Travelling El Camino Real

Thanks to funding from the FHWA National Scenic Byways program, we have a great assignment this fall:  creating interpretive signs for a section of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail in Santa Fe, NM.  This historic route, translated as the Royal Road to the Interior Lands or “the King’s Highway,” ran from Mexico City (the 17th- and 18th-century Spanish colonial capital) northward as the Spanish explored and settled in what is now New Mexico.  

Our first assignment was to take a walk under clear, bright blue, impossibly sunny skies.  (Tough job, but somebody has to do it!) We followed the path laid down by Santa Fe County Open Space and Trails and used our GPS to record the best spots for interpretive signs.  Then we met with local residents of the nearby Agua Fria, a designated Traditional Historic Community, where many residents can trace their lineage – and their land lots – back many generations to the very first Spanish settlers in the region!  We’ll be working on a total of nine signs along the route from Agua Fria into downtown Santa Fe.  Thanks to our design client, Content Design Collaborative, for pulling us in on this cool (hot!) project.