Historical Marker

Jornada del Muerto (1)

This stretch of the Camino Real leaves the Rio Grande and cuts across 90 miles of desert with little water or shelter. Despite the challenges it presented, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo travelers between El Paso and the settlements in northern New Mexico heavily used the dreaded “Deadman's Journey.” On horseback, travelers could cross the Jornada in a few days, but people on foot accompanying ox-drawn carts or wagons could spend a week in transit.