Bad to the Bone: Outlaws & Gunmen of the Southwest with historian Neil Mangum Tour dates: October 11-17, 2023 (El Paso, Texas)
SMALL GROUP TOUR (limited seating): Beginning and ending in El Paso, retired National Park Service historian Neil Mangum will lead us on an adventure in the tracks of John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Elfego Baca, Pancho Villa, Johnny Ringo, and the legends of Tombstone. For comfort and mobility (to go where some buses dare not travel), we have chartered a 15-passenger Mercedes Sprinter van (with individually reclining seats).
Registration includes six (6) nights lodging, opening night Pizza Reception and presentation, a seat on the van, dinner at La Posta Restaurant in Mesilla, entry fees to any parks or museums, beverages and snacks on the road, and the services of your on-board historian and host.
October 11 (Wednesday): check in to our El Paso hotel. 6:30 p.m. we'll enjoy a Pizza Reception, and hear a presentation by Neil, setting the stage for the touring to follow. ---------- October 12 (Thursday): Stops include the Acme Saloon, scene of the killing of John Wesley Hardin by Deputy John Selman, August 19, 1895; Concordia Cemetery to see the graves of John Wesley Hardin, and John Selman; San Alizarin’s Salt War, San Elizario; Murder site of Pat Garrett, east of Las Cruces (1/2 mile walk into the desert); Grave of Pat Garrett (Las Cruces); Mesilla Plaza, where Billy the Kid's trial was held (among other highlights, including the signing of the Gadsden Purchase); Dinner at La Posta Restaurant on Mesilla Plaza (included in registration); overnight in Las Cruces ---------- October 13 (Friday): Death in White Sands: The mystery of the unsolved murders of Albert Jennings Fountain and his son in 1896; Shootout at Blazer’s Mill; Lincoln State Historic Site, seat of the Lincoln County War, and many Billy the Kid-related sites; overnight in Roswell, New Mexico ---------- October 14 (Saturday): Fort Sumner State Monument, includes Fort Sumner and Bosque Redondo (Navajo Long Walk Memorial); death site, and grave of Billy the Kid; box lunch at Fort Sumner; side trip to historic White Oaks, with a stop at the No Scum Allowed Saloon; Valley of Fire Park; dinner at Owl Cafe in San Antonio; overnight in Socorro, New Mexico ---------- October 15 (Sunday): Baca House on Socorro Plaza, home of Juan J. Baca and where Elfego Baca clerked; gunfight between Texans and Elfego Baca at Frisco (today’s Reserve, NM); monument to Elfego Baca; Bonita Springs, Arizona, where Billy the Kid killed his first man; Ike Clanton killed; Warren Earp's grave and the Chircahua Regional Museum; overnight in Willcox, Arizona ---------- October 16 (Monday): historic Tombstone, Arizona in the morning (lunch in Tombstone, or Bisbee); Grave of Johnny Ringo; San Bernardino Springs and ranch of Texas Ranger/Arizona Peace Officer, John Slaughter; overnight in Douglas, Arizona, at the historic Gadsden Hotel ---------- October 17 (Tuesday): Geronimo Surrender Monument; Pancho Villa’s Columbus, New Mexico Raid, March 9, 1916; if possible; we'll walk across the international boundary to eat at the Pink Adobe in Mexico; Air Museum stop during our return trip to our hotel in El Paso (end of tour).
Billy the Kid and the Regulators making a run for it, out of the burning McSween House. Bob Boze Bell painting, in the Lincoln Historic Park Visitor Center.