Website courtesy of the Socorro County Historical Society, P.O. Box 921, Socorro, New Mexico 87801

SCHS Board members Paul Harden and Peggy Hardman served as the guides
for the April 30, 2016 tour to Valverde, Black Mesa, El Camino Real trail and other historic sites

on Ted Turner's Armendaris Ranch 

VIDEO: A short video of the bat flight from the Jornada bat caves on the Armendaris Ranch
VIDEO: A demonstration video Paul made for CARTA with his Phantom quadcopter showing a couple stretches of the trail near

              Socorro.  This shows how distinctive the trail still is from 100-200 feet though scarcely noticeable from ground level.

 

HISTORY ARTICLES (includes numerous photos):

Armendaris Ranch:  History of the Pedro Armendaris Land Grant and ranch through today's ownership by Ted Turner.

San Marcial Floods:  The story of the 1929 and 1937 floods that destroyed San Marcial, Valverde and other nearby villages.

Cremony's Ride: A well documented, though little known epic chase through the Jornada del Muerto along El Camino Real.

 

 

AERIAL/GOOGLE EARTH IMAGES OF A FEW TOUR STOPS

 

The Valverde townsite; remnants of the church (left) and the WPA built school (right). Valverde was destroyed by a major Rio Grande flood in 1937 and covered with several feet if silt.

Along the road through the lava fields to Paraje Fra Cristobal, an oryx poses for the tour.

Arriving at the top
of Black Mesa

A BNSF train on the Jornada del Muerto, passing through during our stop at the Lava Siding and section house. The engineer acknowledged our presence by a long blast of his whistle.

Probably the first people he's seen at the Lava station in his career!

 

View of El Contadero portion of the trail - the counting place

The main livestock trail through Contadero with the less distinct wagon trail on right

Walking the trail

Watching the Phantom

returning for landing

The "counting place" -- where livestock were counted coming off the Jornada del Muerto.

A few aerial "drone" photos, using a DJI Phantom 3 quadcopter.

 

The SCHS caravan agreed to investigate a new section of El Camino Real trail in the Jornada del Muerto. This is the "Tusas route," the part of the trail that went to Tusas Springs for water (about 5 miles southeast of the Lava Siding stop) and from Lava Siding runs diagonal about another 5 miles to Paraje Fra Cristobal.  The trail is very distinctive, wearing a cut for several miles through the soft sandstone and conglomerate in the area.

 

View north-westward, the trail heading directly to

Participants exploring the stretch of El Camino Real

between Tusas Springs and Paraje

View south-eastward towards

Lava Siding & Tusas Springs

Exploring the church and a group photo 

Craig H. got a couple of good shots also.  Note the curved horns; others on the ranch are straight horned oryx

Paraje Fra Cristobal was a major landmark on El Camino Real -- the first water in 90+ miles through the Jornada del Muerto.  An historic site, though little left to see.

The old Santa Fe RR (now BNSF)

"section house" at Lava Siding.

Literally a train station in the

"middle of nowhere"

A "unit train" with two engines and 108 cars rumbles through Lava Gate while we were there.

Craig H. taking pictures