The Santa Fe Trail

This week we rode four days from Moriarty, NM to Las Veges, NM. It was a total of 75 miles and our total distance traveled is now 442 miles.

We rode through the frieght wagon route of the old Santa Fe Trail. This was the first that I knew of the Santa Fe trail haveing two routes, one for travelers on horseback and another for the frieght wagons. Part of the route was in Blanco Canyon through Canon Blanco Ranch. It has breath taking views and elevation changes.

We were not able to get our camping rigs into the area because of the steep terrain and rough roads but we did take in pickup trucks with three days provisions. Four of us teamed up and took supplies in with two trucks. I slept Monday night in the front seat of the pickup. I got up sore, stiff and tired! Tuesday & Wednsday nights I slept in the pickup bed. I rolled out my sleeping bag and got a pretty good night sleep both nights. Monday and Tuesday we spent at ranch catch pens where we had water for the horses and pens or fences to tie the horses to. On Wednesday night we stayed in El Cerritto, a small village that is on a horseshoe bend of the Pecos River. It is a beautiful 1700s village that now has eleven ful time residents and fourteen parttime residents. The river flows into a box canyon on one side and then flows out the other side. It is not much wider then a quarter mile.

The village hosted us to an authentic spanish dinner and breakfast. Our primary hosts were Louisa and Tony. They then rode with us on Thursday.

On Wednesday and Thursday we could see Starvation Mountain. Legend has it that a group of Spaniards were surrounded by a band of Indians while on the mountain and they all starved to death. Louisa assured us that it was only a legend.

W arrived at the camping site near Las Vegas after 5:00PM on Thursday. We then had to go back to El Cerritto to retrieve our trucks and then go back the sixty niles to Moriarty to get our rigs to take them to the new camp site. It was after 11:00PM when we arrived with our rigs. By the time we tended to the horses and took a shower it was almost midnight when I got to bed. This three day trek was every bit as grueling as the trip across the desert. The horses were very tired when we arrived Thursday night, as were we.

We are using Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as rest days. I have done my laundry and will get more propane and generator gas while I'm in town today. I am at a Comfort Inn using their wi-fi to do this update. Many thanks for thier hospitaliy.