tests. Diehards don’t believe that for a minute; it’s pretty tough to quash a good conspiracy theory. If you’re the sort who appreciates such things, check out Roswell’s International UFO Museum and Research Center, located in the middle of town. The exhibits tell the whole crazy story with newspaper clippings, artwork, fiberglass models, and grainy photographs of objects purported to be flying saucers. There are no actual alien artifacts on display, nor any verifiable photographs of any actual alien spacecraft. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t cool. and it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen …
For bird lovers: Eight miles east of Roswell, off US 380, is the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a swampy area along the Pecos. This is an important wetland habitat for migratory birds, including sandhill cranes and snow geese, and it’s home to no fewer than 90 species of dragonflies and damselflies.
| Roswell Highlights |
| International UFO Museum and Research Center114 N. Main St., Roswell, NM 88203(800) 822-3545roswellufomuseum.comBitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge4200 E. Pine Lodge Road, Roswell, NM 88201(575) 622-6755fws.gov/refuge/bitter_lake/ |
Billy the Kid Scenic Byway
Leaving Roswell, head west on US 70/380 toward a range of low mountains. After about 45 miles, you’ll reach Hondo, where US 70 and US 380 split. This is the start of the Billy the Kid Trail, a National Scenic Byway. Stay on US 380, and after another 15 miles you’ll roll into Lincoln. For aficionados of the history of the Wild West, this is a place of some significance: the site of the Lincoln County War, a famously deadly feud that took place in 1878 and featured Billy the Kid (see sidebar).
Lincoln hasn’t changed a whole lot since Billy’s day. The Lincoln County courthouse, the Tunstall store, the old mission church, and more than a dozen other buildings dating back to the late 1800s make up the Lincoln Historic Site, a state monument that includes six small museums and a cemetery where some of the Kid’s victims were buried. Original 19th-century merchandise is still on display in the store. This is not a touristy commercial enterprise but a rather remarkable piece of preservation, and well worth the visit.
Ten miles beyond Lincoln is Capitan, the final resting place of another American icon. In 1950, a black bear cub survived a devastating fire in the Lincoln National Forest and was rescued by firefighters. When he had recovered from his burns, he was sent to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., where he became a national celebrity: the original, real-life Smokey Bear, the symbol of fire safety for generations of American children. After Smokey died, in 1976, the zoo flew his body back to New Mexico and buried him here, near the place where he’d been found. Smokey Bear’s Gravesite is located in a small park dedicated to his memory—and to his message: “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”
Turn south from Capitan on NM 48, the continuation of the Billy the Kid Trail, and head for Ruidoso, 16 miles south, in the Sierra Blanca mountains. It’s a wonderfully curvy road that’s great fun to drive. Continue down the mountain to Ruidoso Downs, a famous venue for high-stakes quarter horse racing. In town, you can check out the Hubbard Museum of the American West, a terrific collection of sculpture, paintings, and 19th-century artifacts, including rifles, wagons, and assorted cowboy paraphernalia.
Lincoln Town Cemetery, Lincoln Historic Site; “Final resting place of some of Billy the Kid’s Victims.”
| Billy the KidBilly the Kid is one of the most iconic figures of the American West: a fearless young outlaw, cut down in his prime. His story is very well known, figuring in the plots of no fewer than 40 Hollywood movies, but it’s not a heroic tale. The real-life Billy, whose given name was actually Henry, got his outlaw start in the little town of Lincoln during a hellacious outbreak of violence known as the Lincoln County War.Two factions, each backed by gangs of hired guns, went at it in a fight for control of commerce in what was, at the time, a largely lawless territory. There were skirmishes and ambushes, raids, shoot-outs, and executions, and because each killing had to be avenged, an eye for an eye, the situation spiraled out of control. A gun battle raged in the streets of Lincoln for three days and nights, until Army troops, sent by the territorial governor, arrived on the scene with artillery.Young Billy, who was fighting for the losing side, escaped out a back door. The Kid spent a couple of years on the run, rustled cattle, committed some robberies, and killed a blacksmith, a sheriff, and a couple of deputies. He famously escaped from jail after being sentenced to hang, but finally met his fate, shot in an ambush by Sheriff Pat Garrett, a man who had once been his friend |
Leaving Ruidoso, you’ll reconnect with US 70 for a quick 10 miles. When you reach the turnoff for NM 244, make a left onto the state highway, toward Cloudcroft, a favorite mountain getaway for New Mexico’s desert dwellers. The route travels for 30 miles through forested mountains and meadows alive with wildflowers, across the Mescalero Apache Reservation, finally connecting with US 82 in this cool town in the tall pines. Stop here if you’ve had enough for the day. The Lodge Resort provides old-fashioned luxury in a sprawling Victorian-era lodge; it’s very popular, so book ahead if you can. If you’re not staying, continue on down the mountain. You’re now just 20 miles (and 4,000 vertical feet) from Alamogordo, along another wonderful road that drops rapidly through a series of switchbacks and curves.
Torreon (Tower), “A mini-fortress, built to defend early residents of Lincoln, New Mexico from Apache raiders.”
| Lincoln County and Sierra Blanca Highlights | |
| Lincoln Historic SiteOn US 380, Lincoln, NM 88338(575) 653-4082nmhistoricsites.org/lincolnSmokey Bear Historical Park118 W. Smokey Bear Blvd., Capitan, NM 88316(575) 354-2748 | Hubbard Museum of the American West26301 US 70 W., Ruidoso Downs, NM 88346(575) 378-4142hubbardmuseum.orgThe Lodge601 Corona Place, Cloudcroft, NM 88317(800) 395-6343thelodgeresort.com |
Alamogordo to Las Cruces
When you reach US 54, turn south toward Alamogordo. If you like seriously quirky stuff, or if you just happen to like pistachios, turn north on US 54 instead and drive a couple of miles out of your way to McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch. You can not only purchase your fill of pistachios, but also check out the World’s Largest Pistachio, a 30-foot-tall steel-and-concrete paean to nuttiness that stands in front of the business.
Alamogordo is the gateway to White Sands National Monument, an astonishing natural display of pure-white gypsum crystals deposited in such quantity that they form a sea of shifting dunes that sparkle in the sunlight. Any time of day is great for photographs, but the sunsets are beyond superb. There is a 16-mile loop drive, with turnouts, and you can sled down the dunes on plastic saucers available for purchase from the gift shop. The visitors center is 15 miles southwest of Alamogordo off US 70.
If you have some extra time to spend in this area, stop by the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, where you can see the remains of an Ancestral Pueblo village and thousands of petroglyphs dating back 600 to 1,100 years. Three Rivers is one of the largest, most accessible sites of its kind, and well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in ancient cultures. It’s a 60-mile round-trip from Alamogordo (north of Tularosa, just off US 54), so you should allow at least 2 hours.
Another nearby attraction is the White Sands Missile Range Museum. The missile range, which lies 30 miles beyond the national monument, is the largest military installation in the United States. Follow the signs to the military base, a few miles off US 70. Here you can explore some of the darker history of this remarkable area. Established in 1945, in the closing months of World War II, the range encompasses the Trinity site, where the first atomic bomb was tested.
