The Theme of the Conference is �Historic Crossroads�.

The Rio Grande bisects Valencia County from North to South. The Camino Rael, and the pueblos, farms, towns and cities that grew up along it, follow the river.

�Spanning countless centuries and 1500 miles, El Camino rael de Tierra Adentro linked vast deserts to lush valleys, isolated outposts to bustling cities. But it connected more than places. It connected people from different continents, countries and cultures- Spanish, Native American, Mexican and Anglo American�

 � From
El Camino Rael de Tierra Adentro International Heritage Center

The 1800�s brought the railroad to the county, with routes extending to the four corners of America. The town of Belen is at the center of the railroad for the southwestern United States, and is known as the �Hub City�.

The �Gateway to the West�, historic Rt. 66 came through Isleta Puelbo, Bosque Farms, Peralta and Valencia from Albuquerque to the north. It crossed the Rio Grande at Los Lunas and continued west on what is today highway 6.

These trails and trains, highways and byways, and the vital source of water, the Rio Grande, facilitated the exchange of cultures along its banks. It is the horticultural aspect of this exchange that we wish to explore.