About 60 miles southeast of town, the trail began to gently slope up toward the mountains, following an old route into Santa Fe. As the wagons drew closer to town, anticipation grew. Huge wagons filled with clothing, bulk cloth, and sundries rumbled slowly down the last half-mile of the trail to the plaza while sharp pops like Fourth of July firecrackers filled the air. For the occasion, the wagoneers had tied new poppers to the ends of their whips and competed to make the most noise as crowds lined the dusty thoroughfare and shouted, "Los carros! La entrada be caravana!" A scene repeated over almost 60 years is captured in Journey's End: six weary mules struggle to pull a heavy wagon up a rise, one mule has stumbled, the muleskinner leans down to help it regain its footing, a Puebloan woman looks on, a young boy and his dog have run out from town to greet the lead wagon, and the trail boss points toward the Santa Fe Plaza, where the long and difficult journey will soon end.
