Today our investigation will be based on the Rio Grand Gorge Bridge and Taos Pueblo. Taos is a town one hour away from Santa Fe. It is surrounded by a beautiful mountain region. The town has a few art museums and has statues though out the town. It a unique small town USA!

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is a very large steel bridge that started being constructed in 1963 till it was finished in 1965. The man responsible for the design and construction of the bridge is Jack M. Campbell (Governor). Beneath the bridge is the Rio Grand River. The river is used for the sport of rafting.  Many people scraped their names on the bridge to leave a mark or to define their love.

Taos Pueblo is a Native American reservation. Their church is of a Catholic Faith. They worship Mary because of her connection to mother earth. 90% of the locals are Catholic and the other 10% are of another religion. The light system of the church uses propane gas instead of electricity in order to continue their age old traditions. Back in 1619 the old church was turned into ruins during a War. The area of the old church became a cemetery. It was used from 1847 to 2007. In 2007 the cemetery reached full capacity.

They have ovens made of clay and its shape as an oval. Their clay ovens are used to make bread, cookies and other food items. It would normally take 35-40 minuets to bake bread. The ovens are only used in holidays and feast times. They board up the oven so the dogs don’t live in them.

Their homes are made from clay from the mountains that are nearby. They take the clay and turn then into a shape of a brick. They use the sun to dry the clay. Their roofs are supported by wooden beams with dirt on top. All of the houses on the reservation are passed down from generation to generation. It is up to the family to maintain the house and to repair it when the times come. They have fireplaces in the homes for the winter time to heat up the house. Their oldest houses are the two stories homes that date as far back as 1,000 years. Before the Spanish introduced doors in the 1600’s they used ladders to go up onto the roofs to enter their homes. The buildings are up to 10 to 15 feet high.

Today the Taos Pueblo have two main languages, English and Tiwa but before they used to have 3 main languages, the third being the Spanish Language. They own 100,000 acres of land within the town is a three miles radius. Only during certain times of the year it is allowed for Native Americans to hunt and camp. Their main source of water is Red Willow Creek and you can drink from this creek. They also fish for trout.

They have a tribal council of 50 men who decide on the laws and regulations. They still use kivas today and mainly men use them. Tribal Men own horses and cows. They also own 150 Buffalos. They have their own tribal police and have their own school up to the 8th grade. After 8th grade the children attend public or private schools. They past down their traditions through stories and word of mouth
That concludes day seven of the New Mexico trip. Taos Pueblo is a very lovely town. The bridge was awe inspiring. The mountains are huge and mystifying.