Fort Sumner, aka nowheresville, is a ranching town that's famous for two things. First it's the final resting place for Mr. William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid,who was killed her by Kris Kristofferson (Pat Garrett) when he was just 21. It seems his headstone had a wandering nature, ending up in both Texas and California before it was secured by an iron band.
Fort Sumner was also the destination of the Long Walk to Bosque Redondo, where the US Government , represented by Kit Carson, relocated Apaches and Navajos to stifle their insurrections. The Apaches walked a hundred plus miles, the Navajos 300 miles.
Miles and miles of great back roads between Fort Sumner and Roswell where cattle ranches reign.
Roswell is, of course, the spot where in 1947 a alien spacecraft crashed starting a worldwide phenomenon. It's also a jumping off point for Carlsbad Caverns.
I first visited Carlsbad in 72 or 73 when Dana and I arrived just an hour or so before closing time. The Ranger at the front desk warned us that we'd have to hurry and that we might not have time to see the whole cave but we went for it and rushed down the path past the bat cave and were able to see most of the great room before closing time.
Now 40+ years later, I told Kathy that I didn't remember the path down the natural entrance being so long and steep. It's 750 feet down to the Great Room and tough on these old knees.
The Great Room is indeed great. 1800 feet long and some 250 feet high it's truly magnificent.
Kathy is fun to take into dark places. She "suffers" from sensitive eyes and when she hits a dark spot panics cause she thinks the floor is uneven and waiting to swallow her up.
Upon our return to Roswell we visited the UFO Museum (how could we pass it up?) and got the skinny on the 47 invasion. Oh and we saw some of Kathy's ancestors. Notice the resemblance? They suffer from sensitive eyes as well.
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