Heritage

Northern Rio Grande and Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Areas

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Quick logistical update: until summer, Mondays are Mexican World Heritage Sites, Thursdays are eclectic, and Saturdays are bonus park photos. I took the photos above yesterday in New Mexico and Colorado.

While technically in different regions, both National Heritage Areas are linked by the river, the mountains and our cultural heritage. The Rio Grande begins in the San Juan Mountains in south central Colorado and flows east through the San Luis Valley where it turns south into New Mexico. The scenic north section is called the Río Grande del Norte to distinguish it from the southern section that defines the Texas-Mexico border. The river flows through the Rio Grande Gorge and is now popular for whitewater rafting (see three rafts above left). In the distance are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (both photos).

Native Americans and Spanish explorers traveled up and down the river, settling on the fertile valleys. The native land was claimed by the Spanish, Mexicans, and Texans, and for a dozen years, the Río Grande del Norte defined the US-Mexico border in Colorado, before the US claimed the land all the way to California by treaty in 1848. In the Civil War, Texas secessionists battled Colorado volunteers at Glorietta Pass in New Mexico to decide the war in the southwest.

The Northern Río Grande National Heritage Area in New Mexico celebrates this magnificent natural scenery and the cultural heritage it guided. It also includes Taos Pueblo, wild & scenic rivers, historic trails, scenic byways, and several cliff dwellings. The area is both beautiful and fascinating, and I was not going to miss another chance to drive through on my way northeast.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains tower over the east side of the Río Grande del Norte from east of Santa Fe NM up into Colorado past the Great Sand Dunes. Meaning ‘blood of Christ’ in Spanish, the name likely refers to the scarlet colors of the mountains at sunset. The helpful illustration (above right) is on the Stations of the Cross trail up to a church that overlooks the historic San Luis Valley.

The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in New Mexico borders the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area in Colorado, and includes the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge famed for Sandhill Cranes in March, and Fort Garland, a fine restored Kit Carson fort with an interesting museum on Buffalo Soldiers—one turned out to have been a woman who served for years as a man undetected. The area is lovely and pastoral amid snow-capped mountains, with many other worthy attractions, but I’m on the road again.

Western Region National Heritage Areas

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National Heritage Areas are run by local communities, with technical support and limited federal funding, so they’re not official park units. They’re certainly worth visiting, and they include some of my favorite places in the USA. Each has its own unique character, some preserve history, some culture and some nature, and together they showcase the tapestry of our country. I’ve visited the four NHAs in the Western Region by EV, so here’s a quick summary for you to explore.

The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area in Arizona is part of the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. The NHA includes Saguaro National Park, Tumacácori National Historical Park—a small, but exceptionally beautiful place above—, San Xavier del Bac Mission, the Tucson Presidio Museum, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Native American tribal lands, and many other parks, preserves, ranches and gardens. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail begins in the Santa Cruz Valley south of Tucson, at the Nogales Mexico border crossing.

Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, in Arizona just across the Colorado River from California, is only a few blocks from Mexico, and it still carries some of that old frontier atmosphere. Yuma Territorial Prison, a state park, is a good place to start, and it figures in many of the old western tales of Tombstone and Hollywood. Be sure to visit the riverside parks, where 400 acres of wetlands have been restored, turning back time to before the Spanish came up river almost 500 years ago. The crossing is also part of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

And the same trail ends up in San Francisco, where I used to live and work. One of my favorite escapes from that city was to explore the Delta, a huge area of farmlands, levees, and artificial islands upriver from the Bay. Built by Chinese laborers—later denied residency or citizenship—, the agricultural and boating area is sparsely populated, compared to the large cities nearby. My favorite town is Locke, which still has many old buildings used by Chinese laborers and merchants from over 100 years ago. It was one of the last towns of its kind, fortunately avoiding many of the “mysterious” fires that burned out other Chinese immigrant communities. While visiting John Muir’s home and Port Chicago, I took the opportunity to get lost there again, visiting Isleton and small harbors known only to locals. Fortunately, the entire area is part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, including more civilized spots in Walnut Grove and Benicia California.

The last NHA in the Western Region is Great Basin National Heritage Area. While most folks think of Great Basin National Park, the Great Basin Desert is actually a huge geologic area, including a piece of southeastern Oregon, bits of California, the western half of Utah and almost all of Nevada. (Utah is part of the Rocky Mountain Region, but as most of the NHA is in Nevada, I count it here). So, anyone who’s followed the Pony Express or driven America’s loneliest road, Highway 50, knows the area. To call it sparsely populated is an understatement: one of the most populous places around is Eureka, Nevada, population 414. There is a remarkably undisturbed drugstore museum in McGill, and there’s a hot spring in Duckwater (pop 228). Topaz is in the Basin, as is part of the epic Pahvant-Valley Heritage Trail, one of the Mormon pioneer trails beyond the capability of my electric car. One of the trail stops is Hole-in-the-Rock in Glen Canyon, across from Rainbow Bridge. Good place to visit if you can get there and like solitude.