A Defining Moment in History

A Defining Moment in History. . , “Swift and wide ran the Rio Grande through the San Luis Valley. Untapped by irrigation, crossing the Rio Grande was a death defying experience for anyone who attempted it. The 1694 de Vargas entrada is the first record of a Spaniard successfully fording the ‘Big River’ at this location.” , “To feed the starving residents of Santa Fe, Don Diego de Vargas raided the village of Taos to steal corn from the Pueblos. De Vargas feared that the Pueblo Indians would retaliate, so he rode north into the unexplored territory of the San Luis Valley.” , La Vereda; A Trail Through Time , Ruth Marie Colville , People Helping People , The interconnection of people along the Rio Grande corridor is legendary. The Spanish entrada to the area succeeded in part because Pueblo native guides led the way along their ancient trails. In the 1870s, established Hispanos helped new Mormon settlers survive their first harsh winter with gifts of cattle, shelter and employment. , Within a decade of the de Vargas entrada, French fur trappers pushed into Colorado. If de Vargas had not succeeded in saving Santa Fe, the people of this area might be speaking French instead of Spanish!, [photo captions] , . Human occupation dates back at least 11,000 years. , . Don Diego de Vargas. Soon after de Vargas and his men crossed the Rio Grande, they scattered 500 buffalo that a group of Utes were hunting. After battling through the early July morning, a truce was made and the two sides worked together, hunting for food. , . Culebra Creek flowed into the Rio Grande between the rock outcroppings across the river. Reservoirs and irrigation that support local agriculture and communities affect flows we see today.