Fort Sumner and Bosque Redondo

We were up at 6:30 and had breakfast.  It is very sunny and clear in in the mid 70's. We went into town to the library which was closed and to do laundry which we put off doing.  This is the town where Billy the Kid was killed by Pat Garrett.  This happened in a house that had been converted from the barracks at Bosque Redondo. Unfortunately in my estimation, the town glorifies a thug when in essence the real tragedy was The Long Walk forced upon the Indians.

Bosque Redondo Visitor Center

This state monument is a beautiful building and grounds. The Long Walk to Bosque Redondo refers to the 1864 deportation and attempted ethnic cleansing of the Navajo people by the U.S. Government. Navajos were forced to walk at gunpoint from their reservation in what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico.  like some internment camps involving several tribes, the Bosque Redondo had serious problems.  About 400 Mescalero Apaches were placed there before the Navajos.  The Mescalero and Navejo had a long tradition of raiding each other; the two tribes had many disputes during their encampment. Furthermore, the initial plan was for around 5,000 people, certainly not 10,000 men, women and children. Water and firewood were major issues from the start; the water was brackish and the round grove of trees was quite small. Nature and humans both caused crop failures every year. The Pecos River flooded and washed out the head gates of the irrigation system. In 1865 Navajo began leaving. By 1867 the remaining Navajo refused to plant a crop.  General Sherman visited the Bosque Redondo and found the encampment deplorable and it was disbanded and the Indians were able to go back to their homelands in the Four Corners.

Pecos River

We took a nice walk along the Pecos River and listened to the interpretive given by Wes Studi, a local Native American who lives in Sante Fe.  There are a few areas of the old fort that can be seen and the old visitor center which was apparently an officer's quarters. The young park ranger was very sweet and quite knowledgeable and wants to travel like Hardy and I do.

Staked Plains

We had lunch at Fred's and I had the best chicken salad I have ever had.  We then took US 60 to Vaughn then US 54 back into Santa Rosa and 84 back to camp.  We saw loads of purple flowers along the highway and in the fields on the road to Vaughn.  We also say some antelope but it was mostly stretches of the "Staked Plain".  Yeso was interesting with old stone or adobe buildings going to ruin.

Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, NM

We drove to Puerto de Luna to visit the site of Cornado's Bridge.  We didn't see the bridge but it was a beautiful drive.  We stopped at the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa and ate at the Sante Fe Grill and we shared an Indian Taco...so good.