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| no partners | | Once I made it to I-25 at Wagon Mound, it was southbound on the freeway to NM 161 for the drive over to Loma Parda. But it is tricky. The first exit for 161 at MP 366 heads for Fort Union. You can exit there and take the frontage road on the east side of the interstate down to the other 161 route to Loma Parda, or stay on the interstate two more miles to exit 364 at Watrous. (The 161 you want eventually takes you to NM 518 near Buena Vista, basically following the Mora River on its south side). Confused? Good, that's part of the fun. Along this road, look for the right turn as shown in photo #2. This will get you there.
The road is fine and there is now a bridge over the Mora River at the old village site (the original was washed away in a flood in 1948). Privately owned, with lots of closed to entry signs, so just stay on the main road and have a look (unless you make arrangements with the land owner to get a tour).
Loma Parda was already a farming village along the Mora River before Fort Union was established only about 5 miles away in 1851. Ironically, one of the reasons Lieutenant Colonel Edwin V. Sumner chose to establish the fort was to protect the troops stationed at Fort Marcy in Santa Fe from the vice they were exposed to in the city. So the move to a more remote setting was going to solve the problem. Ha! Little did he know what was to come. Boys will be boys!!  To be fair, the location for the fort was pretty strategic, being near the junction of the Mountain and Cimarron branches of the Santa Fe Trail.
Little sleepy Loma Parda blossomed with the arrival of Fort Union. What followed probably made Mr. Sumner wish he had kept the troops in Santa Fe.  Do a google search to enjoy some of the stories of bygone days at this place. They are fascinating to say the least! (rozylowicz.com/pdf-files/loma.pdf is a good one) 
[ youtube video ]
[ youtube video ]
Anyway, it was great to finally visit this rather infamous place. I toured Fort Union in 2015, so this was a must see to compliment that. When looking at satellite views of this area, it is cool to see the still visible wagon tracks from so long ago.
From Loma Parda, I headed to NM 518 and back down to Las Vegas, where I stopped at the Plaza Hotel to say hello to Sean and grab a burger and brew. Then it was on to Moriarty where I stopped at Sierra Blanca Brewery and picked up a growler of their Octoberfest Beer, which I enjoyed some of at my motel room when I got to Socorro. Next day it was back to Tucson via one of my favorite drives: through Reserve and Mule Creek! These darn trips never get old.  |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Sunflowers of course. |
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Route Editor
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