The Santa Fe Trail was a nine hundred-mile commercial road between Franklin, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and travel on it could be long, hard, and dangerous. Water was sometimes scarce, and along with breakdowns and bad weather, travelers faced disease and the threat of Indian attacks. Yet many were drawn to the adventure, and journal accounts from the time speak of the wonder of discovering new cultures, foods, and lands, while the profits to be made helped offset the hardships. The trail era ended with the arrival of the railroad in 1880.