While in New Mexico, I visited Pecos National Historical Park, about 30 minutes southeast of Santa Fe. I could have included this in my last rambling post about Santa Fe but it’s the one thing that isn’t “I drove around a bit and went in some shops.” This, at least, is self-contained.
Pecos Pueblo Trail
And it was such a nice surprise! I visited on a whim at the advice of a friend and it was a really lovely walk. No entry fee, and a nice little shop and bathrooms when you first enter. Then I walked the short and easy Ancestral Sites Trail, a 1.25 loop past pueblo ruins and mountain views
Inside the visitor center 
the gravel trail is an easy walk 
View toward the Glorieta Pass
There are two cisterns/dwellings you can climb down into via a ladder which are pretty cool.
Mission Church
The biggest structure still (partially) standing is the mission church, built in 1717 by the Spanish.
By the time I visited Pecos, I had acclimated to the altitude and it felt so wonderful to walk around without feeling like I would die. The air is so dry and smells like sage or juniper (or just “the west“) and it had me really captivated.
Other Hikes
I spent only an hour or so here, it’s not a major destination. But if you would like to spend more time, there are two longer hikes you can take from Pecos National Historical Park. One is a civil war battlefield trail, 2.25 miles and moderately strenuous. You have to get a gate code from the visitor center first, then drive 7.5 miles to the trailhead.
The other is a south pasture loop, easy but longer at 3.8 miles. It’s only open on the weekends and closes by 3:00 so the latest you can start it is 1:00 pm. It leads to through a grove of cottonwood trees and to a fishing spot.
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