Coronado Historic Site

I was disappointed in Coronado Historic Site. Apparently it was excavated and then covered over so nothing you see is real. It was all rebuilt by modern rangers. As a result it lacks authenticity. However the museum inside is interesting in that it is hands on. There is much out to touch instead of everything being behind glass. For instance I could see what a yucca sandal felt like or how heavy Spanish armor was.

I started out with the one hour tour which by all accounts is good but shortly into it I was feeling a bit of sun stroke so I didn't make it to the kiva part with the reproduced painted walls. In part of the museum they have the original murals mounted (or what is left of them). Apparently there were many layers that they had to separate so they are in very poor condition. Next to them there are small reproductions of what they think they looked like. I don't recall seeing much of an interpretation so it wasn't that interesting to me.

An ox cart out front.

The fake reproduced ruins.

They mentioned that NM is under a budget crunch and will close one site depending on attendance. I don't see why it shouldn't be this one. There isn't much of anything to see on site and all the museum exhibits can be relocated to a larger facility.