This morning we pack up, and make our way to Ruidoso, NM, for our post trip.  Since we have our own vehicle, we’re able to skip the four-hour group van ride, and drive ourselves, stopping along the way for photos and lunch.  We arrive at the Hawthorn Suites with time to unpack and have coffee, before meeting the group in the lobby for activities.  We meet our hosts Laura and Mark in the lobby, and set out for our first activity, a trip up to Ski Apache.  It is a twisty, grueling 18-mile ride, in which we feel our lives are in danger several times.  Caryn is in the back seat, and is thoroughly carsick by the time we arrive at the top to see the locked gates.  We climb past the gate, to gaze up at the mountain.  On the way back to Mark’s SUV, Caryn spies the “BUSH” stickers, and shoots Mary an incredulous look.  No words need be exchanged.  Quite ironic, because during yesterday’s seminar on NATJA benefits, one of the tips was "when on a press trip, avoid talk of politics and religion", and here we are, being driven in a PR persons vehicle, with the dreaded “BUSH” stickers.  UGH.

We stop at Windy Point Overlook on the way down, and meet a woman who is waiting for her husband, who is riding his bike up the mountain.  Soon he arrives, and when questioned, informs us that he did it in 1 hour 6 minutes.  We were pretty proud that we survived the car ride up, and now seeing this fellow, who is older than us ride his bike up, has certainly made us feel like slackers.  We also learn that he competed in the Santa Fe Century ride the previous weekend.  (That’s 100 miles)  I guess he doesn’t eat sopapillas like we do!

After the mountain, we head over to Viva New Mexico for some New Mexico wine tasting. Not being interested in this, we wander outside to look around, and do some photos.  Mary wanders down the street, to photograph an old motel sign, when some chainsaw bears catch her eye. She is mortified when Caryn comes to get her, and discovers the rest of the group waiting in the vehicles, ready to move on.  We’re only several hours into the post trip, and Mary is afraid she’s already labeled a troublemaker.

Next stop for dinner at Casa Blanca where we get some New Mexican food, and sopapillas, which arrive for the first time with cinnamon and sugar on them.  Caryn has to order another, naked.  Now we both have black marks on our scorecard.

It’s an early evening, and we’re back at the hotel by 8 pm.

Thursday, May 19

The group split up this morning for various activities.  We have a nice hot breakfast at the hotel, followed by a three-mile walk around the golf course.  Then it’s off to the laundromat to do some wash.  We finish up in time to meet up with the others, some of whom played golf, and some of whom spent the morning in downtown Ruidoso visiting the numerous shops.  It’s a very nice town, which actually has more summer visitors than winter skiers.  The majority of summer tourists come from west Texas to escape the heat in the mountains of Ruidoso, which is at about 7000 feet.  We meet up at Cafe Rio, which offers pizzas and some Greek food.  Mary has a delicious veggie sandwich, while Caryn has a Greek salad, and Tzatziki.

After lunch we swing by the Humane Society Thrift Store, but it’s a mess, and we don’t have the patience for it, so we go back to the hotel, have coffee, and then head next door to the convention center to visit the motorcycle trade show.  There is a motorcycle rally in town for the weekend, with an estimated 15,000 bikers.  We visit the exhibits, but decide we really don’t need any beaded suede halter-tops, although it is tempting.  Afterward, we wander around the parking lot, and photograph many different motorcycles, and even spot one that has training wheels.

We meet up with the group at 5 pm for a tour and dinner at the new INN OF THE MOUNTAIN GODS.  The local Mescalero Tribe has redone their lodge and casino, and we are treated to a tour of the facilities, which includes some very interesting artwork, and beautiful guest rooms, the smallest of which is over 400 sq feet.  After we’ve seen all this, some of the group enters the casino, but even thought we have been cleared to enter the casino with cameras, and photograph, as long as we don’t shoot the ceiling, we are denied entry because we are carrying backpacks.  Many of our group offer to watch our bags while we tour the casino, but we decline, because the casino seems to be a haven for smokers as well as gamblers, and we don’t care for the smoke.  One interesting note is that although smoking is allowed, they do not permit alcohol on the casino floor.  This is an Apache tradition, and has nothing to do with New Mexico law, since the reservation is a sovereign nation.

We are treated to a fabulous dinner at Wendell’s, (named for longtime chief of the Mescaleros), the high-end restaurant at the INN.  For appetizers we have a really great seafood platter, complete with king crab, jumbo shrimp, hard shell lobster, mussels, clams, and oysters.  We practically full by the time we’re finished with this, but we press on to salad, fabulous tortilla soup, after which Mary has a great tuna dish, while Caryn enjoys a filet mignon.  The food is great, but the wine is flowing, and it seems there is no end in sight to the evening.  Around 10:30 pm Caryn mentions that we have some work to do back at the hotel, and we would like to be on our way soon.  The group wraps it up, thanks our hosts, and we’re back at the hotel shortly after 11 pm.

Friday May 20

We drag ourselves out of bed, have breakfast, and meet up with the sleepy group in the lobby at 7:45 am.  Caryn and I decide to take our own vehicle, so that we can be in control of our own destiny.  The first stop is Ruidoso Downs, the local Quarter Horse track, where our hosts Laura and Mark both used to work.  We watch the horses work out for a bit, and take some photos.  After this, it’s off to the Hubbard Museum of the American West, where we go on an interesting tour.  This museum was formerly known as the Museum of the Horse, and contains the collection of Anne Stradling.

When we finished at the museum, we were surprised that it was only 10:30 am.  We were sure it must be almost lunchtime.  That late dinner sure took a toll on the entire group.  Our next activity was in Lincoln, NM, a 45-minute drive away, so Mark suggested a quick stop at a mini-mart, so we could pick up some snacks.  Caryn and I quickly ordered up a chicken and cheese quesadilla, which we thoroughly enjoyed on the drive to Lincoln, site of our stagecoach tour.  Ed Heimann, the proprietor of The Lincoln County Overland Stage Company, greeted us, and gave us a twenty-minute talk on the history of the stage, then took us on a stagecoach ride, which was substantially smoother than we had anticipated.  We stopped several times to switch seats, so that each person could have a chance to sit up top, and also inside.  It was very interesting, but we could image that doing it for 23 days to get to California gold could be a bit tedious, and the close quarters would quickly grow old.

After the stagecoach adventure, we traveled on to Lincoln proper, where we were guests for lunch at the Ellis Store, which is actually a Bed and Breakfast, and no longer a store. Our hosts Jinny and David welcomed us on the covered back patio, and treated us to a wonderful barbeque lunch, including giant warm cornbread, which was a meal in itself.  The combination of lack of sleep, good food, and hot NM weather made us ready for a nap, but there was no time for that!  While most of the group was eating home made cherry cobbler with ice cream, David gave us the history of the Ellis store, and Lincoln, including their most famed resident, Billy the Kid.

When it was time to press on, we headed down the road to the Lincoln County Heritage Trust Historical Museum.  Here Caryn met a very cute little fellow named Andy, a four-month-old poodle pup.  She stayed outside and visited with him while the rest of us went inside to watch a video.  When the video was over, Caryn rejoined us for a walking tour of Lincoln, given by Drew Gomber, a very animated and knowledgeable fellow.   

When the walking tour was over, we headed over to Fort Stanton, to have a look around, followed by a brief stop at the Merchant Marine Cemetery.  After that, we headed back to the hotel, while the rest of the group stopped at the performing arts theater.

Some of the group dropped out before dinner, but we headed over to the Pasta Cafe in downtown Ruidoso for a nice salad and some pizza.  As the sun was setting, we said our “thank you”s and goodbyes, and went out to take some photos at dusk.

Saturday, May 21

We packed up our belongings, and battled our way to the car past the throngs of motorcyclists who had descended on Ruidoso in general, and in front of our hotel in particular.  When it’s 100 degrees out I find that I have little patience for this, but we manage to get the van loaded up, and we’re on our way without incident.  We make a stop at a bear-carving place, but there are too many choices, and we leave without a bear.  Next, it’s off to Wal-Mart for some supplies, then down to Alamogordo NM, where we visit Eagle Ranch Pistachios, a grove owned by the family of our Ruidoso host Laura.  We sample several flavors of nuts, but are sad to learn they have no sugar free ice cream, which we could sure use, because it’s 104 degrees.  We are getting hungry, so we cruise the town for somewhere to eat.  We settle on Ramona’s, where we have some good New Mexican food, and a pitcher of ice water.  Next it’s on to White Sands National Monument, where we seek some shade until the temperature and the sun drop a bit.  Around 7 pm we venture out onto the pristine white dunes to photograph.  There is no place like this.  As the sun begins to set, the color of the dunes is ever changing, going from white, to orange, to bluish, before the sun sets.  It’s three days before the full moon, and tonight the park will offer a moonlight bicycle ride, although it is sold out by the time we enquire.  We are able to stay inside the park until 9pm, when the sun has set, and the moon has risen.  Mary decides that this is perhaps the most beautiful spot on earth that isn’t on an ocean.

We drive to Las Cruces, where Caryn used a coupon to get us a hotel room, but the place gave Mary the creeps, and we get our money back and press on.  We finally arrive in Truth or Consequences, NM around 11 pm.  The Super 8 is sold out, so we check into the Holiday Inn.  Caryn is accosted by some flying-jumping critters in the parking lot, which she thinks are crickets.  Whatever they are, they are big.  We are happy to have a room, and soon pass out, without even checking email. 

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