The mission, near the Santa Fe central square, was originally built by the Tlaxcalan Indians at the behest  of Spanish missionaries around 1610. It is said to be the oldest church in the America. Dedicated to St. Michael, the Archangel, a painting inside dated from 1710 shows the Archangel driving Lucifer into hell. The Tlaxcalan Indians were enslaved at the time of the Mission's construction.

The Stone Lions have been described as the greatest stone art of ancient America.  The lions are lying next to each other in a prone position encircled by boulders.  After centuries in the open, the figures are eroded; but  still discernible. 

The site is sacred to the Zuni who regard it as a portal to one of their gods.  It is also venerated by the nearby Cochiti Indians. The Cochiti inhabited the nearby pueblo of Yapashi, from 1350 to 1650 and may have sculpted the lions. 

The Stone Lions are on a high plateau.  As my wife and I climbed the trail to the surface of the plateau, a lightning bolt shot from a clear blue sky down to the plateau before us. I have since learned that such strikes occasionally happen in the Southwest, but it felt at the time like a warning to intruders.

 Nonetheless, we proceeded to the unexcavated site of the ancient Yapashi Pueblo .  The pueblo is on the edge of the plateau with a stunning Southwestern horizon of buttes, pillars, chimneys, plateaus, and mountains.  It is an excellent location from which to view potential attacks, but simultaneously quietly peaceful.  To the west of the village is a mountain, that is as nearly perfect an isosceles triangle as can appear in nature. Within a few yards is the shrine of the Stone Lions surrounded by boulders.  It is impossible not to sense the special feel of the site.

The Stone Lions are located in the backcountry of Bandelier National Monument, a short distance from Santa Fe. When my wife and I hiked there, the site of the lions was shown on the Monument map.  Since that time the site has been removed from the map.  Visits are not prohibited, but are discouraged both out of respect for its active use as a religious site and for fear of vandalism of such an important work.