Travel Diary: 2023 Tour through New Mexico - Part 6

After a bit of early morning fun playing around in the Bisti Badlands, it was time move along. Our original plan, before our van troubles, was to revisit the extinct volcano neck in northwestern New Mexico called Tsé Bit’a’í, aka Shiprock. Since we were behind schedule, we decided to begin our drive south. Our next destination? Acoma Pueblo or “Sky City.” We had that one saved to our New Mexico list for a long while!

Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo located about 60 miles west of Albuquerque. The reason it’s called “Sky City” is that it sits high upon a 365 foot mesa. The Pueblo was settled in the 11th century, making it one of the earliest continuously inhabited communities in the USA. Many of the buildings there are original to the settlement. Yes, people STILL live there!!

It’s amazing to think that some of these structures were built in the 11th century!

Early on, the location on the mesa provided a safe haven for the Acoma people against raids by other native tribes. However, in 1599, Spanish conquistadors came in and and massacred 800 Acoma people. The saga of the Acoma people’s skirmishes with the Spanish is a long and tumultuous tale. And, not a fun one to learn about.

The pueblo can only be toured with a guide, and reservations are highly recommended. However, we arrived in the morning and were able to get in on the first tour of the day. Our guide was super-nice and really knew his stuff. He was Acoma, after all. There’s a small entry fee of $25, but it’s well worth it to visit the museum, tour the pueblo and learn the history of the Acoma people. The entry fee also covers a photo permit (video recording is not allowed).

One thing that stood out to us more than anything is how kind, sincere and welcoming the Acoma were. For instance, their yearly harvest feast was taking place a few days after our tour. Everyone invited us to return to party and dine with them in their homes. They told us to bring any and everyone we knew.

That tour is one of the neatest things we’ve EVER done. It was quite the experience to stand atop the mesa surrounded by all the archaic structures. We learned a lot that afternoon. It also put things into perspective seeing how happy the Acoma people are living a simple life without modern technology, etc.

The view from atop the mesa of Acoma Pueblo.

Before we left, we enjoyed some killer Indian tacos in the museum restaurant. An Indian taco is basically anything you’d stuff into a regular taco shell piled on top of Indian fry bread. Fry bread is exactly what it sounds like, fried dough—deliciously crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. We always enjoy trying the different cuisines of all the places we visit. This was no different.

Mmmmm, an Indian taco!

We left Acoma Pueblo and drove 4 hours south through what seemed like 3 or 4 different climates: desert, forest, mountains & lowlands. Our altitude was constantly changing, which in turn, drastically changed the temperatures as well. We saw a handful of roadrunners on the drive, too! Those dudes are hilarious! They look and act just like Wile E. Coyote’s nemesis.

We landed in Silver City in southwestern New Mexico. We took a chance on scoring a room at Bear Mountain Lodge via a Google search. We booked the last room and were glad we did. The place was amazing! We had a nice, cozy room with a king bed, and there was a balcony with a view of the mountains. We also had our first shower in many days.

The best part of our stay was the breakfast, which was free with our stay. Homemade blue corn waffles with a piece of Hot Chicken plopped on top? Yes, please!! As we sat and devoured our breakfast on the porch, we took in a show of at least 100 hummingbirds feeding. We had never seen so many at once! Also, as we were leaving in the morning, a couple of longhorn steers trotted out front to bid us adieu. That was random, but way cool!

Literally, the BEST breakfast we’ve had in our entire lives.

We HIGHLY recommend booking a multi-day stay at Bear Mountain Lodge. We didn’t stay for long, but it was a great experience. We’re planning to return in the future for a longer stay to enjoy all the amenities, especially the hiking trails.

The next part of our blog will detail our visit to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, another ancient site with a lot of history.

-Andrew