Driving 66, you will encounter many stories and the reminders that the stories exist.

One historical marker: Gregg’s Trail. I’ve read about Josiah Gregg, frontiersman and the trailblazer who established the Old Fort Smith Wagon Road between Arkansas and Santa Fe in 1839. Few cared enough about these dry plains to cross it until 1849, when those heading for the California gold rush found it. And even after that General Sherman, having gone from Union hero to Indian fighter, thought this desert portion of his nation worthless and ugly. Today many come here for high-technology jobs making Albuquerque the largest city between St. Louis and Los Angeles.

In the 1920’s, travelers entered the road coming South from Santa Fe and Las Vegas. Prominent residents now urge a rechristening of Fourth Street towards its original name, "El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro," which began carrying people as a path along the Rio Grande.

In Albuquerque adventurers of all ethnicities plotted their course--Juan de Onate, hunting for gold on his way North; Texan armies, trying to take New Mexico by storm after the Mexican-American war; and one very bold lieutenant.

Edward Beale, who fought with General Kearney in that war, was asked to find a way to the Pacific, something which would join the Fort Smith Wagon Road and California, investigating the alignment for a railway.

Beale was so dedicated that he once ran twenty miles through enemy territory carrying a letter for his general. He was an explorer not easily discouraged: not by crossing high peaks; nor by the vast Mojave desert; nor by the Pai, Navajo, Hopi, or the other tribes he must cross. He did have one request, which sent his superiors into fits, once they realized he was serious: camels. And in l857, he set out from Albuquerque with his men and thirteen Arabian Camels, packed with 700 to 1000 pounds--compared with the mules, at 200 pounds.

Their smell was distinctive and strong as a grizzly bear’s and their groans and other noises unnerved their Apache tender even in broad daylight. On first sight, the camels caused a stampede of horses and mules. The traces of this expedition can still be seen in the forests of Flagstaff, six hours drive west of here.