Visit USA 2020 Travel Planner

S i x o f t h e b e s t . . . O l d W e s t e x p e r i e n c e s WILD BILL’S ABILENE, KANSAS An icon of frontier history, ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok found fame and notoriety for his exploits in the Wild West but also served as marshal of Chisholm Trail railhead Abilene for five years in the 1870s. His tenure is marked by the annual Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo every August, featuring gunfights staged on Old Abilene Town’s Main Street while can-can dancers strut their stuff at the Alamo Saloon. BILLY THE KID’S MUSEUM & Grave, NEW MEXICO New Mexico’s lawless Wild West reputation is underlined by the grave and nearby museum of Billy the Kid, one of the most notorious outlaws in America’s history who was shot dead by Lincoln County sheriff Pat Garrett at the age of 21 after he had escaped jail and killed two deputies. DEADWOOD, south dakota Watch gunslinger and gambler Wild Bill Hickok getting shot in the back four times a day during summer re-enactments inside Saloon No.10 in historic Deadwood, the lawless town where he met his end in 1876 while playing poker. Daily shootouts are also held on its preserved Main Street. Hickok is buried in Deadwood’s Mount Moriah Cemetery alongside another legend of the Old West, Calamity Jane, an acquaintance of Hickok. BUCKHORN SALOON & MUSEUM, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Mosey on down to San Antonio and belly up to the bar at the oldest saloon in Texas, where trophy animal heads cover the walls and where bartenders have been serving dudes for 113 years. Two blocks from the historic Alamo, it also features the memorabilia-filled Texas Ranger Museum. FORT SMITH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, ARKANSAS Established as an Indian Territory military outpost in 1817, the replacement fort became a supply depot and a courthouse. Today, reconstructed gallows stand in the same spot as the originals and the site tells the story of Judge Parker, the fort and the Trail of Tears, when native tribes were removed from their lands. ST JOSEPH, MISSOURI The Pony Express National Museum, located in the original stables, celebrates the short-lived Pony Express, an epic 2,000-mile mail-carrying relay to Sacramento that began in April 1860. Two decades later, outlaw Jesse James was killed in his St Joseph home, now a museum. Pictured Main image: in the saddle in Wyoming; Inset: Bass Reeves statue, Arkansas 8 visitusa.org.uk