Coronado State Monument~Letterboxing

Today we explored the Coronado State Monument, in Bernalillo, about 5 minutes from our house, one of our favorite local places for pretty hikes beside the Rio Grande River along with great vibes from the history of the Tiwa Pueblo people who used to live and farm the area. When we stop to take everything in, we often feel as if we can still see the same vistas and landcapes through the Tiwa people's own eyes.

First we took a stroll around the restored and rebuilt Pueblo buildings, including several ceremonial kivas and an adobe building showing how the Tiwas built their homes from the same earth that we were walking on today.

A sign letting us know rattlesnakes need their space.A picture of the kids peeking out from the Adobe building, which had doors that were too small for me to crawl inside.Standing at the entrance of the ceremonial kiva.

Jeremiah climbing down the kiva ladder into the kiva chambers. Right after this picture was taken it started to rain hard, so all 4 of us climbed down into the safety of the kiva. While inside we admired the beautiful painted murals, and we talked about what it must have been like during the Native American ceremonies, what the murals depicted, what food they ate and what kinds of clothing the Tiwas wore. When the storm eased off a bit, we walked inside the museum and watched a video about Tiwa and Pueblo culture. We also learned about Coronado and his journeys up from Mexico searching for the Cities of Gold and how Coronado suffered from an injury while riding a horse at the pueblo, and was never the same again. While we watched the video, the storm surged right outside and we listened to the thunder and could see the flashes of lightning. The sound and light effects dramatically added to the video experience.

Afterwards, we explored the museum displays. One side held Tiwa artifacts, while the other held Spanish artifacts. Both sides gave an eye-opening look into both cultures. I was impressed with the turkey feather blanket and the different types of buildings created with adobe.
The kids enjoyed grinding corn with the stone mano and matete, creating a rhythm with the Pueblo drums and trying on Conquistador armour.

Jackson wearing the Spanish army armour, which was very heavy.Jeremiah was really digging the armour and was reluctant to take it off.
While we were inside the museum water poured out of the sky. The kids kept running outside to dash into the rain. The round adobe structure to the left is called a Horno, which is an outdoor oven that pueblo people use to bake their delicious chewy breads.One thing that you will hear when in New Mexico is "If you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes and it will change". This has never failed to be true, and is probably one of my favorite things about living in the Land of Enchantment.

After we finished exploring the small museum, we decided to head out on some of the hiking trails to enjoy the cooler weather, the green and blooming shrubs, trees and flowers, and breathing in that awesomely marvelous scent that permeates the air after a summer storm. The air feels like a living breathing creature, full of deep rich, green and earthy smells. It is so intoxicating breathing the desert air after a good hardy rain and one of my most treasured experiences about living in New Mexico.
Notice how full and fast-flowing the chocolatey colored Rio Grande is below the striking view of the Sandia Mountains.On one of the trails, we of course, placed a new Letterbox for other Letterboxers to discover. This letterbox is called "Indian Blanket". It was my first hand-carved stamp. We hope others enjoy this letterbox and stamp. But most of all we hope they will stop to listen, look and breathe in the beauty of the Coronado State Monument.