City: Pojoaque, NM

Category: Parks & Recreation

Telephone: (505) 455-4262

Address: 10 Cities of Gold Rd.

Description: Another casino bowling center, this time with 16 lanes and all-you-can-bowl Sundays, as well as leagues and lessons. Check out the New Mexico Bowling Association (www.nmusbc.com) for tournaments in New Mexico.

City: Pojoaque, NM

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (505) 455-3334 (Poeh Cultural

Address: 17746 US 84/285

Description: Patron saint: Our Lady of Guadalupe. Feast day: December 12.With an estimated 325 members, Pojoaque (po-WAH-keh) is the smallest of all the northern pueblos but is now the second-largest private employer in northern New Mexico due to many business endeavors. Its name is a Spanish derivative of P’o-Suwae-Geh, which is Tewa for “Water Drinking Place.” Because of its abundance of water, Pojoaque was a major gathering place for Pueblo Indians of the Río Grande prior to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The 11,600-acre pueblo sits between Nambé and Tesuque (Teh-SOO-keh) Pueblos along US 84/285, the northbound highway out of Santa Fe. Pojoaque is the site of the first Spanish mission in New Mexico, San Francisco de Pojoaque, founded in the early 1600s. The pueblo is notable for twice rising from near extinction. The first occurrence was in 1706 when five families resettled on tribal lands that had been ravaged during and after the Pueblo Revolt and were completely deserted by the time the Spanish returned in 1692. The second revival was in 1934, when 14 individuals returned from nearby pueblos and states to which the Pojoaque tribe had scattered after a turn-of-the-20th-century smallpox epidemic nearly wiped out all its members. A drought and encroachment by non-Indians added to the pueblo’s demise. But like the Phoenix, the pueblo quite literally rose from its ashes, with survivors rebuilding it physically and culturally. Its church, built in 1706, is still used today. Among the pueblo’s newer buildings is its 10,000-square-foot Poeh Cultural Center and Museum, built in Ancestral Pueblo style. In addition to showcasing arts and crafts of Tewa-speaking people, the cultural center also offers classes in pottery, sculpture, textiles, and art business management to tribal members and other Indians. The tribe owns and operates the Pueblo Plaza Shopping Center and the Pojoaque Visitor Center, which sells artwork from a variety of Tewa-speaking pueblos. But the pueblo’s pride and joy, without a doubt, is its popular new Buffalo Thunder Resort (877-465-3489), northern New Mexico’s first Indian-owned luxury resort. The 2,500-square-foot resort offers an art-filled 400-room hotel run by Hilton; concert facilities; 10 restaurants, including Red Sage, chef Mark Miller’s newest venture since selling Coyote Cafe; a high-end spa; the Towa golf course; and a casino. Other enterprises include the 79-suite Homewood Suites (505-455-9100); Cities of Gold Casino (505) 455-3313, (800) 455-3313; a 40,000-square-foot gambling hall, which employs about 700 people; the 125-room Cities of Gold Hotel (505) 455-0515, (800) 455-0515; Cities of Gold Sports Bar (505) 455-2072, (800) 455-3313; a wellness center (505) 455-9355; and even a public library (505) 455-7411. The tribe also operates a mobile home park, an apartment complex, a gas station and convenience store, and a nearby industrial park. Directions from Santa Fe: Take US 84/285 north 15 miles.