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Aztec Ruins Old Spanish Trail Wayside 1 A Daring Plan
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Slanted Wayside Panel: A Daring Plan The exhibit is placed at a 45-degree angle a few feet off the ground and is 36 inches tall and 24 inches wide. The exhibit is on the north side of the Animas River, a meandering river about 40 feet wide. There are riparian trees like Fremont Cottonwood on either side of the river. There is a pedestrian bridge crossing the river which connects Aztec Ruins National Monument with the historic downtown Aztec, New Mexico, one and a half miles away. The Crossing here is close to where Armijo and other early traders would have crossed the river on their journey. The exhibit has a colorful painting of men on mules crossing the Animas River. A red banner on the top of the exhibit panel has the Old Spanish National Historic Trail logo. Title: A Daring Plan Primary Text: On the evening of November 17, 1829, [Antonio] Armijo and his caravan of about 60 men and 100 mules crossed Las Animas River at a shallow point near here and made camp. This was only the 10th night of their three-month journey along an untested route. It was a dangerous and daring enterprise, piecing together ancient footpaths, incomplete maps and early trade roads. It would cross mountains, deserts, and treacherous rivers. But on this night, the work was just beginning. Map below main text. Map shows western United States and most of Mexico. The 1829 Armijo Route from Santa Fe New Mexico to Los Angeles on the West coast is highlighted in red. El Camino Real is shown as a brown dashed line, connecting Santa Fe with Mexico City 1,200 miles to the south. A boat/ocean route in the Pacific Ocean is shown as a blue dashed line following the western coast of Mexico connected Los Angeles to a port city south of Mexico City. Text below map. Before 1829, goods from Santa Fe would have been carried south to Mexico City and then shipped north to get to California. The Armijo caravan proved a direct route between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. Later caravans tried different variations on this strenuous journey. Together, they are now known as the Old Spanish Trail. Text description of exhibit painting in bottom left corner of panel: The men and boys in the pack train made the journey in order to trade woolen goods made in Nuevo Mexico for horses in California. Others saw bigger opportunities in the attempt. The governor in Santa Fe supported Armijo’s adventure, knowing that success would strengthen his territory economically.
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Listen to audio description of the Aztec Ruins wayside exhibit, A Daring Plan.
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