After finishing the disassembling of the portion of the wall that we began yesterday, we started on the side facing the parking lot and the entrance. It was basically the same procedure that we knew so well by this time. Hammers were used to crack the mud in between the outlying bricks and shovels became levers to release the bricks entirely.

Throughout the day, we devised our own individual methods for this process. Some used only the shovels and jammed the pointy tip into the mud to break it off. Others used a combination of hammer blows to the back and sides of the bricks with sheer manual force in lifting. We became very accustomed to the methods of dismantling these walls, and chatted the day away. One student brought a battery-powered boom box along, and we argued about cd choice when a labor break was due.

In the morning, a photographer from the New Mexican newspaper stopped by to observe and shoot. He was less involved than the reporter from Albuquerque, and watched our work quietly from afar. News travels very quickly around these parts! It was incredible to witness the number of people who stopped at the church. A visitor from South America asked to take pictures with a member of our class, and tourists looked at us baffled ouside the entrance of the church.

After our lunch break, Professor Herring's wife, Professor McCrossen, stopped by with her Culture in New Mexico class to lend a hand. It was great to have the extra help, and we were proud to boast of our completed work.

Two students finished the wall that I helped rebuild yesterday. They added another 4 layers of brick and mud to level off the top layer with the corner supports.

Professor McCrossen's class took turns atop scaffolding to remove a layer of chicken wire from the entrance arch. The chicken wire is used to anchor the outer layer of adobe. Unfortunately, on this structure, most of the adobe was missing and the chicken wire plainly exposed. The removal of this made a huge difference in the general appearance of the entranceway to the adobe masterpiece.

Tomorrow we hope to begin re-mudding and reconstructing the remaining sections of the walls, and maybe even start adding mud to the church itself. I think that all of us are patiently waiting to get to work on the church (the main attraction).

After today, we can all agree that Mr. Lopez and Mr. Martinez are warming up to us.

- Eiseley

After a brief tour of the church grounds and the stunning interior, our first task was deconstructing the outer perimeter wall, one adobe brick at a time. Over the years, rainfall caused the wall to bow out at the center. Many of the adobe bricks are crumbling.

Our group of 11 (plus Professor Herring) split up to perform varied tasks. Some took shovels, hammers and picks to the wall itself and loosened the mortar-like mud in between the bricks to disassemble one piece of a time. Once these bricks were free from the wall, we stacked them, by propping each brick up diagonally against a center pillar of stacked bricks. Then, bricks were stacked on top of these diagonal rows. This method allows the bricks to sit on the ground without becoming waterlogged and soggy after rainfall. It rains often during a New Mexico August. Since we've been here, it's usually once a day.

Other students piled bales of hay into a chopper numerous times to end up with small and fine pieces of hay. Hay is an essential ingredient in traditional adobe mud. Another ingredient, of course, is a combination of sand and clay. Before adding this, however, students shoveled a large pile of the essential adobe component into a sifter to remove gravel and debris. Mr. Lopez and Mr. Martinez then assisted some in mixing the dirt, water and hay in an industrial-sized churner.

I aided another student in restacking and mudding one shorter side of the wall, which was basically demolished when we arrived. This was my favorite part of our experience so far. We did everything with our hands in an all-inclusive team effort. While Sam and I globbed about an inch of mud on top of the cement base for the wall, other students handed the 35-pound adobe bricks to us. We placed our bricks half an inch apart and covered them with another inch of mud, while also cramming it into the crevices. Once we reached 4 layers of mud and brick, we stopped to allow our wall to dry for a day or so.

During our refreshing lunch break, we received a visit from Polly Summar of the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Ms. Summar is a journalist for the Albuquerque's Journal North Edition. She sat and chatted with Professor Herring while we ate and rested, and stayed to observe and converse for approximately an hour. She recommended that we look in the paper tomorrow to see our story. We were all very psyched to attract so much attention from the local and state community. Although, many of us feared the photos that the Journal's photographer shot. By 1 pm, dirt was an integral part of all us!

In addition, many members of the Cornerstone Community dropped in to observe our progress. They all seemed enthusiastic about our presence in Las Trampas, and encouraged us in our work. This morale-boosting was essential in getting through the first day, as the unshaded church courtyard became hotter and more humid as the hours passed.

We finished our day around 3 pm. Once we cleaned our trash (water bottles, etc.), we bid farewell to Mr. Lopez and Mr. Martinez, and climbed into the SMU van caked in mud and exhausted.

- Eiseley

Our class visited the Taos Pueblo, the Martinez Hacienda from the Spanish Colonial period, the Millicent Rogers Museum, and the well-known Ranchos de Taos Church. My favorite was the vast collection of Native American jewelery at Millicent Rogers. Most girls will surely agree with this! The silversmith work and rare turquoise sold me immediately.

This week, we embarked on a unique, labor-intensive adventure. We're lending a hand (and shovel) in restoring the adobe-constructed Catholic church of San Jose de Gracia in Las Trampas, New Mexico. This small community lacks able-bodied residents to complete the labor that adobe re-mudding requires, and our class is pleased to take part in this experience.

Through the Cornerstones Community Partnerships Organization and Professor Herring's determination, the church invited our group to study the ancient building material in a hands-on manner.

The fact that we have this opportunity is amazing and rather unusual. Small communities, such as Las Trampas, are often hesitant to open their doors to outsiders, particularly into their prided historical sites. The village of Las Trampas was established in 1751, and the San Jose de Gracia Church was constructed in 1760 by 12 families who relocated from Santa Fe.

-Eiseley