Have you ever felt a nudge to do something, and you don’t know where it’s coming from? It starts subtle but then it just keeps nudging, and doesn’t go away. It’s gentle, subtle, and persistent.

The nudge to travel El Camino Real is one of those things that has been consistently nudging. Many years ago, I drove from El Paso to Santa Fe along what I thought to be El Camino Real. A few years later an El Camino Real Center was built near San Marcial, South of Socorro, NM.

The nudge has been getting stronger lately so…….. we went. Left home around 5:30 a.m. and returned at 1:00 a.m. A loooong Blessed day.

There are so many blessings and such an interesting trip when we let God drive. It’s never ceases to amaze me how things work out and how the blessings come.

What seem like little obstacles along the way turn out to be our own stubbornness in how we “think” things are going to go. Then we realize that there are blessings that come from all those seemingly obstacles.

It’s those “little detours” that lead us to discover a wonderful village tucked into the mountain far from where people can see. And the best treasure is the small church in the middle of it all. Then to our surprise, there’s another little village close to that one, with its own little church!!!

That’s one of the fascinating things about El Camino Real. The people who came through it that settled along the river and beyond, build churches to keep their faith alive. It was the CENTER of their lives in more ways than one.

Back in the day when I traveled this path, we didn’t go into these villages. We didn’t have cell phones. We used a paper map, no such thing as Google search or Google maps. On this trip, we used cell phones to search and to navigate. The great thing about it is that the road to the place we visited was not visible in Google Maps. One of the Villages did not show up at all!

So how did we find it? The “nudge”.

God talks to us in many ways. We don’t always listen. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we did? Amazing things could happen!

Along with the nudge to travel El Camino Real has been the nudge to share what I learn along the way. This is the beginnings of that journey. I don’t claim to be an expert about El Camino Real but I yearn to learn more about it. My hope is to post pictures of the churches along the way. And to share them on the website page, “Churches of New Mexico” in the Galleries drop down menu. I will try to upload more as time goes on and I learn more.

If any of you have more info on El Camino Real or any of the churches along the way, please add to the “comments” on this blog.  Let’s go on this journey together!

We started our trip back in El Paso on what we think is El Camino Real. There are some signs along the road in some places but when the road forks, there are no signs letting us know if we are on the right path. So we followed along as best we could with limited information.

On this trip we started taking pictures along the road in Sunland Park, NM just outside of El Paso. These two churches were near Sunland Park. There were no names that we could see.

So the journey begins, we will need to do this again with more time to look into things a little better. We will post updates as we learn more.

We will be posting the churches on facebook in hopes that we will learn more from local people who are familiar with the area and the history.

On to Anthony, NM.

There is no doubt about this church, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, with a huge sign in front with information on how to contact the office staff, Mass times, and Sacraments. This church is hard to photograph because there is no room on the small street to stand back, so pardon the fish eye view. There are many of our wonderful saints' statues all around the building on the outside! Beautiful! A must see to appreciate.  

... to be continued. Time is not always friendly and I suspect that if i don't publish this now it won't happen until who knows when.  New photos will be updated to the "Churches of New Mexico" Gallery as time permits so visit often for updates. 

Until then, Bienvenidos!! See you next time....