Within this southwest area, you can follow the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail from the reproduced Bents Fort in the plains near La Junta...
... through the restored railroad
town of Trinidad with the original cobblestone streets, through small New Mexican towns such as Cimarron that were havens during its frontier history, past ruins at Fort Union and Pecos National Monument. The once wild town of Las Vegas, New Mexico after which Las Vegas, Nevada was named, is on this route. You can visit its plaza and the famous Montezuma Castle now home of the United World College of the USA. The famous city of Santa Fe, the oldest capital in the US, is the culmination of this scenic tour where you can visit the oldest house in the US, eat at restaurants housed in the old adobe buildings at the historic end of the Santa Fe Trail, ...
...and follow this road to its end at the famous Santa Fe Plaza  where shops and native arts and crafts abound.
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and takes you through old, picturesque Hispanic towns where families trace their lineage back to the time of Spanish rule. These towns were all originally built around plazas, some still standing. Many have their own artistic specialties such as the weaving tradition in Chimayo.
