Sept 10-11 Billy & Smokey

Monday/Tuesday, September 10 & 11.  Roswell was a bust.  Some stores with the names UFO and Alien and a museum that we went through.  No roadside vendors, nothing worthwhile this visit.  The museum did show some good stuff as to the cover-up by the government.  So it left you wondering:  was there a real alien crash?  Don't know why the hype in Roswell when the crash happened at a farm 30 miles north in Corona.  Don't go there or you will be shot, said the museum keeper!  Ok.  So we left and went to Ruidoso to camp for the night.

Nice campsite with a lot of motorcycles since there was a rally that weekend.  Our friend, Paul, would be quite at home! 

Roger got busted for not picking up all of Blue's poop when there was a knock on the door the next morning and asked to do the clean up!  Oops.  or is that poops!!!!

Tuesday we left for Lincoln National Park after stopping for more enchilladas and margarits at Tia Juana's.  These keep getting better with every stop!  The road to Lincoln was called the badest in the west, even by Theodore Roosevelt.  That's because the infamous Billy was there!

Billy the Kid Museum.  He was quite a character living only until 21 years old when killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett. 

Now off to visit Smokey Bear's grave site.  He was rescued as an orphan in a fire in the 50's and became the ever famous symbol for preventing wild fires.  Was so popular with fan mail that the post office gave him his own zip code and a postage stamp!  Do you remember when the slogan said:  Only you can prevent forest fires?  Now it says "wild fires". 

Had to have breakfast at Smokey Bear Restaurant and it was the best. 

Arrived in Las Cruces KOA for five nights.  Time to stop and enjoy this trip.  Set up Camp Kava (as dubbed by our Portage Lakes bestest friend Laura) and we miss her and everyone else. 

picture:  New Mexican restaurant, Tia Juana's.  Geat enchilladas and margaritas.
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picture:  Gretchen with Billy
picture:  Marker where Billy was killed by Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner.
picture:  Billy's grave on bottom right that was stolen and gone for 30 years.  Discovered in Texas and then stolen again.  Found in California and is now steal-proof.  Bigger markers are of his "pals".
picture:  short cut on Pat Garrett Drive.  Just a bunch of dust!
picture:                        "                         and with the Michigan Bear as a look out!
picture:  motorcycle neighbors at Circle B campsite in Ruidoso.
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picture:  San Luan Mission in Lincoln
picture:  Apache and Roger.  When we were married, the minister blessed us with the Apache Wedding Blessing.  So we thank them for such a wonderful blessing.  It has worked so far!
picture:  Rifle as used by Billy the Kid
picture:  inside the beautiful San Juan Mission
picture:  Billy the Kid's bullet hole or so they say
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picture:  Smokey Bear's grave site.  The carved statue of the bear in the background is as he looked when he was rescued during the fire, clinging onto a tree badly burned, orphaned.
picture:  Ironically, remnants of a big fire north of Capitan (Smokey's grave site)
picture:  Roger fixing the light fixture that came down during a horrible 30 mile road in New Mexico.  We were a-rockin' and a-shakin'.
picture:  late night arrival welcome at the KOA.  Remember 911 and there were many flags at homes and businesses flying at half mast.  Roger did not put ours out since he could not fly it at half mast.  In remembrance always.
picture:  Organ Mountains so named since they looked like church organ pipes!  As seen from our campsite in Las Cruces.