They’re not exactly sure which river valley Coronado walked up with his plumed helmet, shining cuirass, retinue, soldiers and slaves on his way to find the seven cities of gold, but from the bluff here, you can see both. Apparently, a couple natives convinced him to walk as far as Kansas, before he realized it was a ruse and executed them.

The park is near the Mexican border, and someday there’s hope that there will be a sister park on the other side. Of course these days, some people are paranoid about migrants crossing illegally, so there were plenty of warnings and border patrol operations nearby. I can’t see anybody climbing all the way up here without a vehicle. The road up is unpaved and there’s parking a short hike from where I took the photo. Although the road is rough, it presented a scenic shortcut to my next destination.