Trinidad was originally a Mexican supply center on the Santa Fe Trail. Today it's a beautifully preserved mountain community with a historic Victorian downtown and many vestiges of its Hispanic heritage. Highway 350 traverses one of the most desolate regions we've ever seen, with four or five clusters of rundown homes that constitute towns, several large ranches, and one monument marking the Santa Fe Trail and another intact stretch of wagon ruts. On the other hand, we saw no more than a dozen driven vehicles on that entire 80 miles (there were plenty of abandoned ones sitting around some of the ramshackle houses and trailers we passed), and that same openness and lack of populace, meant we could run large portions of the road at triple-digit speeds! Early on we drove through the Comanche National Grassland, and as we neared Trinidad, we were treated to glimpses of the Rockies and possibly the Sangre de Cristo Mountains far to the west.
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We jumped onto southbound Interstate 25 where it runs through the southwest outskirts of Trinidad and headed for the 7,834-foot elevation Raton Pass, which straddles the Colorado-New Mexico boundary. And right after cresting Raton Pass, we got both our daily dose of road construction-with the interstate constricting from three lanes to one-and some serious weirdness from a New Mexico state trooper. We were in a long line of traffic edging along at a maximum of 15 mph and this self-righteous and sanctimonious bozo, standing by his patrol car in the center divider, gave us the evil eye and a wagging finger (index) as though we'd been violating every traffic law in the state right in front of him. Hell, we hadn't gotten far enough across the border to even break a single speed limit, although we would do that soon enough.
After crossing over Raton Pass, I-25 passes through about 100 miles of high-elevation grasslands before meeting up with the Sangre de Cristo Range around Las Vegas. About 30 miles north of Las Vegas and a handful of miles off I-25 is the Fort Union National Monument. Fort Union was situated at the junction of the Mountain and Cimarron branches of the Santa Fe Trail, and was, from 1851 until its abandonment in 1891, one of the largest military outposts in the entire Southwest. The National Monument encompasses over 100 acres of adobe ruins and rows of chimneys that were once the arsenal and quartermaster depot for all posts in the region plus the rest of the garrison. According to our AAA Tour Book, the monument closed up at 4:00 p.m., so we didn't bother heading off the highway to view another locked gate. Maybe another time.
Off Interstate 40. Bring along...
Off Interstate 40. Bring along some Maalox if you order the special of the day at the Roadkill 66 Caf. (Just kidding!)
A few miles south of Las Vegas, I-25 swings west and then northwest as it zigs through the southern reaches of the Sangre de Cristos toward the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe. Spanish colonists built their first adobe structures here in 1607, on the site of a long-abandoned Pueblo Indian village. While never a large city-the 2000 census counted 62,203 residents-Santa Fe has been a commercial, cultural, and political hub since 1610, when Governor Don Pedro de Peralta selected it to be the capital of the Spanish Kingdom of New Mexico, the seat of power for all Spanish holdings north of the Rio Grande. At least two buildings dating back to 1610 still remain, the Palace of the Governors and the San Miguel Mission Church. Santa Fe is that rarest of cities-one that has retained its grace, elegance, and traditions while remaining a vibrant and vital community.
The final 55 -60 miles from Santa Fe to New Mexico's largest city, Albuquerque, were all downhill, from 7,000-5,000 feet above sea level. It was also a drastic change in scenery, from mountains to high desert. We polished off a very enjoyable day with an excellent dinner at the Blue Corn Caf and Brewery, where we (Bob, Rob, and Elisa) stuffed ourselves on New Mexico and Southwestern cuisine and a selection of superb beers that were brewed on-site.