Navajo rugs, blankets and weavings
Camino Real Navajo trade route - page 4 of 6

In 1610 Santa Fe was established as the new capital and the end of the King's Highway shifted to its plaza. By then Juan de Onate had resigned as governor of New Mexico and returned to Zacatecas. He left behind a well-marked road as a monument to his pioneering achievement. He deserves to be remembered as the "Father of the Camino Real".

The northern portion of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro traversed some of the most desolate and rugged terrain in Western North America, a region of sparse vegetation, occasional springs and rare perennial streams, of climatic extremes, erratic precipitation, high winds, low humidities, and intense solar radiation. Various environmental factors, terrain, water and vegetation, played a role in the route, the rate of travel, the locations of the parajes (encampments), and the mode of transportation. Creosotebush, whitethorn acacia, saltbush, mesquite, and in some places yucca, and agave dominated the landscape. Gramma and other grasses provided forage for the livestock. Nearing Socorro travelers entered the cool shade of the bosque, the extensive canopy forests of valley cottonwoods with an understory of willows and salt grass, which lined the banks of the Rio Grande. The bosque provided fuel wood, and shelter, the river a dependable water supply. Near Santo Domingo Pueblo the road left the edge of the river and cut across a plain dotted with pinon trees. At La Bajada volcanic escarpment the route divided: one branch either scaled the steep 900' black basalt cliff or followed the Santa Fe river, while the other wound its way up the Galisteo arroyo then turned north entering the area of Santa Fe, by this more gradual means.

A number of mammals which provided travelers with meat were found along the route. On the semi-desert grasslands were the black-tailed rabbit and pronghorn antelope. The desert scrub supported mule deer, desert cottontail, and desert bighorn sheep. The buffalo which was later to play such an important role in the local economy grazed at some distance from the route of the Camino. Along the major stream valleys and on the lagunas were sandhill cranes, and varieties of ducks and geese.

Whenever possible flat or gently sloping terrain with a firm footing was chosen for the trail. In some places hills of deep sand delayed travel and were negotiated only by doubling the teams. The huge sand dunes, Los Medanos de Samalayuca, south of El Paso, provided an almost impassable barrier. Heavily loaded vehicles were often routed via San Elizario, a two day detour. Dreaded jornadas were inhospitable, waterless stretches which often required forced marches and night travel. The jornadas of Jesus Maria and Cantarecio lay below El Paso. The Jornada del Muerto lay north of the Robledo encampment. A 90 mile stretch virtually devoid of water, it provided little shelter or fuel. Caravans usually came north in the spring and returned south in autumn. Twelve miles a day was an average rate of travel for a cart and wagon caravan. The journeys between Mexico and New Mexico took months to complete.

Camino Real Chihuahua trail Navajo trade route - page 5

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