Alamogordo II

After breakfast at the motel, we drove the 16 scenic miles uphill on Hwy 82 to Cloudcroft. A lot of people have said to us, “Oh you need to go to Cloudcroft.” It is a small town up in the mountains that has lots of small shops along the main street and summer cabins in the surrounding area. At 9000 ft the summers are much cooler than Las Cruces or Alamogordo and the winters are cold and snow covered.

Leaving Cloudcroft we went north on 244 which travels through the Mescalero Apache Reservation. The road meanders through the high tree-covered plateau and eventually joins Hwy 70 and into Ruidoso ( roo ee DO so). We followed 70 through what was the outskirts of Ruidoso, through Ruidoso Downs where there is a track that features quarter horse racing in the summer. Just as we approached Hondo we passed a sign that made us turn around. “The Hondo Iris Garden”. We spent over an hour wandering along rows of color, walking on actual grass, taking pictures and enjoying the moment. The garden is located on Hwy 70 about a ½ mile west of the junction of Hwy 380 in Hondo, NM. A definite stop if you in the area.

Turning west on 380 we came to Lincoln, NM. As you come in you notice that it looks like an old west town, which it is. If you look up the Five Day War you will read about the bloody standoff between two factions basically fighting over control of the area. Billy the Kid was a warrior on the side that eventually lost, which meant he had to go to jail. The shooting of two men during his jail break changed his stature from a bad boy to an outlaw.

Lincoln has many structures still standing as they were in 1870s including what was the county courthouse, a mercantile store, a couple of restaurants, and several other interesting buildings. I spent 20 minutes visiting with Carolyn at La Placita Fine Crafts which is a nice spinning and weaving shop located in a historic building along the main street. I spotted the store as we drove through and it is one the reasons we turned around to check out the town. I’m glad we did. The town has lots of charm and history and has not been commercialized like some other places (Tombstone, AZ for one). I would go back again. A good time would be during the historic reenactment week-end in Lincoln and nearby Fort Stanton. www.LincolnNewMexico.com

The next town west on 380 is Capitan ( cap ih TAN) who’s claim to fame is the Smokey Bear Museum. Smokey was found was an orphaned cub in the nearby Lincoln National Forest in 1950, became famous and died in 77 after a life in the Washington DC Zoo. He is buried on the grounds of the museum in Capitan. The story is that Smokey body was buried in the middle of the night because of threats of his body being kidnapped. Gosh, life is exciting in New Mexico! We did not get to see the museum because we arrived too late, having spent too much time exploring Lincoln, but we did get a picture of Smokie's grave...........................>>>>>>>>>>>

Continuing toward Alamogordo, we drove through the northern end of Ruidoso, passing the road to the ski resort and miles of expensive houses, condos, fancy shops, real estate offices before getting back on 70 and back to Alamogordo. This part of Ruidoso had the feel of Sho Low, AZ or maybe Sedona (without the ski resort). My least favorite part of the trip.