More than just a pit stop on a long summer vacation, these national treasures instill a sense of history, majesty and pride.

Fort Union, N.M.
Where the West Was Won

Located about 90 miles from Santa Fe in northeastern New Mexico, Fort Union provides a link to America's frontier past. Ruins and trail ruts are all that remain of this important 19th-century fortification, which for four decades protected travelers on the Santa Fe Trail from Indian advances. The fort is situated on the western edge of the Great Plains and the majestic scenery includes prairie grasses, Ponderosa pines and nearby mountain ranges.