The “Quarter Horse Racing Capital of the United States,” Ruidoso also offers a Museum of the Horse.

Its high-mountain site in the Lincoln National Forest gives Ruidoso cool summers & beautiful scenery.

Here, too, is the Wild West of “Billy the Kid” --- Stagecoach rides, western shows & such.

The Mescalero Apache tribe’s magnificent new casino complex has a resort hotel & PGA golf course.

An enjoyable daytrip: The White Sands Balloon Invitational, mid-September in Alamogordo.