Desert Messenger

May 20, 2015 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 MOUNTAIN QUAIL C AFE Open 7am - 7pm 7 DAYS/ WEEK 928-927-8890 & Gift Shop 490 N. Moon Mt. Ave., Quartzsite (corner of Moon Mt. & Quail Trail) B-10, Main St. Moon Mountain X Quail Trail N Hwy. 95, N. Central • DAILY SPECIALS • Friday FISH Special • Sat. PRIME RIB • Sunday POT ROAST Enjoy our Famous Bread Pudding ! Home Style Cooking! HAPPY HOUR EVERY DAY! 10 -noon & 3:30-5:30pm 175 E. Main St. 928-927-5585 www.sillyalspizza.com SILLY AL'S PIZZA Famous Gourmet Pizza KARAOKE DJ • Tues- Thur 7pm Kevin James Serving Quartsite at Same Location for over 20 years! LIVE MUSIC • Fri-Sat. 7pm - Ern Cunningham EAT IN OR TAKE OUT! Reservations Accepted! Large Groups OK! ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS ™ One of the most amazing places we have visited were the pueblos of New Mexico. New Mexico isn't called the Land of Enchant- ment for nothing. The ancient history of New Mexico truly is enchanting. Some of the pueblos in New Mexico are ancient cliff dwellings long abandoned, but some of them, like Taos Pueblo and Acoma Sky City are over 1000 years old and still inhabited. Taos Pueblo and Acoma Sky City are easily accessible, while some of the others are more remote. Acoma Sky City Pueblo is located about 70 miles west of Albuquer- que off of I40. At an altitude of 6460 feet, the high desert sur- rounding Acoma pueblo is a scenic area full of amazing rock formations and expansive views. The landscape is full of towering sandstone bluffs, and it is atop one of these bluffs, 367 feet in the above the desert fl oor, where the Pueblo of Acoma was built. The Acoma people have lived at the top of this mesa since 1150 AD, and several families still live By Jenn Jedidiah Free for RocksInMyHead™ In the footsteps of the ancients either full time or part-time, without electricity, sewer, or running water, in the dwellings there. Many of the people who live on the mesa top make their living by creating and selling tradi- tional crafts, like pottery, or traditional breads and pastries. Taos Pueblo is located just outside the City of Taos. The oldest buildings in the Pueblo were built between 1000 and 1450 AD. Approximate- ly 150 people live full-time in the Pueblo. They live in dwellings without electricity, sewer, or the modern idea of running water. There is a river running through the center of Taos Pueblo, and one of the people said to me, "We have running water here, we have the river." At Taos pueblo, some of the people are craftspersons, while oth- ers sell food made fresh, and sometimes to order, in their homes. One of the best Indian tacos I have ever enjoyed was made by a native Taos Pueblo woman. The "restaurant" dining room was a large picnic style table with chairs at each end and a futon in the middle of the front room of her small pueblo home. About 10 total people could eat comfortably in that cafeteria- type arrangement. I was seated with another couple and a family, so we still had plenty of room for a few more people. The food was cooked to order in her personal kitchen and her husband brought the meals out to the table when they were ready. The food was delicious and the hospitality was top notch. Off the beaten path north of Santa Fe is the absolutely gorgeous Ban- delier National Monument. Here, the ruins of pueblos coexist with cliff dwellings built into natural crevices in the walls of Frijoles Canyon called cavates. The old- est structures date from 1150 AD. Twelve miles from the Frijoles Canyon area is the Tsankawi sec- tion. There are ruins of pueblos at the top of the mesa, and the mesa walls are lined with cavates some with multiple rooms in them. The most intriguing aspect of Tsankawi are the ruts, some two feet deep, of foot trails, steps and handholds, that wind throughout the mesa, worn into the soft sand- stone by thousands of feet and hands traversing the same paths for hundreds of years. It is truly an experience to travel these same paths while visiting these ancient dwellings. Visiting the pueblos is refreshing to the soul. At the top of the mesa in Acoma, at the base of the mountain in Taos, within the bosom of Frijo- les canyon it is quiet. It is ancient and sacred. There is a peace there that is not found in the modern world. When walking in the foot- steps of the ancients, the stresses and problems of life fade away, and the spirit is rejuvenated. The land, the sky, the rocks, the plants, the birds and animals all speak to one's soul. We need only to slow down enough to hear what they have to say. Sit in a cavate and look out over the desert or the canyon. Find a quiet spot along the river in Taos Pueblo and admire the mountain. Climb down the ancient stairway from the mesa top at Acoma, hold- ing onto handholds carved by the ancient ones. As we walk in the footsteps of the ancients, our spir- its will follow. We will fi nd a new connection to the earth. And after all, isn't that why we love rocks? For more photos and information on the pueblos and links to their sites, go to our Blog "Adventures With Rocks". Access the Blog through the Media tab on the top toolbar of our website www.Rock- sInMyHead.com. While you are there, check out our selection of books as well as Native American Crafts and artifacts. We will be open again in Quartzsite in November at A37 in Rice Ranch, but until then you can order by phone or email at 605-376-9875 or Jenn@RocksInMyHead.biz. Like our articles? Visit our article archives, plus blog posts and photo journals of our adventures at www. JennJedidiahFree.com. And you can sign up for our email newslet- ter for lots of tips, info, special offers, classes and discounts and much more at www.RocksInMy- HeadWorld.com. Hope you're hav- ing a great summer, and we'll see you in Quartzsite in the fall. Thanks for your business this win- ter. And don't forget, Life is Short! Go Outside and Play. © 2015 Jenn Jedidiah Free™ Adventures With Rocks™ for RocksInMyHead™ All rights reserved.

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