Little is better than a break in the weather that invites a day-long ride to a place that’s steeped in history, both real and contrived, across roads that are far from the Interstate, abundantly curvy, and visually astounding.
New Mexico is a strange and wonderful place, truly the Land of Enchantment. But not for the reasons most people think. People see silver and turquoise jewelry, adobe (or what passes for adobe) architecture, a strong ancient native culture crossed with a stronger Spanish Colonial heritage, an impossibly big, blue sky; a sparse, tan, almost empty landscape; and it all seems based on a culture that’s, well, primitive.
There are a few places from New Mexico’s past that still lend insight into the origins of the New Mexico of today. Some are going concerns, such as the Taos Pueblo. Others are long abandoned, like the Gila cliff dwellings, the ruins at Chaco Canyon, and the amazing Salinas Missions.
Now there’s old … and there’s old. In Europe, structures dating to the 1580s aren’t all that old, really. But in the United States, established in 1776, a large building from 1580 would generally be considered very old. Well, in 1581 the pueblo of Quarai was a thriving community of more 
than 400 people, just southeast of what is now Albuquerque. It’s not known exactly how long Quarai had been there before the Spaniards visited for the first time in that year, but it had clearly been there a long time. Visiting there now is not only fascinating, but also a really fun motorbike ride. It’s about a 250 mile ride round trip from Santa Fe. Starting out south on State Road 14, through the semi-famous artists’ hamlet of Madrid. At Interstate 40 near Tijeras the road essentially becomes State Road 337 and gets twisty. The blacktop snakes through mountainous terrain emptying into a plain and turning to State Road 55, revealing a collection of tiny settlements called Escobosa, Chilili, Tajique, and Torreon along the way, all with storied colonial
histories of their own. The Quarai ruin is nearby the tiny village of Punta de Agua.The Salinas Missions, Spain’s colonial, religious strongholds, though in ruins and long ago abandoned, have a very strong influence on what people are thinking when they think of New Mexico today. The Missions, Gran Quivera, Quarai, and Abo, along with their more northern cousin, the Mission ruin at Pecos, formed the basis for what we now know as “Pueblo Revival Architecture.” The Mission ruins are part of the National Park Service. The facilities are
excellent, the ruins well preserved, and the Rangers expert. There is no camping, but there are excellent little museums, picnic tables, and clean restrooms. Believe it or not, the predominant architectural style of Santa Fe in the 1910s was, like most of America, quite brick-a-brack and brightly-colored Victorian. There are stacks of books on how Victorian Santa Fe became “Pueblo Revival” Santa Fe, but if you want to actually see some of the influencing style, go to Quarai.
The architectural complexity is stunning. Neither the native peoples nor the Spanish priests were building primitive structures. And the people were getting along. The evidence of native “Kivas,” places of native religious ceremony built inside the Mission grounds, lead most historians to believe that a get-along-go-along culture existed for many years.
Of course the whole thing had to blow up. The Spanish delusion of “El Dorado” riches did not
materialize. The home government of Spain demanded tribute and so the priests and government officials clashed over the priorities of tribute to State versus tribute to God.It was so bad that it all came apart for the southern Salinas Missions about 10 years before the more famous, exceedingly violent, Pueblo Revolt of 1680 in the north. Whether you are riding for the day or on a longer trip, if your route takes you through central New Mexico, a stop at one of the Salinas Missions is a valuable way to touch a bit of the old that has had a real influence on the new.
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