We arrived in the late afternoon back as San Ildefonso pueblo. The visitor's center was closed, but Gilbert and Waylan split up into our vans for a tour of the village.
Pueblo San Ildefonso has a long and tumultuous history. Black Mesa, the 'Masada' of the Tewa people, is the historic heart of the reservation. The Spanish conquistadors tried to subdue the villagers and force their religion during the early 1600’s, which lead to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The people withstood the Spaniards by climbing to the top of Black Mesa, the imposing edifice near the center of the village. The siege ended with the surrender of the locals, but the Spanish gave the native people some freedom of religion and other self-governing rights.
We were shown the governing offices, day school, festival grounds and Great Kiva (click for a 360 degree view), as well as the stocked fishing lake near the Rio Grande, which was recently flooded from the day's rains.
Waylan showed us the town center and we all took a trip to see the new oven some of us were constructing for Evelyn (Kathy's sister) and her family. The foundation was laid and ready for the new adobes.
Then we drove back to the firing pit site for the barbeque dinner...
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