BTW ever wonder why El Paso was such a jumping off point for the Spanish? Not only was there food grown there but the mountain on the North side had/has Glena being pushed out of the rock layers for Lead, at the bottom west side of the mountain is an old Sulphur mine. Charcoal, Sulphur, and Potassium Nitrate for making gunpowder and the Galena for bullets. They could make sure that they had enough ammo for Indians and hunting going to the Rockies mining.
When you look at the first old maps of that area, you'll see a symbol for a river crossing at El Paso.
Don't find another such symbol along the length of the Rio Grande.
Sheep, horses, wagons, people, bare footed Friars,...must have been a good place to cross.
That, and of course it is where the river turns north, and north is where they were going.
(The river is actually 'flowing' south and the flow turnes east there.
But they were going against the flow so the river route (for them) turned north at El Paso.)
They did cross back and forth across the river at different places as they went, depending on the best terrain for travel and safest route from attacking 'Pre-Existing' Americans.
BTW, for those interested, using Google Earth you can still follow parts of the old Camino Real at several places along the river. Try the east side of the river around the San Antonio NM area (below Socorro), for one example. No telling what you metal detector guys could find.
(Give it to the El Camino Real International Heritage Museum just south of there please.)
