A Visit to an Historical Apache Campsite in Colorado

June 19, 2024.  Juneteenth, Bryan Vigil, Lorene Willis, and Tyler Fernandez traveled to the San Luis Valley with Kate Perdoni.  A great friend of Kate, Gene Martinez, hosted the small party at his residence near Chama, Colorado.  He shared many stories of his life and family who homesteaded the area, as well as, historical information about the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant.  He was aware of an Apache campsite nearby where his ancesterial family told stories of playing with the Apache children.  He graciously took the small group to the place nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.  At 81 years old, he surprised the rest of the group by effortless walking the near 4 miles to the location.  As the visiting group scoured the area, Bryan found a tomahawk and Gene found a handheld grinding stone and gifted it to Lorene Wilis.