"LINCOLN - New Mexico" a Lincoln Travel Page by Lionman

In 2001 I was lucky enough to attend the Lincoln County Pageant, a day when the inhabitants of the tiny country town of Lincoln dress up in 1880 western clothing and carry real guns in the street.

In the evening we found ourselves under the glorious Western stars, surrounded by a circle of purple hills, 2000+ real cowboys and their families, watching a live re-enactment, with real guns and real horses, of the last escape of Billy the Kid from Lincoln County Jail.

Earlier I had touched the bullet hole at the foot of the courthouse stairs where Billy the Kid shot the first of the two deputies that he killed during his escape and I sat in the judges chair in the court room.

The town is a tiny one street strip of buildings and boardwalks preserved just as they were in the late 1800's but is well worth a visit on Pageant day! A great family day out if you have kids.