Santa Fe! ~ Then and now.

For this post, I am doing something different. I didn't want to bring Fancy (my horse) into town, although my pup, Holly, joined me for most of these visits. I have chosen to do a "then and now" theme for the City of Santa Fe, in keeping with the past lives element in my novel "Into the Shadowlands." All of these sights within Santa Fe play a role in my book. (Some of these locations also appear in "Whispers across the plain," the sequel to Shadowlands.)

View of Santa Fe from Fort Marcy Hill, around the time of the Santa Fe Trail.

View of Santa Fe from Fort Marcy Hill, 2019.

Looking down on the Santa Fe Plaza from the south-west corner during trail days. You can see the old La Parroquia Church in the background.

Looking down onto the Santa Fe Plaza, same location, 2019. Now you see the St. Francis Cathdral in the background.

Vintage photo of the Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe.

Palace of the Governors, same location, 2019.

Fort Marcy Headquarters building, Santa Fe, on the north-west corner of the plaza.

North-west corner of the Santa Fe Plaza, now the Fine Arts Museum, 2019.

The Exchange Hotel on the south-east corner of the Santa Fe Plaza.

Same location on the south-east corner of the plaza, now it is the sight of the La Fonda Hotel. 2019.

Old photo of the plaza park in Santa Fe with the soldier's monument.

Same location on the plaza park in Santa Fe, 2019.

The St. Francis Cathedral under construction around the old La Parroquia in Santa Fe.

The St. Francis Cathedral, same location, 2019.

Burro Alley, back in trail days.

Burro Alley, taken from the same location (on San Francisco Street) in 2019.

Dona Tules' house on Grant Ave and Palace Ave. At the end of Burro Alley.

Same Location of Dona Tules' house on Grant Avenue, now the Santa Fe Courthouse. 2019.

The old jail on Water Street, Santa Fe.

Same location as the old jail on Water Street, Santa Fe, now the Collected Works Bookstore, 2019.

Jose Manuel Gallegos' house on Washington Avenue.

The Gallegos House on Washington Ave, now the SantaCafe Restaurant, in 2019.

The Loretto Chapel (completed in 1878.)

The Loretto Chapel, same location, 2019.

Alternate view of the Loretto Chapel (center) with the school on the left and the convent on the right (now the location of the Loretto Hotel.)

Once you passed the Loretto Chapel, heading away from the plaza, you crossed this bridge over the Santa Fe River. This was the old Santa Fe Trail. You can see the San Miguel Chapel ahead, along with the St.Michael's School.

The San Miguel Chapel and St. Michael's School. The old Santa Fe Trail is the road in the foreground.

The San Miguel Chapel and school building (now the Lamy Building, housing the New Mexico Tourism Department.) 2019

Vintage pic of the San Miguel Chapel, (The Oldest Church in the U.S.A) in need of repair.

San Miguel Chapel, taken from same location, 2019.

Into the Shadowlands, Santa Fe Trail book tour, Warous (La Junta) to Santa Fe!

Once the two routes of the Santa Fe Trail re-united at Watrous (La Junta,) the Santa Fe Trail more-or-less followed one route. This is the same route my characters, Tate and Abby, followed in my novel, "Into the Shadowlands." From La Junta the trail went south towards Las Vegas and then cut through the Kearny Gap and into the mountain pass that continued on to Santa Fe. One of the first major landmarks travelers saw when they left La Junta, would have been the towering Hermit's Peak. Although not technically on the trail, it certainly was a 'sight' from the trail. At the base of this peak is where the fictional town of Celestial is situated in my novel.

Hermit's Peak.

Las Vegas Plaza.

Las Vegas Plaza before the park was planted.

Looking down onto the Las Vegas Plaza, right at the end of the Santa Fe Trail era.

Stephen Watts Kearny reading his proclamation on a rooftop on the northeast corner of the plaza, during the Mexican War, 1846.

Kearny proclamation.

Standing at the corner of the Las Vegas Plaza where the crowd gathered to hear Kearny read his proclamation.

Kearny Gap.

The story of Kearny.

Story of William Becknell (Founder of the Santa Fe Trail.)

Wagon ruts at Kearny Gap.

View of Tecalote Mesa with the Hermit's Peak in the background.

Stone ruins of a house at Tecalote. Similar, maybe, to the kind of house Marian Russell lived in and operated as a Trading Post in her book "Land of Enchantment."

Church at Tecalote.

Bernal (AKA Starvation Peak.)

Church at San Miguel Del Vado.

Ford at the Pecos River, San Miguel.

Wagon ruts at San Miguel.

San Miguel information.

More information about San Miguel's history. Until 1835 (when Las Vegas was founded,) San Miguel was the first major settlement travelers of the trail would encounter on entry into what was then Mexico.

Looking south, at the base of Glorieta Mesa (Rowe Mesa.)

Pecos Ruins.

Sketch of Pecos Ruins.

At what was once Kozlowski's Ranch. A Stage Station at the beginning of the Glorieta Pass. Also a strategic spot during the Civil War battle of Glorieta.

Pigeon's Ranch, a stage stop and hostelry. Also a very strategic location during the "Battle of Glorieta" during the Civil War.

Pigeon's Ranch in 1880, at the end of the Santa Fe Trail era.

Sketch of wagons finally arriving in Santa Fe.

A re-creation of the arrival in Santa Fe sketch!