The Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Mountain
Branch is dotted with small communities of extraordinary
people throughout Southeastern Colorado. The courteous
nature and hospitality of Byway citizens makes many want
to stay longer, and some even move here to become part
of this magical experience. The pioneer spirit is alive
and well on the Mountain Branch. Our Byway was a major
trade route between Missouri and Santa Fe, which converged
in downtown Trinidad at the corner of Main and Commercial
Streets. Stand there and you can easily imagine what it
must have been like. You still may hear the roar of guns,
the gallop of horses in pursuit, the shouts of men and
the screams of the women and children riding in their covered
wagons on the Santa Fe Trail. Doc Holiday gambled here,
Billy the Kid and Black Jack Ketchum's Gangs visited here
far too often. Batt Masterson was even Town Marshall for
a while. Very few places in the American West can even
approach the exciting past and rich cultural tapestry that
wraps the beautiful little towns along our Byway in unexpected
contrasts and fascinating details.
The Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Mountain
Branch traverses 188 miles of Colorado from the New Mexico
Border to the Kansas border. At the New Mexico border of
our Byway, Trinidad is nestled in a pleasant, cottonwood-lined
valley with a mountain stream, the Purgatoire, tumbling
its way down from the snows of 14,000 foot Mount Culebra
and her sister mountains of the dramatic Culebra range
of the fabled Sangre de Cristo mountains. It sits in a
pleasant valley with snow capped mountains looming above
it with a stair-stepped mesa marking the entrance to a
Raton pass. A major pass that has been used by men and
animals since time immemorial. It is cuddled on two sides
by a rock plateau that provides a magnificent cliff-ringed
overlook of the town of Trinidad. It has five lakes within
easy reach and completing the picture, blue mesas stretch
through distant haze and golden prairies roll away to the
skyline at the Kansas Border of the Byway.
Our scenic byway is without a doubt one of America's
greatest treasures being not only of scenic beauty
but of historic
significance. Our portion of the Arkansas River remains
one of the few places in the Continental U. S. that served
as an International Boundary between Mexico and the U.
S., until the war of 1846-48, when we claimed away about
half of Mexico's territory. "The Commerce of the Prairies" developed
from a trickle of traders with pack mules to dozens upon
dozens of wagon trains, hundreds of prairie schooners,
laden with trade goods pulled by groaning oxen, in an
ever increasing stream between Missouri and Santa Fe.
It started
in a small way - a few caravans of mules from Santa Fe,
heavily laden with hides and tallow. In 1821, Missouri
Indian trader William Becknell heard that Santa Fe was
open to trade from the U.S. He hurried West -- right
along our Byway -- to be the first to reach the fabled
(and trade-hungry)
Royal City of Santa Fe. After realizing a neat little
5000% profit, he hastened back to Missouri so he could
be the
first out the following spring. He wasn't. At least one
and possibly two wagon trains of trade goods set out
before him. But the race was on.
Today eroded rut swells on prairie hillsides are silent
witness to long forgotten activities of merchants, emigrants,
freighters, stage coaches and military expeditions. Wagon
ruts are the depressions in the ground left by wagon wheels,
and the weight of wagon trains traveling along the Santa
Fe Trail. Our Scenic and Historic Byway has numerous exhibits
at sites along Highway 350, between La Junta and Trinidad,
which provide a look at Trail life. Visible ruts can be
found at John Martin Reservoir, Old Fort Lyon, Iron Spring,
Timpas Stage Station, and Comanche National Grasslands.
There are many more undeveloped rut site that need to be
recognized. Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Mountain
Branch organization is seeking funds to set up interpretive
signage at other rut sites along our Byway. These scars
on the prairie are all that is left as a testament of the
Santa Fe Trail and we hope to preserve them so that future
generations will learn of the stories of the Trail of Commerce.
Trail travelers faced many obstacles along the journey
to Santa Fe, including the Centaurs of the Plains, the
Comanche, who learned what rich rewards could be had by
plundering the trail travelers. Water was scarce and travel
slow necessitating frequent stops from water hole to water
hole. If they made it this far, they were faced with the
treacherous Raton Pass with its incredible incline taking
sometimes days to traverse. Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic
Byway Mountain Branch Organization seeks to develop a hiking
and biking trail across this pass in cooperation with the
Santa Fe Trail New Mexico Scenic Byway.
Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Mountain Branch
Organization needs your support to help us preserve and
protect these treasure of the Great American West. We have
recently become an official organization and are seeking
memberships. By increasing the visibility of our Byway
the Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Organization
makes a sizable economic impact in our communities by stimulating
tourism-related spending. And when visitors spend their
money here, it strengthens local businesses, helps create
more job opportunities and provides more money for public
roads, parks, buildings, and emergency services. If your
business or service is dependent upon visitors to one of
our Byway Communities and affiliated with the hospitality
travel and tourism industry, you should consider becoming
a member. As a member you will become an integral part
of an organization with the distinct goals of protecting,
promoting and preserving the treasures of our great American
West for future generations. To increase recognition and
appreciation of the multi-cultural heritage in our communities.
To enhance the visitor experience by improving sites and
facilities. To increase visitation and tourism's contribution
to the economy. To support Trail-related activities throughout
the Byway corridor.
With your membership you will receive many marketing
opportunities. Get a listing or link on our Byway Web
Site www.santafetrailscenicandhistoricbyway.org and
promote your festival, event or attraction there too
at no charge. Receive representation and participation
at Trade shows and partner with our Byway in marketing
initiatives. Active members may sit on the Board of Directors
or a Committee of the Organization. With you membership
you will receive our newsletter highlighting activities,
opportunities and related industry information. We will
actively promote our members to media, travel writers,
etc. Whether you can become and active member or not
we
need you membership in our organization. You dues will
aid in the successful completion of projects that might
not otherwise be accomplished throughout the Byway. It
will lead the effort to have the Byways distinctive collection
of Communities, their stories and treasured places become
recognized and valued. It will assist current and future
development, management, preservation and enhancement
of the byway through cooperation between units of government,
the for-profit and the non-profit sectors. Now is the
time
to help launch the new Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic
Byway Mountain Branch Organization. Join us in our quest
to have our Scenic Byway become as recognized and valued
as our national parks, forests and refuges. For only
$10 a year for individual members, $25 for Businesses
and $15
for non-profits, you will be a part of the movement to
bring our history to the forefront of visibility. You
can get a membership brochure and learn all about our
Scenic
Byway on the web at, www.santafetrailscenicandhistoricbyway.org Or
stop by our office at 136 West Main, Trinidad, CO.
We
need your membership and welcome you with open arms!
Wyvonne Phillips
Email:
dagwood@trinidadusa.net
Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway Manager
www.santafetrailscenicandhistoricbyway.org