Living Our Dream: Visit to Las Vegas, New Mexico

Who was first? Las Vegas, NM or Las Vegas, NV? Yep, New Mexico. The town is seeped in history dating back to Pueblo times with the Ancient People living along the rivers of the Rocky Mountains, hunting, gathering, and living off the land. Las Vegas is due south of Angel Fire where we are camping, and after reading some of the history of the area, decided to visit the town and all we can discover. Las Vegas means 'the meadows'.

Look out you little buggers

Driving along in the forest, narrow road

Storrie Lake, just outside of Las Vegas

Pretty drive, about 4 miles into our drive we came across deer leisurely strutting across the road - glad we saw them and did not hit them. Once we dropped into the forest the road became very narrow and no edge lines, definitely glad we did not bring the RV that way - was very close when an on-coming car/truck passed us. Construction going on and at one time had to wait for earth equipment to move out of the way - would have been hairy if we had the RV - not much room.

Seems we always find a connection to Ohio (BF Goodrich of Akron)

Through the towns of Black Lake then Guadalupita, then through a very strange looking town called Mora. Found out it's history when we got back - one of the founders of Old Bent's Fort in Colorado, Ceran St. Vrain, moved there and started a grist mill, he later the leader of the unit of the Taos Revolt. Once we passed through Mora we began to see the signs for the Santa Fe Trail, a branch of the trail that came through the mountains.

I knew this, just had to be reminded again

Couple of things we did while in Las Vegas - visited the City Museum that houses the artifacts of history. Roosevelt's Rough Riders started in Santa Fe and the museum now possesses the largest collection on the Rough Riders. The museum also had exhibits on the Santa Fe Trail and its impact on local businesses; the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad and it's impact. There was a large display on the outlaws and cattle rustlers which the town of Las Vegas played a big part - Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, Wyatt Earp to name a few.

Antique Flower Basket Quilt - circa 1845 (a quilt I want to make)

Las Vegas was a major stop on the Santa Fe Trail, it was the largest town between Kansas and San Fransisco. The town was a major trade center, not only with the Apache Indians, but the Spanish, the emigrants who traveled along the trail, and Fort Union which was 20 miles north of the town.

Lovely old buildings

Afterward we drove into the old business district and saw the square where the Santa Fe trail wagons would come to to trade, and then drove back to where the railroad tracks come through town and stopped to take a picture of the La Castaneda Hotel which was one of the major Harvey Houses that served the railroad for many years. When the hotel closed in 1948, the hotel went into disrepair and today it has been bought and is being refurbished, hoping to reopen in 2019. I had just read the history of the Harvey Houses - 'The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West' by Lesley Poling-Kempes, and to put this hotel into perspective was great.

La Castaneda Hotel, a major Harvey House

From town we drove to the Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, talked with the ranger inside and after walking the nature trail at the building, drove to another nature trail and walked to the Gallinas River and back.