SIDE TRIPS

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SIDE TRIPS
Spanish Colonial Villages of the Pecos River Valley along the New Mexico Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway.
This trip starts in Pecos, New Mexico, an old village and
settlement along the Pecos River in San Miguel County. To
reach Pecos, take I-25 North from Santa Fe, exiting at interchange 299, which takes you into the village of Pecos.
Stop in downtown Pecos to pick up a breakfast burrito from
Pancho’s Gourmet To Go. This eatery is located in the Shell
station. in the southeast corner at the intersection of NM 63
and NM 50. Locals claim the food is “awesome” and should
be enough food to last you most of the day. One Pecos local
recommended a vegetarian option , “Almost Quelites Burrito”, for breakfast with potatoes added, chile (red, green or
Christmas), cheese, and sautéed spinach, beans and onions!
La Risa Cafe on New Mexico 3 in Ribera, NM
After picking up breakfast in Pecos, take NM 63 south to I-25, then
north to the Villanueva exit off I-25. Follow NM 3 to Ribera, NM.
Ribera is a small village with a general store and La Risa Café (more
on them later). Farther south is the reconstructed Old Ribera School,
now a Community & Cultural Center.
Old Ribera School, now a Community and Cultural Center
Ribers, NM
A few miles down NM 3 is San Miguel del Vado (or Bado) founded in 1794. The large white church was built in 1806 and faces
the Santa Fe trail river crossing. A church bell cast in 1861 was
brought to San Miguel via the Santa Fe Trail.
The Mexican government set up a Port of Entry in San Miguel and
for a few years the toll was $500 per wagon, so empty wagons that
had once been filled with supplies for the trip, were burned before
this crossing. Eventually the Port of Entry moved upriver to San
Jose.
San Miguel del Vado church - built in 1861 - Ribera, NM
Some old adobe buildings still stand nearby and you can see parts
of the Santa Fe Trail.
Old adobe building across from San Miguel del Vado church
Ribera, NM
10 | The Corridor - April 2015
Church bell at San Miguel del Vado church in Ribera, NM
Cast in 1861 and carried across the Santa Fe Trail to Ribera
www.thecorridornm.com