At Posi-Ouinge

The trail to Posi begins at the Ojo Caliente Mineral Spa at N36 18.312 W106 03.165 next to the Posi Center Lodging. A rough sketch of the trail and a BLM interpretive pamphlet can be obtained from the Spa Lodge reception. The trail is steep and rocky in places, sandy, and level in others. The trail is not paved. It winds westward up the drainage from the Hot Springs, heads south and bisects the Pueblo at its highest point. It continues northward above the west side of the Rio Ojo Caliente and connects back to the main trail. The round trip hike covers about a mile.

The Tewa Indians have a story about their origin. It is a tale of a long journey. They tell about the beginning when the Tewa were one people. Dividing themselves into two groups called the Summer People and the Winter People, they traveled along the sides of two big rivers: the Rio Grande and the Rio Chama. They made many stops along the way, building a village at each location.

Oral histories tell us Posi-ouinge was the Tewa home for a long time until an epidemic struck and the elders decided the people should depart. When the people left Posi-ouinge, they founded several other villages. The Tewa called the first one Yunque-ouinge. When the Spanish arrived, the Tewa moved across the river to Okhay Owingeh, "the place of the strong people."