Road Trip to Texas

Billy the Kid (1859-1881)
 
We were a couple of hours south of Santa Fe when we found ourselves driving through Fort Sumner. A one-time military fort that imprisoned thousands of Navajos and Mescalero Apaches in the 1860s, Fort Sumner today is a dusty nondescript village punctuated with billboards advertising the grave site of famed outlaw William H. Bonney known as Billy the Kid. “Let’s take a look,” Frank said. I was game. According to one account, the federal government closed the fort in 1868 and sold the buildings to a prominent New Mexico landowner, Lucien Maxwell. Maxwell’s son befriended Billy the Kid and it was in his house that Billy was fatally shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881.

After a few false starts, we found an old military cemetery behind the locked-up Fort Sumner Chamber of Commerce office. Walking across the hard-packed earthen pathway, we met up with Billy the Kid’s “elusive” tombstone. Stolen twice – first time in 1951 (recovered 26 years later in Texas) and again in 1981 (recovered four days later in Huntington Beach, California!) – it now sits in an iron cage at the foot of what may or may not be Billy’s grave. Born William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid’s tombstone includes the names of his PALS, Tom O’Folliard and Charles Bowdre.
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In 2010, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, his last day in office,  denied a request for a posthumous pardon of Billy for the murder of Sheriff William Brady, citing “historical ambiguity.”

Impressive Holiday Inn Express in Snyder, Texas
Less than a year old, this hotel rates five stars: Clean, bright and with bedside lamps we could read by! The fitness room, small but covered with a cork floor and equipped with a treadmill, elliptical, floor mats and a wall of weights struck me as perfect for an early morning workout. And the breakfast omelet was delicious. I’m not holding management responsible for the young hooligans who pulled the fire alarm just before bedtime.
 
Dinner in Snyder, Texas
Thirsting for margaritas, we found BIG, delicious ones at Taqueria Guadalajara where they served water in blue-tinted Coca-Cola glasses, salsa with homemade chips and delicious chicken enchiladas.

First Heart-warming Stop: Fort Cavazos (formerly Ft. Hood) in Killeen, Texas
We celebrated Frank’s great grandson Harrison’s first birthday! Harrison’s dad is a medic in the army and his mother, a great cook. I never knew I could feel this way about a baby but I’m absolutely crazy about Harrison!

Second Heart-warming Stop: Houston
The wedding of my great nephew Austin took place at St. Paul’s Methodist church in downtown Houston, the most beautiful Methodist church I’ve ever seen - an impressive pipe organ with angled trumpets on the wall behind the altar and exquisite stained glass windows. Bride Gina’s dream had been to be married in this church, and she made it come true.
For the joyous post-wedding reception and dinner, we drove back to the elegant Houstonian Hotel with my nephew Sean and his young family. Frank and I couldn’t resist taking to the crowded dance floor and giving it our all.

Cadillac Ranch
Not far out of Houston, en route back to Santa Fe, we stopped for an up-close look at Cadillac Ranch. In 1974, a billionaire Texas landowner hired a group of Hippies from San Francisco to create art on a piece of his property near the highway. Endorsing their plan, he purchased eight Cadillacs in a variety of styles and colors and buried them at a 45 degree angle with their fins pointing skyward.  He later invited the public to enter the property and remove pieces of the cars as souvenirs. Thirty years ago, when Frank first laid eyes on the cars, they looked like Cadillacs. Today, the skeletal remains have been spray-painted in layers of neon. Out of a nearby trailer, you can purchase one or more aerosol cans and go at it.

Buc-eefied in Ennis, Texas
We were on the lookout for Buc-ee’s (mascot is a beaver) and found it in Ennis, Texas. Larger than Sam’s Club, Buc-ee’s is a huge emporium with offerings of fuel and electric vehicle chargers outside (no 10-wheelers allowed) and inside, a smorgasbord of snacks, brisket, baked goods, tacos, fresh sandwiches, souvenirs, and the added bonus of clean restrooms with traffic controllers to keep the crowds moving apace. After loading up with a chicken wrap, brisket and drinks, we were dismayed to find no place to sit down and eat! So, we grabbed a bunch of napkins and headed to our SUV for lunch.