Carlsbad Caverns Ride; Day 6; April 21st

We awoke to a cool morning in Capitan, NM under mostly sunny skies and started the day with breakfast at Smokey Bear’s Restaurant, right across the parking lot from our motel room.

I was getting a bit shaggy so I stopped in at a barber shop and got a fresh hair cut from Roy.  Roy was a Harley rider and we talked motorcycle riding.  The hair cut cost a whopping $7.

We then visited the Smokey Bear Historical Park.  We learned that the fictional Smokey the Bear was created in 1944 to persuade people to prevent forest fires.  Then, in 1950, there was a forest fire neat Capitan, NM.  Fire fighters found a 2 month old bear cub with burned paws clinging to a tree.  The cub was taken to Santa Fe for treatment and then to the national zoo in Washington D.C. where he became the first living Smokey the Bear.  When Smokey died in 1976 he was buried at this historical site in Capitan, NM.

We departed Capitan, NM at 10:30 am.  It was 73 degrees and the wind was back.  Hwy 380 took us west out of town to Carrizozo, NM where we picked up Hwy 54 northbound and then Hwy 55 west and north.  The riding along these routes was scenic with mountain vistas.

Along Hwy 55 we stopped at the Gran Pueblo Ruins, which are remnants from the 1600’s when Spanish Friars brought Christianity to the Pueblo Indians and worked their tails off building this mission.  It was abandoned by 1670.

We continued north on Hwy 55 and Hwy 337 to the Cibola National Forest were had a picnic lunch.  At Interstate 40 we hopped on Hwy 14 northbound.  This highway, from I-40 to Santa Fe, NM is called the Turquoise Trail due to turquoise mining by the Pueblos long ago.  http://www.turquoisetrail.org/

We stopped in Madrid, NM.  This is where part of the movie “Wild Hogs” was filmed.  In the movie it was called New Madrid.  Maggie’s Main Street Diner, a part of the movie, still stands on main street.  You can’t eat there, however, they just sell t-shirts and stuff now.

We arrived in Santa Fe, NM around 4:30 pm and we stopped for the evening at the Pecos Trail Inn.  I have an aunt and three cousins who live in Santa Fe.  We were able to have dinner with Aunt Mary and cousins Suzie and Pat. (I failed to get a picture of Suzie.)

It was an enjoyable and scenic ride of 220 miles today.  The low temperature was 66 and the high was 75.

For more photos from today click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/goldwinger.shawnee/CarlsbadCavernsRide042111?feat=directlink