Capture the flavor of the American West on Old Spanish Trail

A person's passion is infectious, and Liz Warren's passion is the Old Spanish Trail. This is no short-term romance. This has been an infatuation for her since 2000. Passionate marriages haven't lasted that long.

Not long ago, we met at the Wetlands Park -- one of the county's hidden treasures -- and sure enough, the longtime historian/environmentalist began nudging Christie Leavitt, curator of education at the park.

Warren said that with all the improvements planned for the park, there needed to be an exterior kiosk about the Old Spanish Trail, so that people would know the park was part of the trail. Information inside the visitor center wasn't good enough in Warren's opinion, because not everyone stops at the center. Just a guess, but I bet her prodding prevails.

Did you know the Old Spanish Trail crossed through what is today the Springs Preserve?

Warren and the other members of the Old Spanish Trail Association (website: www.oldspanishtrail.org) urged Clark County to create the Old Spanish Trail Park. Off Buffalo Drive, just south of Sahara Avenue, the park opened in 2008 with a construction cost of $3.4 million. My favorite photo showed wagon wheel ruts on the trail and a housing development in the background.

"I bring all my visitors here," said Betsey Hall, walking her dog on a windy day. Her international visitors especially enjoy the sense of walking on a site that's part of the reality of the American West.

The Old Spanish Trail is one of those bits of history we've heard about but might not really know about.

It connected Santa Fe and Los Angeles. The association devoted to keeping its memory alive writes that it was "the longest, crookedest, most arduous pack mule trail in the history of America." It was a tortuous route that covered 2,700 miles. It was started in 1829 and remained a pack mule trail until 1848.

Those who traveled the trail included Indians (whose footpaths were the origins of the trail), soldiers, merchants, horse thieves, slaves and immigrants heading West. Let your imagination run wild with any Western adventure, and it's likely the real thing happened on the Old Spanish Trail.

"The trail is so rich in ethnic diversity," Warren said. "There are enormous untapped resources for the teaching of history."

Freemarketers among you will be pleased to know the trail's purpose was to move woolen goods from Santa Fe to Los Angeles, both provinces of Mexico. High-quality woolen products from New Mexico were traded for horses and mules.

Santa Fe merchant Antonio Armijo opened the trail for commerce, leading 60 men and 100 mules across it in 1829. Toward the end of the trail, some of the mules were, out of necessity, eaten, according to Warren. (Bet they didn't taste just like chicken.)

In 1848, the need for the trail disappeared. The land, which had been part of Mexico, was ceded to the United States after the Mexican-American War.

"There was no longer any need to link Santa Fe with Los Angeles by this difficult mule trail; other, wagon-friendly routes were opened," said Warren, who writes and speaks about the trail.

"We need to get kids out to these places so they can feel the air and the water and the dust and know what it was like," said Warren, who never misses an opportunity to pitch better historical information about the trail.

Since moving to Las Vegas in 1969, she's worked on preservation efforts including the Mormon Fort, Big Springs and Las Vegas High School. She knows it takes persistence to achieve preservation.

The Old Spanish Trail captured her imagination, and after spending time with her, it captured mine, too.

It's infectious -- in a good way.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.