In what is today La Corazon de Trinidad, Main Street was chopped into a dusty alley by thousands of hooves as the cowboys drove their charges through the center of town, whooping and firing six shooters overhead. Although never so famous as Dodge City, Trinidad nevertheless quickly boasted a reputation as a rowdy cow town. Legend has it that Doc Holliday gambled here with Bat Masterson, who was actually town marshall for a time. Another famous resident of the period, Kit Carson, is remembered in a statue and a city park named for him. After its heyday as a cow town, Trinidad matured and prospered as the center of one of the world's richest coal mining regions until the 1950s.
Some folks say that time here stopped with the end of the mining era.
Maybe it's the Victorian architecture and brick streets that make it seem that way. Stop at the Welcome Center at Interstate 25 Exit 13, at the south end of town, to get a map for a walking tour of La Corazon de Trinidad. Several museums, churches, and Victorian buildings await your inspection. Trinidad is a city of about 10,000 and has a full complement of lodging, restaurants, and medical facilities. Monday thru Saturday, Mid-April thru September, free admission.