For a few weeks now, I’ve been planning a solitary retreat from my busy life here in Clovis. My adventure begins promptly at 5 PM, leaving work to zoom up North Prince Street to get last minute supplies for my weekend, only to have to turn around and traverse the nasty mess of unsynchronized traffic lights toward South Prince, Roswell, and finally my destination 4 hours later.
Center and Sudderth Streets in Ruidoso, NM. Just around the corner lies the tasty Cafe Rio.
Ruidoso is a perfect, albeit a bit touristy, retreat from the high plains of Clovis. My family and I like to come here a few times during the year, I find it to be a good way to scratch the itch of one of my long term goals in life: to move to New Hampshire someday.
It also helps when the lodging is family-owned, quaint, and comfortable. If you don’t have that convenience, I have stayed at both the Apache Village Cabins, located on Meechum, and White Mountain Cabins on Main Road. Apache Village was quaint and cozy, great for a romantic getaway with a rustic feel, while White Mountain Cabins proved to be more spacious and offered nice modern amenities like a jacuzzi tub, larger living area, nice swivel TV, and a gorgeous modern fireplace.
I’m writing this post from The Dreamcatcher, a small sandwich shop that serves coffee, regional beers, and conveniently has a nice little handrolled cigar shop attached. I’m sitting outside puffing on a cigar from Connecticut, sipping cold beer from Northern California and Oregon, and my hands are getting really cold! I almost opted to head up the street to the only sushi bar for probably hundreds of miles, but felt I’d be doing myself a major disservice if I didn’t try a pulled pork “Famous Cubano” sandwich. I’m glad I stayed put, as the food here is a great match for its wonderful atmosphere.
I avoided most shops on this trip, as most of the wares you’ll find in Ruidoso are varieties of shotglasses, t-shirts, and hats stamped with Ruidoso and New Mexico slogans on them. However, the bookworm that I am never keeps me away from Books Etcetera (located on Sudderth in midtown) or the Atticus Books and Teahouse nearby on Meechum. Visiting Atticus and not ordering some tea would be downright foolish–you’ve been warned. They have a huge variety that offers something for everyone.
Instead of heading home the most direct and shortest route, I decided to venture out to Carrizozo and Lincoln, two towns I have been meaning to visit for some time now. Carrizozo is a small town about 30 minutes northwest of Ruidoso. I’d driven through here before about a year ago, but did not get the chance to stop. Carrizozo’s latest claim to fame is being the location of the new movie “The Book of Eli,” a post-apocalyptic tale of one man’s quest to save humanity, starring Denzel Washington. You can read more about “The Book of Eli” on IMDB, or check out the trailer here. While small and quiet, Carrizozo proved to be cultured and colorful. On Sunday afternoon I had just missed an art show in a local gallery by only and hour or so.
The historic Lincoln, NM Courthouse that once jailed Billy the Kid
A short 30-40 minute drive east will take you to Lincoln, famous of course for being the hometown of Billy The Kid, where he was later jailed and escaped, resulting in a gun fight in the streets. I arrived in Lincoln quickly, and I was eager to get out of the car to walk the historic main road where many bullets had been fired. The town features a historic courthouse, a saloon once owned by New Mexico governor George Curry, plus modest dining at the Wortley Hotel Dining Room. An ideal time to visit Lincoln would be in August, when the town performs an annual reenactment of the escape of Billy the Kid.
In short, Ruidoso and the surrounding area is the perfect retreat for people who enjoy New Mexico history, even though I just briefly scratched the surface of one period of time on this jaunt. It offers great dining, fun shops, not to mention Ski Apache on Sierra Blanca in the winter months. Be sure to check out Ruidoso, the Hondo Valley, and The Lincoln National Forest if life in Clovis is feeling a bit too flat and open for you.
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The Clovis Escape Plan is a resource for residents of Clovis, NM looking for that extra something that is missing from our community. Looking for a different dining experience, some good shops to visit, or something in the great outdoors? The Clovis Escape Plan will feature day trips and overnights within our community’s grasp.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice post Scott.
This is a great post! I love going down to Ruidoso and taking some quiet refuge in Alto. I agree that the shops can be overtly touristy but Ruidoso also has quite a bit of unique charm and it’s many unique products are lovely.
I’ve driven by Atticus on the way to Alto. It looks very interesting, I’ll have to stop by and enjoy their tea the next time I am in town!