By the time they checked out of their hotel yesterday morning the roads had been cleared, and they were able to do some sightseeing. They quickly became enamored with the history of the town. It was established in 1835 by a group of settlers who had received a land grant from the Mexican government. The arrival of the railroad in 1879 caused a separate, rival town to crop up. Although both sides are part of the city of Las Vegas, my dad said that there is a clear line evidenced by the architecture. One side is typical colonial Spaniard style while the other is full of gorgeous Victorian's.
Along with the railroad came the outlaws. This is what was so fascinating to my dad. The hotel that they stayed in last night, The Plaza Hotel, has a great bit of history on its website. It talks about all the big names that spent time in Las Vegas, Doc Holliday and his girlfriend, Big Nose Kate, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy the Kid and more. I believe that they may have even stayed in the same hotel as its been there for over 100 years.
A few fun facts for you, according to Wikipedia: The town in the 1984 film, Red Dawn, was actually the town of Las Vegas. The 2007 movie, No Country for Old Men, was shot primarily in Las Vegas. Patrick Swayze owned a ranch outside of Las Vegas.
I thought all of this was pretty interesting and asked him to keep an eye out for ghosts at the hotel...
2 comments:
I find that VERY interesting. Do you believe in ghosts? I remember one year when we were traveling from Boulder to Arizona and got stranded in Albuquerque once, because of snow. The hotel we stayed at was filled with local resident because they had no power at home and stayed in a hotel that did have power. I have spent the night in Las Vegas, NM a couple of times but never found that hotel. Now I wish we had driven around a bit and stayed there!
Great setting for a spooky tale. The set up is perfect. If we ever go that way again, we will be looking for the haunted hotel.
Post a Comment