Fort Union National Monument

May 12, 2009

Fort Union National Monument National Park Service Sign

Is this barren or what?

Soldier's gear - Fort Union Museum

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Ruins of Fort Union

This is a HUGE fort - it supplied 30 to 40 forts...

Jeff and example of type of wagon used to carry supplies to...

Officers Row at Fort Union

You can bet we didn't leave the trail!

Close up of Officers Row

These walls had to be supported on Officers Row

These storage and supply buildings are HUGE in person!

View through the doorways at Fort Union

Another view of ruins at Fort Union

The Santa Fe Trail ran by Fort Union

You can almost see the ruts of the Santa Fe Trail here

Santa Fe Trail marker

Santa Fe crossing by Fort Union

Santa Fe Trail ruts clearly marked for miles on left side of...

Wagon Mound - early landmark on the Santa Fe Trail

View of Wagon Mound

Today we took another side trip from Santa Fe to Fort Union, northeast of Santa Fe off of I-25. There were two forts built, beginning in 1851, before the 3rd and largest fort was completed. It is the ruins of this 3rd fort that can be seen today. The fort helped maintain civil law and order, protected settlements, travelers, and transportation and communication routes (i.e., Santa Fe trail) as a result of the occupation of New Mexico. It was also a major supply center for many other forts in the southwest. The fort lasted for 40 years until the arrival of the railroads. We also followed a section of the Santa Fe Trail ruts still surviving to this day. After leaving the Fort, we drove north parallel to the Santa Fe Trail and stopped to see Wagon Mound, a famous Santa Fe Trail landmark before returning to our RV.

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