Today
is day 7 of our 6-month winter trip. Today's destination is Trinidad,
Colorado. Trinidad has a colorful history and some colorful characters.
Trinidad was first explored by Spanish and Mexican traders, who liked its proximity to the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded in 1862 soon after coal was discovered in the region.
In the 1880s Trinidad became home to a number of well-known people, including Bat Masterson along with his kid brother, James, who served as marshal and deputy marshal, in the spring of 1881. A year later, following the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp joined his old friend, Masterson, to Trinidad to cool his heels. Even Billy the Kid spent time near Trinidad. In the early 1900s, Trinidad became nationally known for having the first woman sports editor of a newspaper, Ina Eloise Young. Her expertise was in baseball, and in 1908 she was the only woman sportswriter to cover the World Series.
In recent times, Trinidad was dubbed the "Sex Change Capital of the World", because a local doctor had an international reputation for performing sex reassignment surgery. In 2015 Trinidad started to experience a new boom due to the marijuana industry. The town raised $4.4 million in tax revenue from $44 million in annual marijuana sales, about 5.13% of the state's total sales.
Trinidad was first explored by Spanish and Mexican traders, who liked its proximity to the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded in 1862 soon after coal was discovered in the region.
In the 1880s Trinidad became home to a number of well-known people, including Bat Masterson along with his kid brother, James, who served as marshal and deputy marshal, in the spring of 1881. A year later, following the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp joined his old friend, Masterson, to Trinidad to cool his heels. Even Billy the Kid spent time near Trinidad. In the early 1900s, Trinidad became nationally known for having the first woman sports editor of a newspaper, Ina Eloise Young. Her expertise was in baseball, and in 1908 she was the only woman sportswriter to cover the World Series.
In recent times, Trinidad was dubbed the "Sex Change Capital of the World", because a local doctor had an international reputation for performing sex reassignment surgery. In 2015 Trinidad started to experience a new boom due to the marijuana industry. The town raised $4.4 million in tax revenue from $44 million in annual marijuana sales, about 5.13% of the state's total sales.
