Las vegas means “the meadows” in Spanish, though the sprawling desert metropolis might seem at odds with such a bucolic name. But the answer to how it got such a name can be found at the Springs Preserve. The site was originally named for the fields of vegetation surrounding a large spring on the Old Spanish Trail connecting Santa Fe, now in New Mexico, with Los Angeles. A major part of this trade was the export of horses and mules to Santa Fe, so a campsite with abundant forage and water…
