Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
you're up for an overnight adventure, contact
Southwest Nordic Center
(
&
575/
758-4761;
www.southwestnordiccenter.com), a company that rents yurts (Russian-style
huts). The season is from mid-November to April, depending on snow conditions. Some
like to ski the old logging roads of Mount Taylor in
Cíbola National Forest
near Grants.
Contact the Ranger Station in Grants at
&
505/287-8833
for more information.
SWIMMING
Good swimming is available at
Navajo Lake State Park
(
&
505/632-
2278
). Before diving in at other lakes in state parks, make sure swimming is permitted.
Swimming is best (although chilly) at
Clayton,
Conchas, Morphy, Storrie,
and
Ute
lakes.
(You can find directions to and specifics about these lakes at various points in the
rest of this chapter.) In addition, though it's an indoor rather than outdoor experience,
the
Las Vegas Recreation Center
's swimming pool, at 1751 N. Grand Ave. (
&
505/
426-1739
), is an especially good place to take kids. It's Olympic-size and has a fun slide
that will keep kids busy for hours. Call for more information.
274
2
ACOMA PUEBLO
30 miles SE of Grants; 90 miles SE of Gallup; 150 miles SE of Farmington
The spectacular Acoma Sky City, a walled adobe village perched high atop a sheer rock
mesa 367 feet above the 6,600-foot valley floor, is said to have been inhabited at least
since the 11th century—it's the longest continuously occupied community in the United
States. Native history says it has been inhabited since before the time of Christ. Both the
pueblo and its mission church of
San Esteban del Rey
are National Historic Landmarks.
When Coronado visited in 1540, he suggested that Acoma was “the greatest stronghold
in the world”; those who attempt to follow the cliffside footpath down after their guided
tour, rather than take the bus back down, may agree.
About 50 to 75 Keresan-speaking Acoma (pronounced
Ack
-oo-mah) reside year-round
on the 70-acre mesa top. Many others maintain ancestral homes and occupy them during
ceremonial periods. The terraced three-story buildings face south for maximum exposure
to the winter sun. Most of Sky City's permanent residents make their living off the
throngs of tourists who flock here to see the magnificent church, built in 1639 and
containing numerous masterpieces of Spanish colonial art, and to purchase the thin-
walled white pottery with brown-and-black designs for which the pueblo is famous.
Many Acomas work in Grants, 15 miles west of the pueblo, in Albuquerque; or for
one of Acoma's business enterprises, such as Sky City Casino. Others are cattle ranchers
and farm individual family gardens.
10
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
To reach Acoma from Grants, drive east 15 miles on I-40 to McCa-
rtys, and then south 13 miles on paved tribal roads to the visitor center. From Albuquer-
que, drive west 65 miles to the Acoma-Sky City exit (102), and then 15 miles
southwest.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Contact the Sky City Cultural Center and Pueblo of
Acoma (
&
800/747-0181;
www.acomaskycity.org).
ADMISSION FEES & HOURS
Admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors 60 and
over, $9 for children 6 to 17, and free for children 5 and under. There's a discount for
Native American visitors. The photography charge is $10; tripods are prohibited, tele-
photo lenses are restricted, and no video cameras are allowed. No cellphones, binoculars,
