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Not many people have heard of William McCarty Junior, the American son of Irish immigrants born around 1860. Perhaps more have heard of him from when he went by the name of William H Bonney, but no doubt everyone has heard of his nickname,
Billy The Kid. We drove out from Ruidoso to the small town (village?) of Lincoln, New Mexico to follow part of the "Billy The Kid Trail". It would be quite easy to drive straight through Lincoln without realising the historical importance of the place. The first stop, as always, was the informative
Visitor Centre. A $5 ticket gets you access to all of the sites and you need to allow at least a couple of hours to really get a feel for it. The centre itself is about much more than Billy and his misdemeanours. It starts with some local prehistory and indigenous history. There's also a small section dedicated to some German sailors whose boat was scuttled in World War 2 and they somehow found themselves in the middle of nowhere, a long way from the sea. The "Buffalo Soldier" part was very interesting too. I only knew the term from Bob Marley's song so it was great
to learn more about the lives of black soldiers throughout their turbulent times.
Of course, most people visit to learn about Billy and the
Lincoln County War. The centre gives you a good overview, and make sure you pick up a map from the desk to help you find your way around the rest of Lincoln. Russ also took the chance to pose in a cowboy hat, but in all honesty it didn't really suit him!
Of all the sites you can visit, two stand out above the others. Entering the old Tunstall Store is like stepping back in time. It has been lovingly preserved and leaves little to the imagination. You can also visit the living quarters where Billy hid out from the authorities. How they didn't find him hiding under the floorboards, we'll never know! The Old Courthouse is the star attraction though. You can see where Billy was held captive and where he escaped from. There is also the sad reminder of the reality of the violence of the Wild Wild West - a stone in the ground marking the spot where one of the law enforcers was shot down by Billy. There is a lot of
reading to be done as you tour the sites but it's well worth the effort. The whole experience turns Billy the Kid from the movies into a living, breathing being and clearly a work of fact, not fiction.
Feeling exhausted from the intense history lesson, we headed to
Annie's Little Sure Shot Espresso House where we were treated to the best coffee we have had in the USA. You can find her almost opposite the Visitor Centre. It was only after we had had our coffee that we noticed the house speciality: Chimayo chili drink with whipped cream on top and then chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream. That sounds amazing so let us know if you get round to trying it!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Great photo
Hope your stay wasn't too long. Ha!