Overlooking a scenic bluff driving down Hwy 82 enroute to Alamogordo, N.M.

Lincoln County
Further into New Mexico, you’ll enter Lincoln National Forest, where terrain gets steeper and the tales get taller. You’ve crossed into historic outlaw West, where William H. Bonney (a.k.a. "Billy the Kid") escaped the law and shot his way into history. The city of Capitan, up the street on Hwy 380, is home to Smokey the Bear, who rose to fame when a local forest rangers rescued a cute bear cub who’d scrambled up a tree to escape a firey blaze. A small incident, but in it, a legend was born.

Lincoln Town. Lincoln County Courthouse has Bonney’s guns, knives, shackles, handwritten letters, even his unused tombstone on display. Historians have even preserved a wall bullet hole, left by a six-shooter that Bonney snatched and used to make his famous escape. History of the old west comes alive here. On Hwy 380 between Roswell and Carrizozo.

Capitan. This tiny town is home to Smokey the Bear. Here, it’s all about the bear. Grab a chicken fried steak at Smokey the Bear Restaurant and Motel. Browse legions of carved wooden bears at local woodshops. Drop by Smokey’s grave at the Smokey the Bear National Museum and Gift Shop. Also on Hwy 380 between Roswell and Carrizozo.

Scenic Drive, Capitan to Alamogordo: This series of scenic byways slingshots you from outlaw west and into New Mexico’s space frontier. Starting in Capitan, take the hilly, no-pass Highways 48, 70 and 244 south through Lincoln National Forest. Be sure to save room on your camera for the final 30 miles (where Hwy 244 connects with Hwy 82), a hair-raising bobsled ride downhill that sluices through canyons and dales and finishes with a panoramic overlook.

Directions: From Capitan, take Hwy 48 S to Ruidoso; then Hwy 70 W and connect with Hwy 244 S to Cloudcroft; then take Hwy 82 W to Alamogordo.