billy the kid festival

One of the touristy things to do around town is to check out the mission trail. I think it's still in its infancy in terms of being something that actually draws people from out of town to check out, but the history is pretty cool. I think it's got loads of potential. This San Elizario mission above was built in 1882 and is actually the youngest of the missions. The first in the area dates to the 1600s, so this is a young chap. Even a wee lad needs some restoration work though. Especially when you're dealing with adobe.

The little town of San Elizario just east of El Paso is a reminder of the way things used to be. This town was actually the county seat back in the late 1800s, but when the railroad was built it bypassed San Elizario and instead went to El Paso. What happened was El Paso/Juarez grew into a metropolis and San Elizario stayed a small town with agrarian roots. One thing that's always interested me is the Old West lore of the late victorian times. John Wesley Hardin, Dallas Stoudenmire, and of course Billy the Kid. The first annual festival I attended over the weekend was pretty cool. I annoyed my wife with my best Estevez-esque "I'll make you famous" (ca. Young Guns) until I wore her down to go check it out. It was a little light on attendance, but I was pretty impressed nonetheless by the little town that could. Quite a few of the old buildings have been restored and are inhabited by galleries and restaurants.

Some are still waiting for some love.

This is the old county jail that Billy the Kid busted a friend out of in 1876. Uber cool.

A re-enactment troupe called Six Guns and Shady Ladies provided lots of gunfight recreation mayhem. It rocked.