12. Fort Union National Monument

Fort Union was sort of a disappointment. Based on the Google Earth photograph, I thought I would be able to photograph the trace of the old Santa Fe wagon trail. Unfortunately, grasses covered the old road and all that was visible was a slight depression in the ground. I asked at the visitor center if there was a better season to see the Santa Fe Trail was took that unlike areas where the wagon wheel traveled over rock and created a distinct pair of wheel ruts, the soil did not retain the wagon ruts.

The Google Earth photographs shows the old Santa Fe Trail better than the view on the ground.

Most of the building material at Fort Union was salvaged a long time ago and the ruins visible today are mainly weathered adobe bricks. The walls of some stone buildings and one restored house are also on the site. The parade ground is huge and looks as long as two football fields. On the self-guided path are interpretive signs, some with audio narratives.

At Fort Union I started to encounter swarms of grasshoppers. At times there were so many that they were covering the ground about 6 inches apart. Most of the grasshoppers were small and jumped out of the way but sometimes a larger one would take flight and collide into my face or chest.

Some of these signs have an audio recording but only 3 or 4 were working. The original adobe bricks are preserved with a special coating (The darker brown material).