LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN: PHOTOGRAPHS OF MISSION SAN AGUSTIN DE ISLETA PUEBLO, NEW MEXICO

Laurie Beth Zuckerman visited the Mission San Agustin de Isleta on the Isleta Pueblo, south of Albuquerque for the first time this past Christmastime. This was one of the last mission churches 
I had left to visit in New Mexico. The old adobe church is a lovely structure, and looked festive for the holiday. It is one of the two oldest surviving mission churches in New Mexico. Isleta Pueblo was established prior to the 1598 Spanish occupation of New Mexico, and has a long and complex history that you can read about on the National Park Service website I have listed at the end of this post.

What fascinated me were the two Virgin Mary statues that were cloaked in miniature cloth shawls. I had never seen this done before, and it lent a uniquely Native American quality to these lovely old Catholic statues. The church also displays several other plaster saints, a creche, and and tasteful Christmas decorations.

You will want to put this historic mission church on your own wishlist of Southwest architectural gems.

 

 

 

 

San Agustin Mission Church at the Isleta Pueblo is listed in the National Register of Historical Places. Read more about this wonderful church at the following National Park Service website link.

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelspanishmissions/mission-san-agustin-de-isleta.htm

LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN: PHOTOGRAPHS OF CANYON PINTADO HISTORIC DISTRICT ROCK ART

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The Cañon Pintado National Historic District is where I have photographed these petroglyphs and pictographs. I first visited this site in May 2010. The canyon has been occupied by people for 11,000 years. Most of the rock art is from the Fremont Culture, who lived in the canyon from approximately 200 BC to 1300 AD, and the Ute Indians, who lived in the area from approximately AD 1300 until the 1880s. The horse image created by the Ute Indians is the newest rock art drawing.

If you want to explore this area yourself, plan to visit for at least two days. This is a self-driving and there is short hiking trips to some of the sites. My photos only represent a portion of the sites in the canyon. The photos below were taken on May 26, 2019, and show The Guardian and more examples of The Carrot Man.

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This website below will provide you more information about locating this historic site in Western Colorado, north of Fruita:

https://www.blm.gov/visit/canyon-pintado-national-historic-district