Harvey Travel Arts

Brian and I saw similar signs to the one above at almost all the ruins we saw in New Mexico over Labor Day weekend.  They made me wonder how often rattlesnakes approach the area when humans are present.  We also saw mention of what to do when confronted by a large animal, such as a wildcat.  "Make yourself look larger" the warnings said.  How does one do this?  And do people actually remember the warnings if they are approached by a dangerous animal?Honestly, although I was aware of my surroundings the entire time, I was not worried.  I felt relatively safe staying on the trails with other people in the afternoon heat.  The rattlesnakes can have all the privacy they want, however. 

Brian and I spent Labor Day weekend traveling to New Mexico.  Leaving after work on Friday, we stopped in Amarillo overnight and continued on the next day to visit some of the Salinas Pueblo Missions near Mountainair, New Mexico, just south of Albuquerque.  There were three, the first one we visited is known today as Gran Quivira.  The ruins themselves date to the 17th century when the Spanish brought Catholicism to the Native Americans in the area.  Famine, attacks from outside tribes, and disease contributed to the desertion of these missions, but little details remain to fill in the complete history.