Every famous person from the Old West must have taken the Santa Fe Trail to Cimarron, New Mexico.  I believe they all stayed at the St. James Hotel.

St James Hotel, Cimarron, New Mexico

Wow!  That place is like a living museum of the late 1800s.

Cimarron is on the road between Taos and Raton, New Mexico.  This was once the home of the Anasazi, Jicarilla Apache and Ute Indians.  In the mid to late 1800s the area was the hub of the mining and ranching empire.  Today Cimarron is a quiet, law-abiding town and even is near the Philmont Scout Ranch, for the Boy Scouts of America.

At the center of Cimarron is the St. James Hotel.  Mom and my uncle took forever looking at old photos and reading the history that occurred at the St. James.  Hotel guests included Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Buffalo Bill Cody, Black Jack Ketchum, Billy the Kid and mom’s favorite from her much younger days, Annie Oakley.  Also author Zane Grey began writing “Fighting Caravans” here (in room 22) and Lew Wallace, former New Mexico Governor wrote part of his novel “Ben Hur” during visits to this area.

St. James Hotel is old and famous

Made me wish I could read.

The hotel is still a real hotel with a restaurant and bar.  Some believe that ghosts of former guests are still in residence.  This haunted hotel has been featured on major television shows, including the Biography channel and A & E Biography channel.  I did not see any ghosts, but they sure could be there.  The place felt friendly to this duck.

We went to the bar for a drink and to relax.

Drink for Alaska uncle, drink for mom.  Maybe water for me?

There have been many gunfights at the St. James Hotel.  The old wall panels are now on the ceiling, still full of bullet holes.  Ducks didn’t shoot guns inside restaurants.  Just people did that.  Was an exciting place, but glad we were way too late for any shooting in the bar.  When in the area, stop at the St. James for a meal or a drink and you will get a feel of the Old West.  I liked it a lot.