West To Santa Fe, Vol. 1: Overview

Employing a very straightforward, no-frills, and precious little excitement approach, West to Santa Fe takes viewers along the 1,000 mile Santa Fe Trail, where from roughly 1820-1870 westward travelers sought their fortunes and often met untimely ends in their journeys through the frontier. Beginning at Old Franklin, Missouri, sight of the original trail head, the camera follows the trail to New Mexico, pointing out historical and geographical landmarks along the way, while a narrator describes the significance of the site and mentions the legends whose lives intersected with the Santa Fe Trail (Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, etc.). Like Old Army Press's Touring Custer Battlefield, the video quality is passable, and the camera shoots exterior rather than interior shots of the buildings. One can only hope that succeeding volumes in this series will pick up the pace and production values. Otherwise, as in this tape, the Santa Fe Trail will seem a dry and dusty road indeed. Not a necessary purchase. (See TOURING CUSTER BATTLEFIELD for availability.)