The caravan traveled to the Pueblo of Zuni today…
We arrived at the Visitors Center and had the usual confusion as to where to park 15 or 20 pick-up trucks…
Once we were all at the visitors center we all left. We drove about one mile to a typical house in the Zuni village… Note the exterior appears to be unfinished – exposed concrete block, unprotected particle board, no paint…
But inside we found a very modern house; there was a modern kitchen and a room large enough to feed lunch to 60 people!
They served us salad, bread baked in their traditional adobe ovens, posolle (a beef soup or stew), and our choice of peach cobbler or apple pie for dessert. Very nice!
After lunch we returned to the visitors center where we heard the history of the Zuni people. He condensed it to only 10 hours (or so it seemed… It was actually about 1 1/2 hours…)
The speaker was a native to Zuni, who had an interest in the history and archaeology and anthropology of his people. He left Zuni after high school to attend Stanford; he returned to become the local expert in all things Zuni. He has excavated parts of the pueblo 70 feet down to find remnants of the ancient village…
We then drove back again to the center of the Middle Village, and we learned more of the history of the pueblo…
As I mentioned a few days ago, the Spanish built the church – Our Lady of Guadalupe – in 1620, only to see it destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt in 1680. It lay in ruins until it was rebuilt in 1960, but today it is in sad shape. Plans are underway for a full restoration…
Note the overgrown cemetery in the church yard…
The Spanish left in about 1800 as the American frontiersmen started arriving in the west. However, the frontiersmen showed little interest in Zuni, and the Zuni continued to live totally alone and isolated for over 100 years. The “modern era” caught up with them in the early 1900s and the community continued to thrive, although in their traditional, non-modern ways.
These buildings were built from the 1940 – 1960 and they continue to be added to today. This is “modern” wood frame construction, with ancient stones taken from other ruined buildings, made into veneer, and installed on the wood frame. This courtyard, as I said before, is used for religious ceremonies… The roofs and the courtyard will hold over 2,000 people during these ceremonies…
The history we heard here in the village was much more interesting than what we heard in the visitors center, and we left with new knowledge of the Zuni people.
This evening we had a drivers meeting, sharing ice cream, an Airstream tradition…
And an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 
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