This was a 130mi DS ride we took on Friday looking for some Navajo Defensive sites out near Prieta Mesa in central NM. The conditions were perfect, unfortunately we couldn't approach the area we were headed for due to lack of road in the wilderness designated area. We got within a couple miles by staying outside the wilderness but due to some cliffs that's as far as we could approach.
We did a trip back out to the same area to check out some of the Navajo Defensive Structures in the area.
Warning:HISTORY LESSON
They're called Pueblitos and sit on the mesa tops. I discovered they're often hard to get to and just as hard to find sometimes, duh! They guys were protecting themselves. They built these things because the Spanish weren't real nice to the natives in the area when they returned following the Pueblo Uprising, they think many of them fled the Rio Grande Valley and merged with the tribes in more remote areas like the Navajos. If that wasn't enough the pesky Utes liked to come down from their area (50mi north) and raid these same Navajo and Pueblo indians. These structures are situated so that they can signal from one to another to another over a long distance.
Anyway here's a non-moto video of a couple of them.
That is a cool video and area! I have ridden up there a couple times back about 20 years ago with the previous owner of the Cuban Cafe and it was cool then. Was thinking about planning out another ride in the area sometime soon...this motivated me to work on some tracks!
Thanks for posting up Chris!!
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