Okay - CITO. Cache owner BLMBilbo - I recently did owner maintenance and picked up two 55-gallon bags of trash. Do your part and pick up some too. I would've gotten it all but my compact van was out of space.
Next item - I adopted this cache but live 140 miles south and can't easily get here. So when the log is full, I need a cacher to put in a new log and sharpen the pencils. Log can be notebook paper folded several times accordian fashion.
Canoncito, meaning narrow canyon, is at the entry of Apache Canyon and was the last stop on the Santa Fe Trail before westward travelers made it to their destination in Santa Fe.
Remains of an old adobe house nearby is the last station on this famous trail which was named Johnson's Ranch.
Here at Canoncito, in 1846, the Mexican governor, Manuel Armijo, failed to hold his troops against General Kearney, thus allowing the Americans to occupy New Mexico. Also, near here in March 1862, right down there where the railroad is, the unguarded 80 wagon Texan Confederate supply train, Texan CSA forces lead by General Sibley, was destroyed by Union forces under Major Chivington (who caused the later very sad Sand Creek Massacre) and his Colorado volunteers, during the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The Texans had pretty much won, but when you stupidly leave your trains of food, ammo and medical supplies unguarded, and that logistical support goes up in flames, you lose big time. A number of the Texan officers were West Point trained and should have known better than to have left their supply trains unguarded. The Texans were then forced into retreat all the way back to Texas, and kept by Union forces away from the Rio Grande and out in the territory of the Warm Springs Apaches, which is where any Euro-American in those days did not need to be, and those Apaches made the Texans further pay dearly for their invasion of New Mexico (my in-your-face on those Texans might seem harsh, but I was raised Texan and am a 30-year Infantry Veteran, and it still astounds me that army leaving its trains unguarded!)
A post office operated here for a short time from 1879 to 1880.
This cache is dedicated to the pioneers and settlers buried here and possibly to a few travelers who didn't quite make it to Santa Fe. Your volunteer support as a cacher is solicited to place a "Spirit" cache at or near a cemetery of your choice.