanish retook the land and reestablished control and the current structure was built.

We had parked, seen the ruins and immediately headed on over. In retrospect, I'd recommend heading over to the visitors center first as it provided history and context.

And we loved this map as it added to what we had learned about trading of the native peoples during our visit to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City.

Pecos National Historical Park
Pecos, NM 87552

It was a mere half hour drive to Santa Fe from here.

The Missus wanted to make one stop on the way to our hotel at Kakawa Chocolate again.

Where She restocked on some of Her favorites from our previous visit.

Kakawa Chocolate House
1300 Rufina Circle A4
Santa Fe, NM 87507

As before, we stayed at the Inn of the Governors. And as on our previous visit, our room wasn't quite ready yet, but we were able to park and do some exploring.

On our previous trip to Santa Fe, there was a place I wanted to check out but it was closed during our stay; the Saint Francis Cathedral. 

On my previous trip, I found the following statue to be fascinating, so I did a bit of research.....

This is a status of Kateri Tekakwitha, the First Native American Saint. If you're interested in a bit more, this entry might be of interest.

As we entered the church, I was struck by how brightly colored it was.

At the Northeast part of the Cathedral is a chapel that was once part of another church that stood on these grounds. It is the oldest part of the Cathedral.

In this chapel resides the oldest existing statue of the Virgin Mary in North America, often called "La Conquistadora".

You can read even more about that here.

We enjoyed our visit and then headed off to our next stop. I've mentioned the architect Mary Colter a couple of times in posts; she the Desert Watchtower and one of our favorite hotels, La Posada in Winslow. I had read that she had also designed the interior of the very popular La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe. So, we decided to head on over.

The restaurant looked lovely, but we had reservations at another place for dinner.

There is however, a bar on the rooftop of La Fonda, which is open from 3pm to Sunset during weekdays. The clock had just struck 3 so we headed up the elevator.

And then to the host stand. Luckily, we had gotten there right when the place opened. 

There were people who had gotten in before we did! I guess they waited for the place to open?

The Missus got a Frozen Sangria and I got a Spicy Serrano Margarita.

And we relaxed and enjoyed the view.

Bell Tower Bar (in the La Fonda Hotel)
100 E San Francisco St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Open from May - late October
Hours:
Mon - Fri 3pm - Sunset
Sat - Sun 1pm - Sunset

Before strolling back to the hotel to check in. We were looking forward to our dinner!

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[kat]

amazing structures!

[Kirk]

It was something to see Kat!

[Soo]

I love those old structures. They built them to last.

[Kirk]

They sure did Soo!