El Camino Real

El Camino Real. . The 1,200-mile El Camino Real was the main artery for exploration, travel, commerce, and settlement in what is now the State of New Mexico from the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. In this region, much of El Camino Real followed the edge of the Rio Grande, including the section of river located directly below the ruins of Fort Craig. However, just south of this location, and just north of present-day Las Cruces, high gravel ridges and deeply cut arroyos along the riverbanks made travel impossible for two-wheeled Spanish carretas. Travelers were forced to leave the security of the river for a 90-mile trek across open desert. This trek became known as the most treacherous section of El Camino Real, La Jornada del Muerta, "Journey of the Dead Man.", From Juan de Oñate's opening of the Jornada in 1598 through the era of Fort Craig, travelers suffered from scorching heat in summer, frigid winds in winter, and lack of water for themselves and their herds. They also found themselves open to attack by Mescalero. Chiricahua, and Gila Apache, who could watch ther slow progress from the surrounding hills. Fort Craig was built just a few miles north of the original paraje, a resting place for travelers before or after they tackled the most treacherous section of El Camino Real. Because of its important location in relation to the Jornada, this paraje was one of the few such camping places that evolved into a small town of the same name, El Paraje, that lasted as a farming community into the early twentieth century. The route of the northern Jornada del Muerto parallels the Fra Cristobal mountain range to the southeast. , Captions , For more than 200 years, El Camino Real was the principal overland route between Mexico City and the Territory of New Mexico. , The road passed east of the Fra Cristobal Range, just south of Fort Craig.