The Spirit of the Wild West Lives Here

“On This Land, Every Man Can Be His Own Legend.”

There’s a stretch of land out here in New Mexico -

quiet, open, windblown -

that still remembers the sound of gunfire.

They say Jesse James and Billy the Kid once crossed paths

not far from here,

in the old town of Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Not the glitzy Vegas - the real one.

The Wild West Vegas.

The one that came before all the neon -

back when men carried pistols, not credit cards.

On a hot July evening in 1879,

two of the most infamous names in the West

sat down for dinner in a dusty hotel dining room.

Jesse went by Mr. Howard back then, keeping a low profile.

Billy knew who he really was.

They shared stew and whiskey,

talking about the road -

about freedom, and what it costs.

Jesse asked Billy to come back to Missouri and join his gang.

Billy laughed and said,

“I’m not that interested in robbing banks.”

And that was that

two legends, one table,

and a story sti...