The Entire Population Disappeared! Salinas Missions, New Mexico

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]These are the ruins of a 400-year-old church and were once part of a thriving community.

[00:00:06]So, where did everyone go?

[00:00:19]Good morning, everybody. It's a beautiful sunny Sunday morning. It's about 40° and we are headed out of Carrizozo. Going about an hour north today. So, we're still continuing our odyssey in New Mexico and this is going to be chapter 3, the Gran Quivira ruins.

[00:00:37]So, let's head up there now.

[00:00:39]We're leaving Valley of Fires here in Carrizozo, which has been the perfect home base.

[00:00:46]Chapter 1 in the series highlighted the beautiful lava fields, which are actually right here.

[00:00:53]And in chapter 2, the Three Rivers Petroglyphs were only a half hour away.

[00:00:59]My original plan was to just film and move on, but I ended up staying 9 days at this campground.

[00:01:07]I just took my time filming and editing and just enjoyed my beautiful surroundings.

[00:01:14]Now, it's time to move on. We have a 1-hour drive north to Gran Quivira, which is one of three sites of the Salinas Pueblo National Monuments near Mountainair, New Mexico.

[00:01:27]So, I've been driving close to an hour and I haven't passed a single car. This is uh yeah, the road is mine.

[00:01:35]This is crazy. That's how out in the middle of nowhere I am.

[00:01:41]We're here.

[00:01:43]All right, let's check out Gran Quivira.

[00:01:51]As you head towards visitor center, you can start to see the ruins in the distance. I zoomed in for a better look.

[00:02:01]The site has a paved self-guided loop trail, so you can easily explore the ruins on foot and it's also wheelchair friendly.

[00:02:10]I'm the only person here right now. I was first waiting at the gate and it is so incredibly quiet and peaceful and just the perfect serene morning.

[00:02:25]I'm so excited to be here.

[00:02:29]Okay, we're really starting to see some ruins come up now.

[00:02:34]This is a central plaza.

[00:02:36]Basically, the heart of the Pueblo.

[00:02:40]The terrain has certainly changed over the last few hundred years.

[00:02:44]>> [music] >> This is called the Salinas Mission because it was surrounded by salt-producing lakes originally. [music] Back in the 1500s, this is where the Humanos people cooked, made pottery and tools, performed ceremonies, and traded wares.

[00:03:07]This was a gateway between the Rio Grande and the Plains indigenous people >> [music] >> and pretty much a regional trade center.

[00:03:22]This is a kiva.

[00:03:24]It's a large circular underground room used for spiritual ceremonies and as a place of worship for the Pueblo people.

[00:03:34]The Spanish missionaries tolerated the Puebloan religion at first.

[00:03:39]For a while, a church coexisted next to a kiva.

[00:03:43]By 1660, church policies [music] forced the traditional believers to hide their non-Christian ceremonies in these underground rooms within the complex.

[00:03:55]This is a representation of the Pueblo.

[00:04:01]This is what's left of Iglesia de San Isidro, [music] the mission church.

[00:04:15]These massive walls of this complex were built in [music] 1659.

[00:04:21]The men of the Pueblo carved and placed wooden beams in the square holes at the top of the walls.

[00:04:27]They've since been lost to time and the elements.

[00:04:31]The women and children mixed mud, mortar, and [music] laid stones, and plastered the walls.

[00:04:38]These convento rooms were finished [music] in 1670.

[00:04:44]That was really interesting and I had the whole place to myself.

[00:04:48]So, it's hard to imagine people living here back in the 1600s. So, next stop is the Salinas Pueblo Missions visitor center. So.

[00:05:06]All right, we just made it to Mountainair.

[00:05:08]And one of the things that I love about New Mexico is everything has such an artistic flair to it.

[00:05:16]I'm going to show you the side of the grocery store. This is gorgeous. This is all tile work. There's mosaic and actual photographs on tile.

[00:05:32]I mean, look at this.

[00:05:35]And and the butterfly of antenna, little coils.

[00:05:48]And it's just beautiful.

[00:05:51]And the visitor headquarters has some little tables for you to sit at and then look at this.

[00:05:59]I mean, everything is just beautiful.

[00:06:02]Everything.

[00:06:03]Just goes above and beyond.

[00:06:05]Oh, I love New Mexico.

[00:06:09]And that's just gorgeous.

[00:06:13]Look at that tile work.

[00:06:17]And there's a rattle of the rattlesnake.

[00:06:29]Unfortunately, the site I wanted to see was closed today.

[00:06:33]No worries. There's more ruins just 10 miles away in a town called This is a great map showing the proximity of the three Pueblo sites and in the upper right, Las Salinas or the salt lakes for which the Missions Trail was named.

[00:06:52]This unit of the Salinas [music] Pueblo Missions is about 370 acres.

[00:06:59]People have actually lived here over 800 years.

[00:07:03]From Puebloans to Spanish Franciscan [music] priests and later sheep ranchers.

[00:07:12]When the Spanish missionaries arrived here in 1581, >> [music] >> they probably found quite a thriving community just by the number and size of unexcavated Pueblo mounds.

[00:07:23]And much like Gran Quivira, this was a big trade center with [music] salt being the main commodity.

[00:07:30]At the start of Spanish settlement in New Mexico, >> [music] >> there were bitter disputes between the civil authorities and the missionaries as both sought to control and exploit [music] the native people called the Tompiroes.

[00:07:47]What you see here [music] is a complex maze of rooms, the convento of Mission >> [music] >> The Tompiroes worked to run the mission.

[00:07:58]They herded livestock, maintained [music] the church properties, ground corn, and prepared meals with many living here with the priest.

[00:08:06][music] Just like Gran Quivira, this mission also has a kiva.

[00:08:13]But, this one was built at the same [music] time as the mission, raising questions about the relationship between the two faiths.

[00:08:21]These large walls were part of a church that was actually built [music] around an earlier, smaller church, which allowed services to continue until the smaller one was dismantled and removed.

[00:08:34]So, back to the original question. Why were these mission communities abandoned?

[00:08:40]Well, unfortunately, a series of droughts, disease, famine, [music] and violent raids were just too much and by 1672, everyone was gone.

[00:08:54]No one lived [music] at until 1815 when Spanish sheep ranchers resettled here.

[00:09:01]To protect themselves, they [music] built this plazuela, a fortified ranch with barns and corrals enclosed by defensive walls.

[00:09:10]But, that wasn't enough. By 1830, they too were forced out to retreat to the Rio Grande Valley.

[00:09:18]And that's [music] the story of the Salinas Missions.

[00:09:26]I just love going to areas like that. I mean, it's fascinating to think about what their lives were really like.

[00:09:35]So, I just took a little lunch break and I thought I would show you something that I got from the fine folks at EvaPolar. This is a EvaChill. It's a personal cooler. And we're going to unbox this and see how this works. And what I did was I made sure my doors and windows were shut.

[00:09:55]And I've got my little thermometer here, so you can see it's 88° in here and 10% humidity. So, we have a baseline to go with. So, again, just let you know it's the Evachill personal air cooler. This is the EV500.

[00:10:12]So, we've got some literature.

[00:10:14]We have Oh, 18-month warranty.

[00:10:16]Fantastic.

[00:10:19]And then there's the product guide and it even comes in several languages.

[00:10:26]And just little information on the technology.

[00:10:30]So, this is what we have.

[00:10:35]Very lightweight, small, and it comes with a cord. So, this is an evaporative cooler and I'll just highlight that says it uses natural evaporative cooling effects to drop the air temperature, eco-friendly, portable, small, lightweight. Yes, it is. And uh yeah, it is USB-powered and it humidifies, which is great cuz you know I spend a lot of time in the desert.

[00:11:05]And it will purify the air, filters out dust particles, which also in the desert need that, and energy efficient. And I mean, if you're living in some sort of vehicle, RV, van, that's fantastic.

[00:11:19]All right, just put on the glasses so you know I'm about to get serious.

[00:11:23]Again, this is the USB port, so we open that up.

[00:11:27]And then we're going to lay this down.

[00:11:31]And then this part opens up.

[00:11:40]And there is a funnel inside here.

[00:11:43]So, the funnel is going to go right here.

[00:11:50]So, use filtered water.

[00:11:53]And that's going to go right in here.

[00:11:57]All right, we are full of water.

[00:12:00]So, we'll take this out.

[00:12:05]Okay, so it's full. Now, first we have to remove this paper.

[00:12:13]So, let's shut that again.

[00:12:15]Okay, that slides in.

[00:12:18]And that should be shut now.

[00:12:20]Okay, we are ready to plug this unit in.

[00:12:23]Here we go.

[00:12:26]Oh, oh that's pretty.

[00:12:29]So, it lights up like that.

[00:12:32]And then the power button's on the top.

[00:12:35]So, a short press turns it on and off.

[00:12:39]We can adjust the airflow right here.

[00:12:44]So, on the left is a first speed, middle is a second speed, and then Oh, yeah.

[00:13:04]So, just put the little thermometer on the round table across from it and it was 84° So, after just 5 minutes, we went from 84° and 10% humidity to start.

[00:13:20]And now we have 79 and 14%.

[00:13:24]So, in 5 minutes, that's a big difference and I think this is going to come in really handy and it's going to work for me because I spend my time in the desert in very dry and warm environments. So, if you were in the south, somewhere where it's really humid, this may not be as effective for you. But this is going to work for me and I'm really excited because it's May, so it's just going to get hotter. All right, I'd like to thank the folks at Evapolar.

[00:13:55]It's going to be great for my needs and I will keep you guys posted.

[00:13:59]If you'd like to get an Evachill, I'll leave a link in the video description and make sure you use my code Kathy20 for 20% off.

[00:14:10]I love ancient history and I especially enjoy the history of New Mexico's beginnings.

[00:14:16]So, I hope you've enjoyed these adventures exploring the ancient, abandoned, and unusual sites. It's been my pleasure to share them with you.

[00:14:26]So, next week we leave the past behind and we explore the present in the tiny artsy town of Madrid, New Mexico.

[00:14:34]Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure.

[00:14:39]If you liked it, give it a thumbs up, consider subscribing or even becoming a channel member.

[00:14:46]Thanks so much for joining me.

[00:14:48]As usual, I'm going to ask you to leave me a comment because you know I love hearing from you.

[00:14:53]Thanks again, guys. Take care. I love you and I'll see you next time.

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