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Billy the Kid Territory
His real name, Henry McCarty, was rather ordinary. But his nickname still gallops across the high plains of America's imagination. Of all of the Old West's outlaws, it outdistances all the others. He used his familiar, formal alias of William H. Bonney in correspondence. For the last eight months or so of his harrowing life he was known -- as he is remembered today -- as Billy the Kid.
Although McCarty roamed New Mexico Territory for only the last nine years of his short and turbulent life, he called New Mexico home. Today, more than 125 years after his death, scores of historic points of interest here still recall the life and legend of Billy Bonney; the five-month-long Lincoln County War; and the life and legacy of the man who tracked him down and eventually shot and killed him, Pat Garrett.
Welcome to Billy the Kid Territory. It's a travel experience unlike any other in New Mexico. Whether you're following the Kid, the Lincoln County War, or Garrett, retrace the hoofprints, and walk where they walked. Visit the many places that were familiar to them. Watch as those places shed new light on their stories and make them come alive, right before your eyes.
There are three sections here in Billy the Kid Territory. They're entitled Billy the Kid, Billy the Kid Travel Territory, and Billy the Kid Resources.
In the first section, under Billy the Kid, is Billy the Kid's Famous Photo, the tintype of the only indisputable image of the Kid that resurfaced in 1986. Learn what was found upon closer examination. In the same section are three biographical histories. They are Billy the Kid & the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid, His Life & Legend, and a Who's Who of Friends, Foes & Acquaintances. Finally there's historical information about scores of places that illuminate the stories of the Kid, the Lincoln County War, and Garrett in the Historic Points of Interest.
The second section, Billy the Kid Travel Territory, is the longest. Within it is everything you'll need to visit this travel destination within a destination. You can use the proposed Billy the Kid Territory Travel Itinerary as a boilerplate planning document and use it as a springboard to create a one-of-a-kind personal visit. You can use it to work out a quick, self-guided day trip within your New Mexico vacation. Or you can assemble a multiday, self-guided overnight visit of Billy the Kid Territory from afar, too. Regardless whether you're alone, a twosome, a family, or represent a motorcoach tour group, Billy the Kid Territory can accommodate you.
There are travel maps galore. First, take a look at the large, comprehensive Billy the Kid Territory Travel Map. It's tied to the Travel Itinerary and Historic Points of Interest. The four smaller maps enlarge a quartet of specific places in the Territorial Travel Map. They involve walking tours of Billy the Kid's Lincoln and Billy the Kid's Old Fort Sumner, and driving tours of Billy the Kid's Lincoln County and Billy the Kid's De Baca County. Each map measures distance in miles and kilometers and elevation in feet and meters. Billy the Kid Territory's Annual Events, which are held from mid-June to mid-October, can only enhance your visit and make it memorable. There's helpful advice on How to Get There and things to consider Before You Go, too. Finally, Lincoln County is where motorists can enjoy a day-long, loop tour on the Billy the Kid National Scenic & Historic Highway.
Want to learn more about Billy the Kid? Or how he became a pop cultural phenomenon? Then the third section, Billy the Kid Resources, is for you. There's an annotated list of recommended books to read in Billy the Kid in Books, and a list of several recommended Hollywood films and television documentaries to see in Billy the Kid in Film. Finally, there's a list of Billy the Kid Territory's convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, and relevant tourism groups and their Web Sites. They're for accessing additional information in Links.
So why wait? Come to New Mexico and visit Billy the Kid Territory. Learn all you want firsthand. See the places that were familiar to the Kid and Garrett and visit the historic sites that echo their stories. Discover the people and places behind the Lincoln County War. Explore and enjoy New Mexico's Billy the Kid Territory. There's no other place like it in the world.
