Carlsbad Caverns Ride; Day 5; April 20th

We started the day with another run to Carlsbad Caverns.  We had tickets to a guided tour of the Kings Palace that started at 10:00 so we were on the road by 8:45 am.  It was sunny, 72 degrees and not nearly as windy as the two prior days.  According to the weather folks it was supposed to reach 95 in Carlsbad today.  It was a nice 25 mile ride to the caverns and the tour was enjoyable.  In addition to Kings Palace we also saw the Queen’s chambers, both of which we could not see on our self guided tour the day before.

Around noon we took off north on Highways 62 and 285 through Artesia, NM to Roswell, NM.  The temperature actually dropped (85 to 82) during the ride from Carlsbad to Roswell.  The city of Roswell has been associated with aliens since an alien craft was said to have crashed near there in 1947 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident).  The city is still cashing in on that association.  The International UFO Museum and Research Center is located in Roswell (http://www.roswellufomuseum.com/).Roswell, NM

When we were riding into Roswell, Chris noticed a billboard advertising Peppers Grill & Bar which said they offered a taste of local flavors.  We found it in downtown Roswell and had a very good lunch.  I recommend it if you are ever in Roswell.  They have a diverse menu offering fare from steaks to ribs to Mexican food.lunch; Roswell, NM

From Roswell we rode west on Highways 70 and 380.  We could see mountains in the distance and the further west we went the more the temperature dropped.

We’d seen a brochure in Carlsbad for an Iris Farm near Hondo, NM.  We found the Iris Farm Annex on the east side of Hondo.  They only had arts and crafts – no flowers.  They directed us to the Hondo Iris Farm which was on the west side of Hondo.  It was closed but we found a gate open on the side so we snuck in and got a few pictures.  Not too many of the flowers were in bloom.

From Hondo we rode west on Hwy 380, which took us into Lincoln County and the town of Lincoln, NM.  Did you ever hear of the Lincoln County War?

 http://www.legendsofamerica.com/nm-lincolncountywar.html

It was a battle of cattle ranchers, one of whom was John Chisum (there is a statue of him in Roswell, NM).  Billy the Kidd was supposedly recruited as a cattle guard.  In riding slowly through Lincoln we saw that the locals celebrate the fact that Lincoln County was the last place that Billy the Kidd escaped from jail.  It is a shame a criminal gets so much attention.

We arrived in Capitan, NM at about 4:30 pm.  It was a cool 77 degrees.  We stayed in the Smokey Bear Motel, which had a restaurant of the same name on site.our lodging in Capitan, NM

http://www.smokeybearmotel.com/

It was an old school flat motel but clean and spacious.  The only down side was that it had a gravel parking lot.  Wild Bill would not have been happy!  It was a great location for relaxing with a brew after cleaning my motorcycle.relaxation!

We had a great day and rode 208 miles.  The weather and scenery in and around Lincoln County and Capitan, NM was a definite improvement over the southern New Mexico we experienced the three days before.

For more photos from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/CarlsbadCavernRide042011?feat=directlink

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