Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is a collection of 3 missions that were established by the Spanish to civilize and convert the native Indian inhabitants. At a minimum each site had a church and an adjoining pueblo (village). They were abandoned in the 1670's due to the lack of expected riches and a souring of the Spanish/Indian relationship.

The Spanish were here long before any settlement occurred in the eastern North America. Coronado and a band of explorers/criminals (this depends on who you talk to) wandered through New Mexico in 1540. Onate came in 1598 to establish a permanent settlement here. These mission's inceptions date from about 10-30 years after this first permanent settlement. In retrospect, Jamestown was established in 1612 and the Mayflower came over from England in the 1620's.

The mission sites are named Quarai, Abo', and Gran Quivera. Quarai and Abo' are each located about 9 miles in differing directions from Mountainair, New Mexico. Gran Quivera is located 24 miles southeast of Mountainair.

Took Friday off prior to this trip to ready the bike after the worst of the winter "Slime-d" the tires for some flat resistance, performed misc. oil and carb investigations, and filled the tank. Got home and pulled into the garage, put the kickstand down and began turning the bike around using 3' to 4' back and forth turns. After finding the proper orientation - leaned the bike over to sit on it's stand - which was no longer in it's proper position. Whole damn thing went over, pinning me against the wall! After lifting the bike saw that the clutch handle assembly was hanging off the handlebar.

Ran off to the Kawasaki dealership and had to order a clutch handle and another cast piece with an ETA of 1 to 2 weeks. Faced with the prospect of having to watch Spongebob for several days, put that Mechanical Engineering degree to work and fixed the lever and mount acceptably with Duck tape and a spark plug socket.

Got up on Saturday morning, not really intending to go through with the trip. Packed, put on the leathers, went to the garage........kept doing things and if something did go wrong, then I would have stopped. My biggest fear on this trip was that the bike would crap out and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere (the destination of this ride). Now I was heading out with something that was already broken! Took the whole roll of Duck tape figuring I could tape my way out of anything.

Headed east on old US 66 until it intersected with NM 14 and then headed south for 64 miles to the town of Punta de Agua. The old equation of: "body heat + sun radiated heat into leathers - outside temp. - wind chill = 0" was in check so on we went!

Turned into the access road, drove back about a mile - and saw this building first thought being "what the hell is this thing doing here!". Looks like a medieval castle in the middle of New Mexico. How many Indians died building this?

Admission to these 3 monuments is free. All you're out is gas money to get here. If you are in the area this one is pretty cool to see. Total time needed to see this monument is 1/2 hour with about a 1/4 mile walk.

8 more miles south on NM 14 to Mountainair, then 24 more southeast into beyond the middle of nowhere (Trinity Site or the location of the first atomic bomb explosion is about 50 miles away as the crow flies). I asked the rangers about the road to Gran Quivera and they said it was in good condition and well traveled. They were half right. Great road. Only saw 4 cars in my 48 miles riding in and out. Not the best location for transportation troubles.

Started to get a 15-20 mph crosswind that was not supposed to happen today. Glad I did this stretch of open road before the winds got worse in the afternoon.

It is amusing that this mission would in our time be called Gran Quivera (the Spanish called this settlement "Las Humanos"). When Coronado showed up in 1540 looking for gold and riches, the local Indians correctly figured that the best place for him was "not here". An Indian guide appeared that was going to lead him to city of Gran Quivera - kind of the streets paved with gold type of place. After leading Coronado and his men all over the Southwest (as far north as Kansas), the ruse was discovered, the guide discounted and everyone returned back to New Mexico.

The ruins here are by far the grandest of the 3 mission monuments. Visitor center was the newest and in beautiful condition. The guidebook is of fine quality whereas the other 2 mission's guidebooks are little more than stapled paper (you can get free "loaner" guidebooks at each monument for your tour - saves you an additional 3 bucks total). Surely much more archaeology has been done here due to the vastness of the place. I'm still more impressed by the church at my previous stop, Quarai.

Talked some to the ranger here, must be the loneliest job in the world. Saw 2 other people during my visit - had seen them before at my last stop, they were also doing all 3 monuments in a day.

The next monument on the tour is Abo' (named for one of the friars that was stationed there).The wind that had been at my back and side coming in would now be stronger and at my head and other side. A quick look shows that there are no geographical features to stop any wind here, just open plains. Take a left at Mountainair and go another 9 miles. The access road goes for about 1/2 mile, one pitch looks like you'd need a dirt bike to make it up.

The sign above probably works much better than what the real sign should say - "Don't fiddle around in these fields - Artifacts from 17th century Spanish and Indian culture are everywhere".

If you have visited the other monuments and gotten the mission background already, this site can be seen in 1/2 hour - 1/4 mile walking tour.

Reversing my footsteps north up NM 14 was pretty windy. So windy that a gust blew my magnetic tank bag off my bike. Was lucky enough to catch it this time. Will secure it with a couple of spot ties prior to the next trip. Gusts in the city after I returned were up to 23 mph. The "bag killer" gust must have been at least 40 mph into my face. Rode the last several miles into town ducking behind my tiny windscreen, kind of like a side hacker's stance.