The turnoff to "Billy the Kid" Byway
Lincoln here we come
There are a number of small townships in Lincoln county and based on our trusty ipad app we headed for a town named Capitan. The RV park we were considering was nothing more than a car park with power so collectively agreed to continue on to Ruidoso which is hailed as being the southern most ski resort in the USA. Being a ski resort the road to Ruidoso climbed steeply up the mountain ranges. This really put our 5.9 litre cummins Diesel engine to the test as it hauled our trailer. Once again the Dodge came into its own however we certainly left a bigger carbon footprint along the way!
The view was fantastic as we headed to Ruidoso
The Lincoln County War was an Old West range war between rival factions in 1878 in New Mexico Territory. The feud became famous because of the participation of a number of notable figures of the Old West, including Billy the Kid, sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett, cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and businessman Alexander McSween, and the organized crime boss Lawrence Murphy. Having heard of Billy the Kid we could not miss a visit to the town where it all happened so spent an afternoon wandering the streets checking out a number of buildings that have been heritage listed. And yes a visit to couple more museums completed our tour of this historic town.
Lincoln township is much the same as it was at the turn of the century, apart from a crumbling footpath and a sealed road Billy would not know the difference.
Legend has it this is the original bullet hole from Billy's escape.
The building Billy made his escape from has been a store, courthouse and school
The next day we ventured about 50 miles to the mining ghost town of White Oaks. Although noted as a ghost town there are still a few people living there and wherever there are people there has to be a bar of some kind. White Oaks is no different, they have a saloon in the Main Street which unfortunately was closed that day. The sign above the door says 'no scum allowed' ! It appears they only trade three days a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and even have a shuttle bus.
The saloon was shut
The shuttle bus
Alot of history about an area can be gained by stopping at the local cemetery. We stopped at the old cemetery on the outskirts of White Oaks and were surprised to come across the grave of James Bell the deputy sheriff killed by Billy the Kid. This whole experience has me wanting to see the movie "Young Guns" again. Walmart DVD section here we come.
James W Bell's Headstone
Other unmarked graves
No trip to Ruidoso would be complete without a trip up to the Apache Ski resort. The road up to the slopes is12 miles long and climbs to an elevation of 12,000 feet. Not being skiers we took the scenic, easier alternative and rode the gondola ski lift up to the peak and watched the very accomplished snow boarders and skiers throw themselves down the slopes.
The views were fantastic
Far below the desert lies
Desert and snow side by side
What better way to finish a great day on the 'slopes' but with a home cooked roast meal. The oven in the 5th wheeler isn't big enough to accommodate more than a pizza so everything else has to be done outside in the weber bbq (grill).
Cooking a roast chicken in sub zero temperatures - how else can you get to watch the Military channel?
Forty miles south of Ruidoso is the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. A petroglyph is a carving or a fine drawing on rock made by prehistoric people. There are over 21,000 of these petroglyphs in the Three Rivers Site with many of them viewable between the rocks along a mile long trail. It is amazing how well preserved they are however we were really disappointed to see that some simple minded people had graffitied parts of the area, signing their own names on the rocks.
An example of the art.
Posted by RnR on their IPad
Location:Lincoln County New Mexico
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