2024-8-31 The Road Home

I didn't do a post on our travel to get to Ruidoso but we stayed one night at Goodfellow AFB Famcamp and in Brownfield at Coleman Park which belongs to the city and has electric sites with a place to get water. They have added a bunch of new sites which is nice but the telephone poles they used to separate the sites meant I had to unhook my car because I couldn't turn sharp enough to get in the site. Overall it's a great deal.

On the way home, we decided to try another free park. Yoakum County Park is at the golf Course, You just pull alongside a pipe fence and hookup. There are two separate RV hookups on each of 3 poles. You may need a long enough cord as you and your neighbor will be tail to front. Trailers should pull forward so person behind you can reach.

You will be parked right next to a lovely shaded park with grills and tables.

There is even a pond with ducks and geese. It was so nice and quiet. We were told that Saturdays there is usually some kind of party/gathering at the building right there so Saturday nights might not be best for a visit.

We made one more stop at Goodfellow Famcamp. We got the last two water/electric sites when I called the week before (totally forgot it was Labor Day weekend). It rained hard a couple of times between our last overnight and San Angelo and again after we arrived. But, we got a lovely rainbow out of it.

And then the trip ended and I was home. Great trip, no problems, I love traveling.  Serendipity is in storage for two weeks then off again.

2024-8-28 Valley of Fires BLM and Capitan NM

 Our last field trip while in Ruidoso was to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area (BLM Land) and Capitan. Valley of Fires NM is sometimes confused with a state park with the same name in Nevada I believe. There is a nice campground here that I stayed in on a trip several years ago. They have water and electric hookups as well as a tenting area. And there are restrooms and showers. It's interesting because you are traveling across flat land when this volcanic rift appears.

You can see the volcanic lava here.

There is a nice walking trail next to the campground but you need to stay on the path because the volcanic rock is very sharp.

Our next stop was the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan.

Smokey was found clinging to a tree in the midst of a forest fire. He was rescued and turned over to a vet who took care of his burned paws and nursed him back to health. Of course, he didn't really look much his alter ego. He was flown to the Washington D.C. Zoo where he lived until his natural death. He had a female mate but they never had any cubs. There is a movie at the museum along with a lot of memorabilia and things relating to the campaign against forest fires. 

There is a nice little park with the museum with different types of landscapes native to New Mexico.

When Smokey passed away, he was flown back to Capitan and secretly buried during the night due to fear of vandalism. A ceremony honoring him was later held here.

This is the Smokey Bear place but also honors fallen firefighters with a memorial.

Kids around the world know who Smokey Bear is.

It's an interesting visit especially for kids. We had lunch at Oso restaurant which was very busy with locals and visitors.

2024-8-25 Lincoln County War

 A trip to Lincoln is like stepping into the past. There are people who live in Lincoln and some places to stay but there are no gas stations, restaurants, or grocery stores. It is a town of museums dedicated to the Lincoln County Wars. Pay one price and visit all the museums to learn the story. If you are an old western movie fan, you probably know about the history here.

We started our tour of Lincoln in the Anderson-Freeman Visitor Center where they have a "Voices frm the Past" museum exhibit and a 20 minute documentary about the history of Lincoln. There is one fee that will get you into all the other open museum buildings.

Of course, it starts with the Indians.

And the arrival of the Army at nearby Ft Stanton.

The Civil War intervened. If you read my post about Ft Stanton, you will know all about this.

Then the Wars over water rights and with the Indian tribes followed.

Murphy and Fritz were given the right to set up as trade posts for both Ft Stanton and the Mescalero Apaches.

Lincoln County became the largest county in the country making it difficult for any kind of law enforcement.

Feuds between Murphy/Fritz and Tunstall/McSween/Chisolm became an all out war.

William Bonney (aka Billie the Kid) was part of the Tunstall group. All out war broke out when Tunstall was murdered. 

The Luna-Chavez House shown below was originally owned by Juan Lopez who was father in law to Jose Montano who owned the Montano Store.

You can see a statue of Billy the Kid near the Jacal house by the Visitor Center.

This is a close up of the Jacal so you can see how it was made.

This is the Montano Store which was one of the first stores in Lincoln.

This is the earliest courthouse when Lincoln County was established in 1869.

This building is the Convento which served as a saloon, then a county courthouse, and finally as a Priest's house.

Lincoln has always been home to many hispanics.

This is the inside of the still functioning church.

This building is called a torreon which was one of the earliest structures in Lincoln. It was used for protection with people inside and cattle outside but inside of a stone fence.

An occupied house in Lincoln. People do live here but go elsewhere for gas, food, etc.

Oops, you already saw the inside of this church earlier in the post.

This is the Murphy Dolan store at the other end of town. It was eventually used for county government and judicial purposes. The jail is on the second floor.

Billy the Kid was held here in the upstairs jail.

There is also a bank safe on the first floor.

There is more historical information in this building.

Primary mean of group travel back in the day.

The last trip I made to Lincoln, the old Dolan Home was in use as a homestyle restaurant with two bedrooms available for overnight B&B. they were large family dining tables which were shared by customers. There was a choice of several sandwiches and desserts served on various kinds of fancy china. It was fun and very good but it all ended with covid and there is no place to eat in Lincoln. there is an old coffee shop but you never know when it will be open.

The final building we visited was the Tunstall/McSween Store.

John Tunstall was buried out back.

You can see what was sold in the store.

There is also some more info about the Regulators, a group that was formed after John Tunstall was murdered.

This is the "home" a room off the side of the store.

The history in Lincoln is very interesting especially if you are interested in the old west. There is a lot to see if you visit.