LINCOLN, LINCOLN COUNTY, NM 2/14/11

 As we approached the end of a long day, we detoured off the beaten path to what we thought would be another interesting historical town like La Mesilla.  It was the town of Lincoln.  This was where Billy the Kid was sent to be hung after his trial in La Mesilla.

 He was housed in this store/court house/jail as he awaited his hanging date.  But, from here he escaped, killing two deputies in the process

 The town was basically shut down for the winter, very untouristy, and due to the lateness of the hour, getting quite cold.  Never the less, we gave ourselves a self guided tour through this town that was the center of the famous Lincoln County War of the 1880's.  The movie, "Young Guns" is based on this power struggle between two town merchants.  We found much to read about in our previously picked up brochures and some of the signs placed around town.  We also found a small building that had once been a saloon.  As we peered in the windows, we were startled by a young woman that came out the door and offered us to come in.  She and her husband had just bought it a few months back and were in the middle of restoring it.  They hoped to have it be a general store and soda fountain by the time tourist season starts.  It was fascinating to listen to their dreams and their knowledge of the history of the building.
The picture below is not the store.  It is what was left of another building nearby.

This is a sample of some of the signs throughout town that made a self guided tour easier.

 This is what the sign was describing.

A wild Indian!!!!

 Finally, as dusk drove us onward, we decided to make a dash for Roswell and spend the night there.  As you can see, it was a pretty straight shot there, but first......

 We saw some deer friends taking advantage of a farmers field.

 On closer inspection we saw they were just grazing around.......  but even so, they were outstanding in their field!!!!

We got to Roswell and pulled into a very quiet Wal-Mart parking lot, joining several other RV'ers already set up.  We have begun to call it Wal-Mart RV Park.  They get thier money out of us though, as we usually end up spending $$$ while there.  This Wal-Mart, we spent about $90 on a printer, a Roswell tee shirt for Ann, a fresh water hose for the trailer and a few groceries.