Article
A two-track path created by four-wheeled wagons drawn by draft animals such as oxen or horses. The wheels created two ruts, marking routes that other travelers could follow and that left traces over the landscape that could be read for centuries. Travelers in wagons would often follow routes already created by indigenous peoples, appropriating traditional travel ways that had been previously used for trade and pilgrimage.
 
"Horses and wagon on the road to Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico," photograph, T. Harmon Parkhurst Collection (001932). Palace of the Governors Photo Archive, New Mexico History Museum. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.
Manuscripts
 
A01 The Blessing Way (01-07) p. 78
A01 The Blessing Way (01-07) p. 80
A01 The Blessing Way (01-07) p. 180
References
 
Lyman, Edward
     2004    The Overland Journey from Utah to California: Wagon Travel from the City of Saints
         to the City of Angels. Reno: University of Nevada Press.
Shumway, George
     1964   Conestoga Wagon, 1750-1850: Freight Carrier for 100 Years of America's Westward
         Expansion. Williamsburg: Early American Industries Association.
Waldman, Carl
     2009   Wagon Roads, Railroads, and Canals. Atlas of the North American Indian, Third
         Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc.