Seniors Explore Cimarron

Cimarron is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico, and senior travelers will find it on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population is not large (1,000+) however it is the 4th most populated municipality in Colfax County.

Established in 1857, the village is the Historic Heart of the Old West. “Cimarron” is Spanish for wild or unruly and the Village of Cimarron lived up to that description.

There was little if any law enforcement, arguments were settled with bullets and in many instances justice was a result of vigilantes. So welcome to Cimarron.

Upon further investigation of the naming of the village, I found it to be uncertain. Some feel Cimar- ron refers to the bighorn sheep that once roamed the nearby mountains. Back in 1960 a movie called Cimarron put the village on the map. Look up the trailer on YouTube.

Historically, to avoid the harsh conditions, lack of water, and attacks from Indians along the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail, wagon traffic used the original Mountain Route during the 1840s.

Uncle Puzz Visits Cimarron

I remember my Uncle Puzz, yes, that was his nickname.  Harold as a youth, used to lie on his back, for hours, out on a grassy field watching white fluffy clouds pass by overhead. My dad, being “puzzled by his gaze,” gave him this name that stuck with him his entire life.

Uncle Puzz was a Boy Scout Leader and made many trips to Cimarron and the Philmont Scout Ranch with my cousin Dennis and the scout troupe from Olin, Iowa. The Ranch remains one of the main attractions in Cimarron along with the Old Mill Museum and the historic St James Hotel.

Seniors Stay At The Historic St. James Hotel

The saga of the St. James began in Washington D.C. with the arrival of a Frenchman by the name of Henri Lambert whose life became intertwined with the people and a place that became known as the Village of Cimarron. Lambert opened up a saloon that took on the name “Lambert’s Place.”

The St. James Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1872 and a host of famous western folks frequented the Hotel in the likes of Zane Grey, Wild Bill Hickock and the Earp brothers. Jesse James and his gang also had a room there.

Just walking around the town makes for a fun time, it is so loaded with scenic buildings with 14 historical markers. Me, I’d head for the cemetery like I did in Tombstone, Arizona.

There you can admire the surrounding mountain peaks and follow the flow of the Cimarron River out from the canyon, through town and down across the plains.

Seniors, pull up those cowboy boots, tighten up your big silver belt buckle, saddle up your GPS and head for Cimarron.  -jeb