A Day on the Santa Fe Trail

By Jennifer Broome

In 1821, William Becknell and a party of his five fellow traders opened the “Commerce of the Prairies.” Known for its expansion of commerce and culture, it became the most important commercial route across the Great Plains in the 19th century until the railroad reached Santa Fe in 1880. The route I’m talking about is the Santa Fe Trail, which stretches 1,203 miles from Franklin, Mo., to Santa Fe, N.M., and is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.

The original 1821 trail cut across the southeast corner of Colorado, including what’s now present-day La Junta and the popular trading site of Bent’s Old Fort. In 1822, the route shifted southward, just barely crossing into Colorado, in what became the Cimarron Route. However in 1846, that route became more dangerous because of raids during the war with Mexico (1846-1848), so most trail traffic diverted back to the original Mountain Route passing through Bent’s Old Fort before going over Raton Pass.

My friend Kristen and I were in La Junta to explore part of this historic trail and visit Bent’s Old Fort. We stayed at the AAA Three Diamond-designated Hampton Inn, and grabbed our morning coffee at La Barista, a locals’ favorite and AAA-approved coffeehouse. Afterward, we made our way to Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site. The smell of a cottonwood campfire wafted through the air as we entered, and I noticed there were only 27 stars on the fort’s flag, but as I later learned it’s an 1847 flag.

Interpreters and park rangers are dressed in 1846 attire, and you feel transported back to the late 1840s to this cultural crossroads where Americans, Native Americans, Mexicans, and others traded. On a special guided tour, Rick Wallner, the site’s former chief of interpretation who’s now retired, told us the original fort “melted back into the earth,” but in 1975 to 1976, the National Park Service reconstructed “the Castle on the Plains” on its original footprint. Bent’s Old Fort was a significant fur trade center along the Santa Fe Trail. It was also a supply post for the U.S. military during the previously mentioned war with Mexico, and later a stagecoach stop in the 1860s.

As we walked into the auxiliary trade room, Rick told us this was “basically your first drive up, ride up, or walk-up window.” The room is filled with furs, buffalo hide blankets, guns, pottery, bedding, belts, beads and basically anything you would have traded during those times. We continued through the council, trade, and dining rooms. When we got to the cook’s living quarters and kitchen, Rick told us the story of William Bent—who the fort’s named after—and his slave, Charlotte, who was well-liked and famous for her flapjacks and pumpkin pie. 

Another of the displays that stands out is an original Santa Fe Trail wagon, although it’s not known if it was ever used here. Rick tells us the wagon would have been pulled by 6-8 oxen and packed with trade goods. As we wandered out into the corral, we saw a couple of cats, chickens, peacocks, mules, and oxen. I also noticed cacti along the top of the wall. Apparently, barbed wire wasn’t invented until the mid-‘70s—the 1870s, that is.

Incessant clanking of the blacksmith was a part of daily life here since it had one of the few blacksmith shops on the Santa Fe Trail. I tried my hand at working the bellows, which feeds air into the coal burning forge used to melt and shape metal. Rick, then, showed Kristen how to start a fire with flint in the carpenter shop, where they did a lot of wheelmaking. It’s harder than it looks, and I was really impressed when she got a flame. My next challenge was shaping wood on an old carving machine, while Kristen tried her hand at the fur press. She had to walk around one way several times, then reversing her direction to repeat the process. We quickly found out life at the fort in the 1840s was not easy.

After our labors, we toured the warehouses, well room, and laborer’s quarters before heading up to the second story to see the billiards room and living quarters. I took in the view from the watchtower, imagining what travelers must have thought as they approached this castle-like fortress rising out of the flatland. For a moment, we had Bent’s Old Fort to ourselves, except for a park ranger decked-out in 1840s garb and stoking the fire near William Bent’s quarters.

We spent several hours exploring the fort when our stomachs started grumbling, so we headed to Lucy’s Tacos—a AAA-approved food truck recommended to us by multiple people. The enchiladas and rolled tacos are worth the drive to La Junta, alone. We ordered our tortilla chips done “La Junta-style,” which means doused in pico de gallo. While savoring our Mexican comfort food feast, the lady in the food truck told us to save a little room to try their churros, which are fried cinnamon-sugar sticks filled with cream cheese.

We wanted to visit the Koshare Museum, but unfortunately it was closed. It’s home to a renowned collection of Native American and Western art and artifacts, and its Koshare Round Room is covered by the world’s largest self-supporting log ceiling. Other place to visit in this area are Picket Wire Canyonlands and Vogel Canyon in the Comanche National Grasslands, both of which are on my list for my next visit.

Taking in the countryside landscape on our drive back to Denver, an occasional tumbleweed rolled across the two-lane highway dotted with small towns. It had me ready to make plans for exploring more of the Santa Fe Trail and Colorado’s southeastern plains.

The 2021 Santa Fe Trail Bicentennial Symposium celebrating “200 Years of Commerce and Cultural Connections” is Sept. 23-26 at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in La Junta. To learn more about this event and others along the Santa Fe Trail, visit santafetrail200.org.

Jennifer Broome is an avid road tripper and frequent contributor to EnCompass. She has visited all 50 states and 37 countries. Follow her adventures on Instagram @jenniferbroometv.