Hey hey USA - 19th October - late afternoon in Cloudcroft



The Sacramento Mountains rise above Alamogordo, the eastern side of the Tularosa Basin and the White Sands. There was not much time left in the day and we wondered if we might find somewhere to eat in the small town of Cloudcroft.

We stopped on the way, beckoned by a sign on the road asking us to look down onto a gorge with limestone hills climbing on either side. In the rocks were supposed to be caves that had been occupied by ancient people living around 500 - 600BC.





We carried on climbing towards Cloudcroft and when we were nearly there, passed the remains of a trestle bridge which had once carried a railroad right up to the top of the mountains. It had originally been constructed to bring logs down the slopes but then was used mainly by tourists, who were thrilled by the ride and able to stay in luxury accommodation in a lodge at the top, managed by Hilton. As Cloudcroft is at 2,644m the air would have been cooler in the height of summer and an excellent place to stay. The extension of the road brought an end to the train ride, the last train running in 1947.


Cloudcroft itself was tiny, and being out of season most of the eateries were shut. There was one place open next to the bar but it did not look very inviting. So we had a quick drive through the mountains, which were sensational in the dying light, and headed for home.










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