Heading back toward Sante Fe on old Route 66 we pass Glorieta, NM. Glorieta is a small village on the Old Pecos Trail close to the Glorieta Pass Battlefield, the site of an American Civil War battle.It lies on the original 1926 alignment of Route 66 along the Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico. Pigeon Ranch...The old building is what remains of Old Pigeon's Ranch.Which was also a stage coach stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The adobe structure is a one story building with three rooms and a gabled roof. It is 48 feet long and almost 18 feet wide. The Ranch was the property of Alexander Valle who was born in St. Louis ca. 1815 and although it is said that he was popularly known as "Pigeon" due to his pronounciation in "Pidgin English" with a strong French accent ("Government manns vas at my ranch and fill is cahnteen viz my viskey..."), it was actually his mother's second husband's name: "Pigeon of Carondelet". By 1850 he was operating a frontier store in Santa Fe and obtained a grant confirmed by Congress in Glorieta (1865) where he lived until his death in 1880. He sold his ranch to George Herbert in 1865. In 1926 a Glorieta cowboy, Thomas Greer acquired the place and seeing the flow of travellers along Route 66 converted it into a roadside attraction with a museum, curio shop, garage and service station.
After Glorieta, we come upon Canoncito, NM. Here we see the Our Lady of Light - Nuestra Señora de Luz Church. The Nuestra Senora de Luz Church ("Our Lady of Light") and Cemetery was built in 1880. And is located 11.3miles west of Pecos on the north frontage road, Canoncito 998 (Old Las Vegas Hwy.)
