Sidebar by Central Staff
Old Spanish Trail – July 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
The organization which worked the most to get historic designation for the Old Spanish Trail is, of course, the Old Spanish Trail Association, which will now work with the Park Service to mark the route and provide interpretive information along the way.
The association held its annual convention June 21 and 22 at Fort Lewis College in Durango, with a focus on the Ute perspective, along with field trips.
Colorado now has two active OSPTA chapters. The North Branch Chapter is in Grand Junction, and the Saguache County chapter has been replaced by the La Vereda del Norte Chapter, whose main movers are Max Lara, Gus DeHerrera, Pat Richmond, Suzanne Off, Stuart Bryan, and Ken Frye.
Membership in the national association is $15 a year; the mailing address is OSTA, P.O. Box 7, Marysville WA 98270.
And if you’re interested in following the trail on horseback with wagons, Summit Trail Adventures of Evergreen has added it to the company’s offerings.
These excursions take years to complete, since they typically tackle a few dozen miles for a week each summer. This year’s segment starts on July 13 at Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, and will end near Alamosa, where they’ll start next year and proceed to Saguache. At that rate, trail boss Willard Foreman told us, “I won’t live long enough to see it through to Los Angeles, but somebody will get there.”
You can contact him and his company at 877-856-2815 toll-free, or at www.summittrails.com.