Billy the Kid Was Here

7/24
Roswell was our first stop this morning. The only real reason for visiting was to placate those who keep asking why we haven't gone... like our daughter, for example. We were not impressed. We took a few photos for her and were gone by 9:30 a.m.
We decided to veer from the road to Alamogordo and visit the Lincoln State Monument which is essentially the entire town of Lincoln. "The Lincoln Wars" between two merchants in this town led to many murders, the failure of a few sheriffs, and the notorious trial and escape of Billy the Kid. Everything in the town is fairly well preserved, and we spent a couple of interesting hours touring all the buildings.
Afterwards, we continued through to Ruidoso, which was (in our opinions) the height of touristmania. There was a long main drag lined on both sides with little cafes, touristy shops, curio shops, etc. We were glad we had chosen Alamogordo for the night.
The road to Alamorgordo was very scenic, espcially around Tularosa where you were suddenly presented with White Sands against the mountain backdrop, looking for all the world like a mirage. We stopped at a pistachio plantation's gift shop and sampled some of their goods. A pleasant drive. This area is also known for pecans and wine.
Our hotel (a Holiday Inn Express once again) was a pleasant surprise. Although it sits in the middle of a commercial/suburban area, the view from our room was of the Sacramento Mountains. There were jackrabbits exploring in the brush below our window.
Dinner was Mexican (Margo's) but unexceptional. It is apparent that truly good Mexican food is not easy for us to find in this part of the state.
It has been decided that we should head to a different part of the state tomorrow after visiting Three Rivers Petroglyphs about an hour north of town. We will continue to Las Vegas. Because it will be a Saturday we reserved a room at the BW Montezuma, where they had only a few rooms remaining. We are hoping it lives up to its Trip Advisor reputation as an extraordinary bargain and the jewel in Best Western's Gold Crown.
We slept with the window open and the a/c off for the first time and slept well.