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Mexican Canyon Trestle
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Old Watering Hole
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Traveling 35 miles southeast from White Sands
Monument on US Highway 70 and 82 you will pass through
the town of Cloudcroft which is located in the
Sacramento Mountains and is surrounded by over five
hundred thousand acres of the Lincoln National Forest. Prior to the
construction of highway US 82, transportation was by railroad
which was built in 1899 and which the Mexican Canyon trestle, just west of
Cloudcroft was a part of. The town is located 9,000 feet above sea level,
and the last sixteen miles from Alamogordo and the Tularosa Desert to the town,
you will experience a climb of over 5,000 feet.
After visiting White Sands, the temperature being over 90 degrees at noon there,
a distance of 35 miles, we were told that there was snow and sleet in that
same afternoon. In fact we stopped to put up the top on the scooter, and turned
on the heater before arriving in the town. We enjoyed BBQ and coffee at a establishment that had a
sawdust floor, barrells to sit on and a fireplace going that took the chill
out of our bones.
The town's building structures are mainly wooden
with the walks of plank and overhanging
shingled porches. Very much similar to the cowboy
towns that I had pictured in my youth and reading about
the wild west. I could just picture the old hitching
post with the horses tied to and the saloons they used
as watering holes. Even though today, they have paved
streets, the building give you that vision of the past.
Lincoln Country is rich in history. Indians, U.S.
Cavalry, miners, cowboys, trappers, hunters, sheep
ranchers, pioneers all have left their mark. Great
ranches, ghost towns, mining camps, Mexican villages,
can still be seen unspoiled in this beautiful county.
From 12,000" Sierra Blanca to the high pastures of Fort
Stanton and the streams of the quiet valleys, climate
and screnery for every taste can be enjoyed by all. Each town
within this county has it's own story.
A short distance to the south is Sunspot Solar
Observatory.The John W. Evans Solar Facility consists of
two main telescopes: a 16" coronagraph and a 12"
coelostat telescope. Each of these telescopes can
be used to feed one of several instruments. This means
that two observing programs can be run simultaneously.
The Evans Facility is used to conduct observations of
the sun for both local staff and visiting scientists
worldwide. Observations are made of the solar corona,
and also of transient phenomena such as flares,
eruptive prominences, and surges, as well as quiet sun
features.
Today, the town gives you that quick escape from the
heat. There is a noticeable drop in temperature
in the higher elevation. After exiting the only mountain tunnel in New Mexico
stop in the observation area, if
returning north on US82, and enjoy the view of White Sands
and the Sonoran Desert. Make sure to bring plenty of film
for the camera.
