HISTORIC POST OFFICE IN LINCOLN, NEW MEXICO

6

TRACKING BILLY THE KID INTO HISTORY’S HIDEAWAY

CAPITAN, LINCOLN, FORT SUMNER

ESTIMATED LENGTH: 200 miles

ESTIMATED TIME: Weekend-plus

GETTING THERE: Two suggested routes: From Las Cruces, go to White Sands, then to Alamogordo on I-70, take US 70 north to Tularosa, continue up past Blazer’s Mill, toward Bent, Mescalero, and through Ruidoso to Capitan and Lincoln. We will follow this route. The other suggested route is covered in Chapter 5, Valley of Fires. A second suggested route: from Albuquerque or Socorro, heading east then south, take US 380 East 11 miles south of Socorro at the San Antonio exit off I-25. Continue east on US 380 through the Valley of Fires to Carrizozo and on to Capitan and Lincoln, and then travel via the directions specified in this chapter into the Hondo Valley to Roswell and Fort Sumner.

HIGHLIGHTS: Lincoln, where the entire mile-long town is a well-preserved historic district, including the Lincoln County Jail and Courthouse where Billy the Kid escaped, with the shootout reenacted on Old Lincoln Days, held annually the first weekend in August; Billy the Kid’s grave in Fort Sumner, with the epitaph, HE DIED AS HE HAD LIVED; the UFO Museum and Research Center, Roswell; tours of the 1947 UFO Crash Site, which were held in 2019, for the first time, during the annual Roswell UFO Festival, first week in July.

If time is limited, take the Billy the Kid National Scenic Highway, Highway 70 West. Orient the trip and make the most of it with a visit to the Byway Visitor Center, next to the Hubbard Museum of the American West in Ruidoso Downs, actually a mini-museum, with in-depth information on the area and its prehistory as well as exhibits. The Byway links Ruidoso, Lincoln, Fort Stanton, and the Hondo Valley, all Billy’s stomping grounds. Technically, the Byway follows NM 48; NM 220; US 70/380 for 84.2 miles.

Leave Las Cruces on I-25 north to Exit 6 to US 70 toward Alamogordo. Bataan Veterans Memorial Highway is the designation of US 70 between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, in honor of New Mexico National Guard units from the Las Cruces area who perished in the Bataan Death March of WWII.

This seemingly mundane drive actually has several points of interest. First, and most arresting as the road climbs, is the stunning view of the backside of the primarily igneous Organ Mountains, named for their resemblance to organ pipes on the right. The highest peak of this range is Organ Needle at 9,012, rising from the Chihuahuan Desert floor.

Fifteen miles up the road is Organ, a gold and silver mining town dating to the 1850s, today inhabited by about 300 souls.

Beyond Organ lies Augustin Pass, between Organ and the San Augustin Mountains, at 5,719 feet.

Continuing the drive, 3 miles past Organ find Aguirre Springs Recreation Area, offering camping, hiking, and picnicking, with mostly seasonal streams and creeks. Some of Las Cruces’ favorite hikes and a favorite campground are on this site, much of which was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Now it is included in the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, established in 2014.

Thirteen miles further is an historical marker on the right for Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain and his eight-year-old son Henry, most likely murdered here, a murder that to this day remains one of New Mexico’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Their bodies were never found. Fountain, resident of Mesilla, newspaper publisher, and lawyer, knew he was in danger, and he brought his son for protection, thinking no one would harm a young child. He was on his way home from Lincoln, where he had spoken out about cattle rustling. Suspects Oliver Lee and Jim Gilliland, rustlers implicated by Fountain, were acquitted in the murder trial that was moved to Hillsboro, after being defended by Albert Fall, who went on to participate in the notorious Teapot Dome Scandal. Fountain had defended, and lost, one of Billy the Kid’s trials. Two pools of blood and bloodstained buggy were found in the wake of Fountain and his son.

It’s only 19 miles further to the entrance to White Sands National Monument. Take a left to the monument entrance. The way to see White Sands National Monument is along Dunes Drive, 17 miles of paved road through 275 square miles of pure white gypsum dunes, the largest gypsum dune field in the world, which originated over 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

It’s an otherworldly moonscape within the Tularosa Basin. Fascinating, too, are the plants and wildlife, such as the bleached earless lizard, that have evolved to exist within this particular environment. The West African oryx was imported for hunting in the 1960s. Reservations are required for such monthly special events as the Full Moon Nights and the monthly ranger-led trip to Lake Lucero, 18 miles to the north, the origin of the white sands. Also: there are full moon bike rides, sunset strolls, and MothaPalooza. From here, it’s 12 miles to Alamogordo on US 70.

For information on Alamogordo, please see Chapter 5. It’s 16 miles on US 54/70 from Alamogordo to Tularosa. For information on Tularosa, please see Chapter 5.

After leaving Tularosa, keep climbing into forests of Ponderosa pine. In 24 miles of gently curving, ascending roads through mountain forest, arrive at Bent, on Nogal Canyon Road. It was named for George B. Bent, who established a mine and mill in the early 1900’s. Then, in 3 miles, you will come to Apache Summit and see Sierra Blanca, the mountain that dominates this part of the world and is home to Ski Apache. You are now driving through the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Originally for southern Plains Indians, the Mescalero Apache Reservation was established by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1883 as home to about 4,000 tribal members. To reach the Mescalero Museum, go right on Central Mescalero Road toward the Tribal Administrative Offices, first left into Chiricahua Plaza. Here you will get a look at the history and culture of the Apache, from their point of view. They received their name because of their association with the mescal plant, which they used for food and fiber. The church at Exit 245 is St. Joseph’s Apache Mission, constructed through the efforts of Franciscan friar Father Albert Braun, who served as chaplain in WWI and wanted this church to remember those who died.

Fourteen miles beyond, reach the Inn of the Mountain Gods, Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero. Here you will find four restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, gaming, elegance beyond compare, a complete dream resort, and a great favorite place to get away and play in this part of the world. It is owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and it has 250 luxurious rooms.

THE LEGEND OF SMOKEY BEAR LIVES ON IN CAPITAN

Four miles further, cross the Lincoln county line at the Ruidoso Village Limit. Continue driving through the Village of Ruidoso, on Sudderth Street, the main shopping and entertainment district. It will be quite crowded and slow going during the high season of summer, a change of pace from high mountain driving.

At the end of Sudderth Street, go right to Alto on NM 48. Out here on Mecham Drive, there are many places to stay, such as cabins and motels, a bit quieter and more removed from crowded downtown Ruidoso. NM 48 continues to Alto Lake, in about 16 miles. Stay on two-lane NM 48 for about 14 miles to Capitan, best known as the original home of Smokey Bear, the orphan cub whose paws were burnt in a 1950 forest fire in the Capitan Mountains. Here you can learn his story first-hand at Smokey Bear Historical Park. Following a long life in the National Zoo in Washington, DC, Smokey was returned here to his final resting place. Presentations on ecology, forest health, and fire prevention become more relevant each year. This quiet village offers a stopping point for lunch at the Oso Grill or you can pick up picnic supplies at Smokey’s Country Market, which has a deli serving burgers, sandwiches, and barbecue chicken and ribs that sell out early. The Smoky Bear Café and Motel has rustic, basic clean and comfortable rooms. The café on the premises has vintage photos of Smokey and serves simple homey fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week.

Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid’s presence pervades southern New Mexico; he is literally everywhere. He had a presence from Mesilla to Silver City to Lincoln and even up north in Santa Fe. During his short life he was said to have killed one man for every one of his twenty-one years. The number of men he shot ranges from only eight all the way to 22. Virtually all New Mexico historical personages whose time overlapped with his encountered him, from Sister Blandina, a teacher invited to Santa Fe by Archbishop Lamy, to Santa Fe’s first First Lady, Flora Spiegelberg, wife of Santa Fe merchant Willi Spiegelberg. Regardless of whether these are real-life events or tall tales, the truth is that the story of William H. Bonney (his alias) has triggered the US imagination, where he continues to hang out like a jumping cholla needle that gets stuck in your finger and won’t let go.

Wherever the truth of these tales lies, Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty in the Irish slums of New York in 1859, orphaned at age 14, and shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett at Fort Sumner in 1881, has the enduring power to fascinate. His legend includes stories of his likeable side. For example, local ladies would dress the gunslinger in female attire and let him help them hang out the laundry when the law was about. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson considered, but eventually refused, the outlaw a posthumous pardon, to make up for the pardon he was promised then denied by Governor Lew Wallace. In addition, Governor Richardson had a plan to exhume Billy’s bones for DNA testing to prove he was actually buried in Fort Sumner and fortify Billy’s presence in New Mexico, in opposition to various unsubstantiated Texas claims. This never happened. Meanwhile, Billy reigns as New Mexico’s Number One outlaw and legend. And at the Bonito Valley Brewing Company in Lincoln, Billy’s short and epic life still inspires spirited arguments until the wee hours between friends, amateur historians, and visitors seeking this truth of this character who remains as elusive in death as he was during his heyday.

Seven miles beyond Capitan along US 380, turning onto NM 220, arrive at Fort Stanton. This preserved military complex has a long and complex history: From 1855–96, it was a military fort, and during that time it played an important role in the Lincoln County War. In 1886 it became the Mescalero Apache Indian base, and subsequently it became the first federal tubercular hospital in 1899. A Civilian Conservation Corps Camp was located here in 1931. The war brought German and Japanese internment in 1945, became a state hospital from 1953–63, and then it housed mental health, drug rehab, and correctional facilities. Living History Garrison day is held the third Saturday of the month; bi-monthly after dark tours, historic house tours, and ranger-led tours are available daily.

Lincoln County, at the time of its formation in 1869, was huge, one-fourth of New Mexico Territory, or 29,000 square miles. A half-dozen counties were carved from it subsequently.

Lincoln County War

To understand and appreciate southern New Mexico, a bit of background on the Lincoln County War is helpful.

In the big picture, this bloodshed was a mercantile war between the Murphy-Dolan faction, backed by the Santa Fe Ring; cattle baron John Chisum; merchant John Tunstall, Billy the Kid’s employer; and Alexander McSween, who formed a rival mercantile company to challenge Murphy-Dolan’s economic control. Tunstall’s death triggered the Lincoln County War.

While Billy had earned notoriety before the Lincoln County War (1878–81), it was when he and the Regulators defended the Tunstall-McSween interests against the Murphy-Dolan Boys that he began to go on killing sprees and was eventually convicted for the murder of Sheriff William Brady.

If Billy the Kid returned today and walked the main street of Lincoln, he would recognize the stone and adobe buildings. The town, once blood-soaked, exudes an indescribable air of peace. Many of the buildings, in fact the entire town, are said to be highly haunted, with records of specific encounters.

Georgia B. Redfield, a writer who collected local lore during the WPA era of the 1930s, reported: “It is not at all surprising that some of the more superstitious natives of Lincoln, New Mexico believe that ‘El espiritu malign,’ [spirits of evil] meaning the five men of Billy the Kid’s outlaw band, who were killed as they ran from the blazing building [the McSween home], return on dark nights to the scene of the final battle of the Lincoln County War of 1877-1881… Still carrying guns, it is believed they stalk the narrow streets, around El Torreon in the spooky old town, near the old courthouse at Lincoln, now a state monument and popular tourist attraction.”

The Lincoln State Monument museum is the place to visit first to soak up the story and purchase tickets for the town’s other attractions. Old Lincoln Days are celebrated annually the first weekend in August, with a pageant re-enactment of Billy’s slipping the cuffs and escaping the Lincoln County Courthouse and Jail, then shooting deputy Bob Olinger with his own gun as well as deputy J.W. Bell. The Kid also supposedly had a hideout at Susan McSween Barber’s Three Rivers Ranch (see Chapter 5), from whose burning house Billy fled in Lincoln. Her second marriage to George Barber, an employee of John Chisum, made her the “cattle queen of New Mexico” when Chisum gave her a small herd. Her first husband, Alexander McSween, was killed in the Battle of Lincoln in the Lincoln County War.

LINCOLN’S SETTLERS SOUGHT SHELTER IN ITS STAUNCH TORREON

Along the Rio Bonito, the site of Lincoln was occupied originally by Mogollon and Mimbres tribes from 1200 CE. The area was the western edge of the Comanche hunting grounds and the northern edge of the Mescalero Apache hunting grounds. Mexicans settled here in the 1700s. The town was founded in 1859 as La Placita del Rio Bonito, but it was renamed for President Abraham Lincoln in 1869. Especially interesting is the 20-foot Torreon where settlers took shelter from Indian raids. It was a violent area of six-shooters and whiskey early on, the wildest and most lawless place in the Wild West. Enter Billy the Kid, who came to Lincoln in 1877 to work for Tunstall. Billy’s legend grew with his many prison escapes. When he escaped the Lincoln County Jail, it is said that friendly locals removed his leg irons and provided him with a fresh horse.

OLD LINCOLN JAIL WHERE BILLY THE KID SLIPPED HIS HANDCUFFS AND SHOT BOB OLINGER WITH HIS OWN GUN BEFORE HE ESCAPED

A stroll down Lincoln’s main street leads to the Wortley Hotel, a historic bed and breakfast. This is the place to stay in Lincoln. Hosts Troy Nelson and Katharine Marsh have created a delightfully creaky, small inn right out of the Old West in an 1874 lodging once owned by Pat Garrett, with morning coffee served on the front porch and an exquisite home-cooked breakfast in the dining room. Here history comes alive and lives on.

Across the street from the Wortley is Bonito Valley Brewing Company. Local brews go with the local history and lore recounted here, as well as the occasional live music, all while hanging out in the big friendly heart of New Mexico.

Annie’s Little Sure Shot Coffee Shop, Lincoln, provides the caffeine to keep you going. Proprietor Annmarie LaMay serves her distinct blend in a coffee bar that could rival any coffee house anywhere. Surrounded by pottery and art from the hands of over 50 local New Mexico artists in Old Lincoln Gallery, LaMay’s establishment has a delightful patio and is open year-round. By the way, Annmarie is barista to the stars—she caters for films and served her elixir to the Breaking Bad cast and crew in Albuquerque from her “mobile coffee house.” Annmarie is the force behind the annual Lincoln Dia de Muertos Festival, held November 2, with mariachis, historical presentations, altars and more.

At the Lincoln State Monument, Lincoln, the Old Lincoln County Courthouse Museum gives context, with thoughtful information on Hispanic settlers, Buffalo soldiers, and the politics of the time.

Leaving Lincoln, journey 10 miles on US 380 to junction 380/70. Go right on US 70, the Billy the Kid Byway, and bear right to San Patricio. Here find Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery, Guest Homes and Winery, east on US 70 at MM 281. After studying with artist Andrew Wyeth in Pennsylvania, wooing and winning his daughter, artist Henriette, New Mexico native artist Peter Hurd wanted to come home. His Sentinel Ranch, where he painted his neighbors and local ranching scenes, is now the residence of Hurd-Wyeth son and artist Michael Hurd, who also designed the attached Hurd gallery. Five adobe guest cottages are available to rent, including the Wyeth House, the historic home of the Hurd family. Go right on US 70 when exiting Hurd Gallery.

On US 70, at MM 284 between Roswell and Ruidoso, come to Hondo Iris Farm & Gallery. Alice Seeley’s little bit of paradise bursts forth with blooms of hundreds of varieties of iris that peak in May, followed by peonies and lilies. The gallery of her handmade jewelry features petroglyph designs and offers flowing, colorful, imported, and handmade apparel and accessories. The Faery Garden enchants young and old.

Exit the Iris Farm, go right and cross the Rio Bonito. Stay on US 70, continuing through Hondo, for a nondescript drive of 47 miles to Roswell.

TALES OF BILLY THE KID ARE EXCHANGED INTO THE WEE HOURS IN LINCOLN’S ONLY PUB

Come for the aliens. Stay for the art and dragonflies. Roswell has glommed on to the 1947 UFO crash that did or did not happen, or was possibly a weather balloon, and the town has ridden it all the way to urban prosperity while maintaining its small-town aura. Downtown Roswell is virtually wall-to-wall UFO tee shirt and trinket shops. Starting out as a stop on the Goodnight-Loving and Chisum cattle trails, Roswell’s Old West roots have endured in the farms, dairies, and ranches that surround the city. Located at the crossroads of US 285, US 70, and US 380, Roswell is a master of community re-invention. When Walker Air Force Base closed in 1967, the town diversified into a thriving hub of business, education—it is the home of the highly respected New Mexico Military Institute—and tourism. While tourists may be found thronging the streets year-round, tourist business peaks during the first week of July, when thousands from around the world come for the annual UFO Festival, and true believers attend seminars on the latest testimonies and evidence of “abductions” and “hybrids” walking amongst us.

WILL YOU BECOME A BELIEVER AT ROSWELL’S UFO MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER?

The International UFO Museum & Research Center does its best to convince malingering doubters. Eyewitness reports, the Roswell Incident Timeline, evidence of contact within ancient societies, and the largest and most comprehensive collection of UFO-related information in the world, including accounts of those who have experienced actual contact, fill this warehouse-like space.

This small, booming city boasts a beautiful historic district and the Spring River Recreation Trail, with 5.5 miles of paved, gentle, and scenic hiking and biking.

DETOUR

Bottomless Lakes State Park

Turn east on US 380 for 12 miles. Then turn onto NM 409 South 3 miles to Bottomless Lakes State Park. These eight small lakes are actually sinkholes in the Pecos River Valley, bordered by high red bluffs, with walking trails, swimming, fishing, and rental paddleboats at the larger Lea Lake. Fees are $5 per day vehicle use; $10–18 camping. One of the hikes includes a boardwalk over a wetlands with blinds for bird and wildlife observation. When cowboys arrived, they attached rocks to their lariats and tossed them into the lake, and since they could not hear the rock touch bottom, they conjured the current name. Established in 1933, this was the first state park in New Mexico.

DETOUR

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

North on US 285 to Pine Lodge Road, then east 11 miles to the visitor center. One of my favorite outdoor spots in New Mexico, this wetlands along the Pecos River is home to over a hundred species of dragonflies and damselflies and has abundant butterfly populations. Several short, easy hikes make this a peaceful place to become enraptured by nature. Over 357 bird species live here; some are endangered species. An 8-mile auto tour will allow for wildlife spotting; and bike riding is available on the 8-mile gravel drive leading to the paved 4-mile round trip trail.

The Roswell Museum and Art Center is as fine a regional museum as may be found. Permanent exhibits of Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth are breathtaking, while artists of the stature of Fritz Scholder and Georgia O’Keeffe appear frequently.

Next door to the museum is the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium. Roswell pioneer, father of rocketry, Robert Goddard, is honored here with science exhibits and hands-on exhibits as well as a recreation of his lab.

From Roswell, take US 285 North to a stretch of road that seems to go on forever, with a switch to NM 20 for the last 47 miles. But it is actually only 85 miles to Fort Sumner; the road is arrow-straight, punctuated by irrigation, silos, sheep, cattle, water tanks, and occasional ranch signs on fences. Named after former New Mexico Territory military governor Edwin Vose Sumner, this military fort was charged with the internment of nearby Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868. Fort Sumner is the site not only of Billy the Kid’s grave, where he is buried with his two “pals,” but of Fort Sumner State Monument, where Navajo and Apache people were confined during the 1860s following the Long March, 450 miles in which many died, leaving their homeland, devastated by the US military, led by Colonel Kit Carson. The Bosque Redondo Memorial here is the only site to tell that story, and the story of the Mescalero Apache imprisoned here, from their point of view. By late 1864, the military held 498 Mescalero and 8,567 Navajo as prisoners of war at the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. Engineered by General James H. Carleton and executed by Kit Carson, the destruction of the Indians’ homeland and the relocation to Bosque Redondo that resulted in the death of hundreds was an attempt to turn them into farmers and was declared a failure after three years. At that point, they were again relocated to the current Navajo Reservation in the Four Corners.

LEARN THE STORY OF THE LONG MARCH OF THE NAVAJO AT BOSQUE REDONDO MEMORIAL

Billy the Kid’s Grave is located in the military cemetery at Fort Sumner Historic Site, directly behind the closed building marked Chamber of Commerce. Land baron Lucien B. Maxwell is buried there also. The Kid’s grave is encased in iron security bars, as the tombstone was stolen twice. In remembrance of that event, Fort Sumner celebrates Old Fort Days in early June, with the World’s Richest Billy the Kid Tombstone Race and Weiner Dog Dash. On July 14, 1881, Sherriff Pat Garrett ambushed Billy while he was hiding out at the Maxwell home in Fort Sumner.

From here, travel to Santa Rosa 41 miles northeast on US 84 and west to Albuquerque on I-40 or east to Tucumcari on I-40—or re-trace your path to Las Cruces.

IN THE AREA

Accommodations

INN OF THE MOUNTAIN GODS, Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero. Call 800-446-2963. $$–$$$.

SMOKEY BEAR CAFÉ & MOTEL, 316 Smokey Bear Boulevard, Capitan. Call 575-354-2253. $–$$.

WORTLEY HOTEL, a historic bed and breakfast at 585 Calle la Placita, Lincoln. Call 575-653-4300. $$.

Attractions and Recreation

BILLY THE KID MUSEUM, 1435 East Sumner Avenue, Fort Sumner. Call 575-355-2380.

BILLY THE KID NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAY, 26305 US 70, Ruidoso Downs. Call 575-378-5318. Website: www.billybyway.com.

BITTER LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, 4200 East Pine Lodge Road, Roswell. Call 575-623-5695. Website: www.fws.gov/refuge/bitter_lake.

BOTTOMLESS LAKES STATE PARK, Bottomless Lakes Rd, Roswell. Call 575-624-6058. Website: www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/bottomlesslakesstatepark.html.

FORT STANTON, Call 575-354-0341. Website: www.fortstanton.org.

HUBBARD MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST, 26301 US 70, Ruidoso Downs. Call 575-378-4142. Website: www.hubbardmuseum.org.

HURD-LA RINCONADA GALLERY, GUEST HOMES, AND WINERY, 105 La Rinconada Lane, San Patricio, US 70, at MM 284 between Roswell and Ruidoso. Call 575-653-4331.

HONDO IRIS FARM & GALLERY, MM 284, US 70, Hondo. Call 575-973-0006. Website: www.hondoirisfarm.com.

LINCOLN NATIONAL FOREST, 3463 Las Paloma, Alamogordo. Call 575-434-7200. Smokey Bear District 901, Mechem Drive, Ruidoso. Call 575-257-4095.

LINCOLN STATE MONUMENT, Lincoln. Call 575-653-4025.

MESCALERO APACHE CULTURAL CENTER & MUSEUM, Call 575-671-4494. Website: www.mescaleroapachetribe.com/mescalero-apache-cultural-center-museum.

ORGAN MOUNTAINS DESERT PEAKS NATIONAL MONUMENT. Website: www.blm.gov/nm.

ROBERT H. GODDARD PLANETARIUM, 912 North Main Street, Roswell. Call 575-624-6744.

ROSWELL MUSEUM AND ART CENTER, 100 West 11th Street, Roswell. Call 575-624-6744.

SPENCER THEATER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, 108 Spencer Drive, Alto. Call 575-336-4800.

SPRING RIVER PARK AND RECREATION TRAIL, 1101 West 4th Street, Roswell. Call 575-624-6700.

UFO MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER, 114 North Main Street, Roswell. Call 575-625-9495.

WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, 19955 US 70. Call 575-479-6124. Website: www.nps.gov/whsa.

THOUSANDS GATHER IN ROSWELL EACH FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND TO EXPLORE THE MYSTERIOUS FIND AT ROSWELL’S 1947 CRASH SITE

Dining and Drinks

ANNIE’S LITTLE SURE SHOT COFFEE SHOP, 1068 Calle La Placita, Lincoln. Call 575-937-3755. $.

BONITO VALLEY BREWING COMPANY, 692 Calle La Placita, Lincoln. Call 575-653-4810. $.

CERRITOS MEXICAN CUISINE, 2013 North Main Street, Roswell. Call 575-622-4919. $–$$.

GLENCOE DISTILLERY AND TASTING ROOMS, 27495 US 70, Glencoe. $.

MARTIN’S CAPITOL CAFÉ, 110 West 4th Street, Roswell. Call 575-208-5161. $–$$.

OLD ROAD RESTAURANT, 692 Old Road, Mescalero. Call 575-464-4674. $–$$.

OSO GRILL, 100 Lincoln Avenue, Capitan. Call 575-354-2427. $–$$.

SIPPY AND OPAL’S ICE CREAM AND SWEET TREATS, 327 N Main Street, Roswell. Call 734-536-8727. $.

TASTE OF THAI CUISINE, 1303 West 2nd Street, Roswell. Call 575-622-2412. $–$$.

TINNIE SILVER DOLLAR STEAKHOUSE & SALOON, 28842 US 70, Hondo. Call 575-653-4425. $$–$$$.

YUM YUM’S DONUT SHOP, 460 Central Avenue, Tularosa. Call 575-585-2529. $.

Events

OLD FORT DAYS, early June, with the World’s Richest Billy the Kid Tombstone Race and Weiner Dog Dash. Call 575-355-7705. Website: www.fortsumnerchamber.com.

OLD LINCOLN DAYS, and the Last Escape of Billy the Kid, first weekend in August, Lincoln. Call 575-653-4372.