Following the Santa Fe Trail: A Guide for Modern Travelers

Rating:
Summary: The Almost Handy Guide to the Santa Fe Trail
Review: Don't count on AAA or Fodor's to guide you to the wagon wheel ruts, remnants of watering wholes, or Indian ambush points along the Santa Fe Trail. On one had I was pleased to see that the noted Santa Fe Trail historian had put together a guide to the location of the remnants of the trail. Unfortunately I found details lacking, particularly when it came to local observances and current road and off-road access to the location. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of detail for the Raton, NM area of the trail.

Rating:
Summary: The Almost Handy Guide to the Santa Fe Trail
Review: Don't count on AAA or Fodor's to guide you to the wagon wheel ruts, remnants of watering wholes, or Indian ambush points along the Santa Fe Trail. On one had I was pleased to see that the noted Santa Fe Trail historian had put together a guide to the location of the remnants of the trail. Unfortunately I found details lacking, particularly when it came to local observances and current road and off-road access to the location. I was particularly disappointed by the lack of detail for the Raton, NM area of the trail.

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable reader's guide and traveling companion. . .
Review: Indispensable reader's guide and traveling companion scrupulously revised and updated from the 1984 edition. From Franklin, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, via both the Cimarron Cut-off and the Mountain Branch, Simmons concisely identifies and notes the history of routes, towns, structures, wayside markers, landmarks, and sidetrips, so the traveler can explore the trail from any point. Helpful introductory and appended background information. "The 29 maps that go along with Simmons¹ lively and informative text make it easy to follow the route(s) taken by folks to get from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe in the early years of the 19th century. In fact, this handy volume, the best such historic trail guidebook I have seen, will make you want to do it." BOOKS OF THE SOUTHWEST, November 1984"What Greg Franzwa has done unto the Oregon Trail, Marc Simmons has now down unto the Santa Fe Trail--provided the one essential companion to every other book ever written on the SFT, that great highway of commerce to the Southwest. Dr. Simmons¹ book is a model for such work. . . This will tend to satisfy all readers. . . Above all, however, the book is well organized; it carefully and safely guides modern trekkers from one historic site to another. . . I could just as well have written a four word review, ³Buy, read, enjoy, discover!" OVERLAND JOURNAL, Winter 1985". . .Simmons¹ guide is ably prepared and well written. The need for such a publication has existed too many years. Even those who do not wish to strike out across the prairies in their modern-day wagons will find the book interesting reading. A note of caution, however; you may become a ³trail junkie." KANSAS HISTORY: A JOURNAL OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS, Summer 1985"Marc Simmons is one of the most popular historians of our time. This book will add to that popularity. Calling himself a "trail junkie," he tells like-minded adventurers how to follow the old Santa Fe Trail mile by mile. . ." CENTURY MAGAZINE". . .This is by far the best mile-by-mile guidebook to the Santa Fe Trail. . . Simmons has looked closer, talked with more oldtimers and stayed longer around points of interest to provide better directions to obscure spots. . . The facts are there, and Marc Simmons has presented them correctly. His directions are detailed, precise and careful. He tells you what you need to know. . . In format [this book] meets all the performance tests. It is a moderately priced paperback, so you can get another when the first is dog-eared from use. It fits in any glove compartment. It¹s not a coffee table showpiece; it¹s meant for use. But you probably will keep it on the coffee table at first, because it reads like a travelogue. . . Marc Simmons is a good guide. His book is a model for its kind." ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, November 18, 1984"While reading the book, one begins to feel the length as perhaps those early travelers felt on reaching the Plaza--dusty, tired, yet somehow exhilarated for having finished the journey. Written in Simmons¹ clear and precise style, this is another book to add to any Southwest collection and an invaluable guide for anyone trying the trip." THE SANTA FE REPORTER, October 17, 1984"Simmons has diligently revised his valuable travel guide, clarifying directions, updating information, and adding new maps." BOOKLIST, February 1, 1987"Author Mark Simmons displays his talents as a masterful modern trail emprasario. . . Readers will find this journey over the Santa Fe Trail a fascinating experience, one which brings to life an important era in American history." NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW". . .the book serves as an excellent introduction to the past and present trail. . . This guide-book, indispensable for anyone wishing to explore the modern trail landscape, allots history, directions and enthusiasm in the proper proportions. It is a product of prodigious research. . . This is a book for serious travelers." JOURNAL OF THE WEST, January 1988"This guidebook with its maps makes absorbing reading. Simmons traces all the variant routes, and if you have any adventure in your soul, his descriptions will make you anxious to get on the road. The best historical guidebook I have ever seen." THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR, December 16, 1984"In 1978, Simmons¹ reputation as a historian and writer reached the headquarters of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The society asked him to do a story on the trail for inclusion in its book TRAILS WEST." THE ALBUQUERQUE TRIBUNE, September 4, 1984". . .Dr. Simmons is a professional historian with a dozen books to his credit. It¹s a tribute to his writing skill that this easy-to-read, easy-to-follow car-seat guide can also serve as an interesting adventure story for the armchair traveler and handy desk reference for the western scholar." SUNDAY OKLAHOMAN, January 6, 1985"The best book for retracing the trail today." THE NEW MEXICAN, November 9, 1986

Rating:
Summary: Santa Fe Trail Redux
Review: Marc Simmons is the pre-eminent author on Santa Fe Trail lore and this updated version of his "Following the Trail" is better than ever! He has captured those significant, visible elements of the SFT that make it impossible to follow the Trail without this book. The pictures and maps are explicit and easy to follow. His stories and anecdotes bring the Trail to life.
If you're an SFT buff be sure to also read his book: "The Old Santa Fe Trail", a collection of essays; and his new book: "Spanish Pathways" on the history of Hispanic New Mexico.
Jim Ryan

Rating:
Summary: Santa Fe Trail Redux
Review: Marc Simmons is the pre-eminent author on Santa Fe Trail lore and this updated version of his "Following the Trail" is better than ever! He has captured those significant, visible elements of the SFT that make it impossible to follow the Trail without this book. The pictures and maps are explicit and easy to follow. His stories and anecdotes bring the Trail to life.
If you're an SFT buff be sure to also read his book: "The Old Santa Fe Trail", a collection of essays; and his new book: "Spanish Pathways" on the history of Hispanic New Mexico.
Jim Ryan

Rating:
Summary: With directions, maps, anecdotes, historical information
Review: Now in a revised and updated third edition, Marc Simmons and Hal Jackson's Following The Santa Fe Trail: A Guide For Modern Travelers is written specifically to assist modern travelers who enjoy following the wagon tracks of pioneers. Following The Santa Fe Trail is packed with directions, maps, anecdotes, historical information, and everything else necessary to follow the trail of history. Now that the Santa Fe Trail has been designated a National Historic Trail under the National Park Service,it is bringing more public interest than ever to this fascinating pathway that transcends the generations. If the Santa Fe Trail perks your interest to, then Following The Santa Fe Trail is a must-read!