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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #26
September 22, 2000
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Dear Subscriber:

Besides owning and operating Cloudcroft.com (the parent of the
Cloudcroft Online Newsletter) Peggy and I also are in the
vacation property management business. Many times it is a long
procession of fixing leaky faucets, cutting fire wood and
cleaning out barbecue pits, but this past weekend was a little
different.

Chad and Fritzy are from Houston. They have both been in love
with the Cloudcroft area for years. So much so that they chose
these mountains as the back-drop for their marriage vows.

They stayed in "Daisy's Lodge" (our vacation property) along
with his 10-year-old and her 6-year-old daughters. They were
married on Saturday morning in a wooded area behind the Chamber
of Commerce building. The Cloudcroft fall weather was perfect.
They honored Peg and me by asking that we be legal witnesses to
their marriage. We were also the official still and video
photographers for the event. Judge Todd officiated.

At 5:30 that afternoon we sojourned to Bluff Springs for their
Blessing of the Church. Peg and I had known these people for
less than 24 hours but we were both moved by their obvious love
for each other and their mutual love for their little girls.

There was a family here during the summer that was treated to an
extra special surprise at Daisy's. Their ten year old girl was
in the back yard one morning when a full-grown Brown bear walked
through the yard. She ran screaming into the house and her
parents (along with several other residents close by) confirmed
the sighting. No one was hurt. There hasn't been a report of
a bear assault on humans in these parts in decades. But there
is one little girl that will be telling her grandchildren the
story of the bear she saw in Cloudcroft back in the year 2000.

There is more than one kind of wealth. We don't have much of a
bank account but people like Chad and Fritzy and the numerous
other visitors to Daisy's Lodge have made us wealthy in the
sharing of their experiences in the Sacramento Mountains.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE POLITICS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- SCENIC CANYON RV PARK
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- OTERO COUNTY
5. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
6. COMING EVENTS
7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8. CONTACT INFORMATION
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LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
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The secret is in the breeze. While temperatures in the
Cloudcroft area are still topping out in the mid-70s, the cool
fall breeze is what makes this time of year extra special.

Overnight lows are holding around the mid-40s.

The foliage is changing with deeper and more pronounced colors
with each day.
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VILLAGE POLITICS
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A school bond election Cloudcroft Online Newsletter Q and A
update: Superintendent of Cloudcroft Schools Glenna Goodwin has
agreed to field questions for the benefit of our readers
representing the proponents of the issue. We have yet to line
up a person to answer questions for us representing those who
oppose the bond issue but we should have that slot filled soon.

In five separate issues of the newsletter there will be a
question submitted by the proponents and a question submitted by
the opponents of the issue. Both sides will be asked to answer
both questions. The first Q and A is scheduled for the November
third issue.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- SCENIC CANYON RV PARK
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While many outdoor recreation areas are beginning to close for
the season, Scenic Canyon RV park remains open, with 40 foot
drive-through sites, cable, phone hook ups (with the availability
of Internet service), water, sewer and 30-watt utility hook-up.

Scenic Canyon is near many mountain recreational areas. Call
(505)-687-2306 for information or reservations. See their web
site on Cloudcroft.com.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- OTERO COUNTY
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The Otero County seat is in Alamogordo and is one of the state's
largest counties in square miles. The county is named after
former territorial governor Miguel Antonio Otero II. The
county was the historical scene of Indian wars and territorial
conflicts and is now the home of The Stealth fighter at Holloman
Air Force Base, the White Sands, NASA's alternative landing site
for the shuttle, a leader in astrophysical research at the
Sunspot and Apache Point Observatories, and, of course, the
vistas of the Sacramento Mountains and the charm of Cloudcroft,
New Mexico.
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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Are property values going up or down in the Cloudcroft
area?

A - The general trend is that property values are going up but
careful shoppers can still find occasional bargains. It is a
national trend, I am told... especially in resort areas. The
"Baby Boomer" generation is getting older and generally more
affluent and are in the market for vacation and retirement
properties. This dynamic is helping to inch resort property
prices up.
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COMING EVENTS
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September 22-23 -- Star Party II. Call 1-505-437-2840 for more
information.

September 29, 30 and October 1 -- Chubby Tire Rendezvous Bike
Rally.

September 30 -- Cloudcroft Garden Club Style Show. Middle
School.

October 1 -- Dark Sky Conference of New Mexico. New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro.

October 6-7 -- CLOC Melodrama. 7:30 p.m. in the Open Air
Pavilion.

October 7-8 -- Oktoberfest. Zenith Park activities. Sales
and special events in downtown Cloudcroft.

October 28 -- Harvestfest.

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For an online calendar of area events, click the Events Calendar
link in the left column of our home page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/index.html

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Dear Newsletter:

I, too, thoroughly enjoy all the effort you put into this site!
My husband and I are currently building in the area -- albeit
long distance as we live in Kansas -- and cannot wait to join
all of you as full-time residents! It probably will not be for
another 5 years.

We located your lovely mountain community on a map, studied it
over the Internet, came to town for the first time on a Monday
a few years ago, and bought land by Wednesday! With none of our
family and friends around, we still knew we had to settle in
the Cloudcroft area and have enjoyed making all the new friends
we've met so far!

I love all your newsy info -- keep up the good work!!!

Jo Ann Hauser

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Dear Newsletter:

This is long over due, but thank you for running the story of my
family; The Pitman's & Edmiston's. I miss life in Cloudcroft
very much, the clean air, smell of the trees. The sounds of the
birds and especially the humming birds. My grandma had about 5
or 6 feeders on her back porch that would have to be filled 2
to 4 times a day it seemed. I miss horseback riding around own.

Life is so far different there from life here in the city. Each
time I visit my grandma in Alamogordo, I look forward to
spending a day in Cloudcroft walking through the shops and
having a picnic lunch out at one of the campsites. My grandma
is getting ready to move out here to California to be closer to
her family. I don't know when I'll be back to Cloudcroft again, 
or Margo's in Alamogordo for her special sour cream enchiladas.

With no more family in Almo. or on the hill, kinda makes it an
expensive drive for dinner and a picnic. But sometime I'll make
it out there again. There's been a lot of progress in Cloudcroft
over the last 20 years, but the charm hasn't changed a bit.

Steve Fiddler
Moreno Valley, CA

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Dear Newsletter:

I have been coming up to Cloudcroft all my life. It is like a
second home to me. And over the years I have got to know a lot of
the people. Like all the people at First Baptist church, Virginia
McCann, Dave at Tall Timbers and especially Bob and Sue Cook.
Recently I ran into Sue on Labor Day and it was like visiting
with an old friend. (Couldn't get over all the people in town 
that weekend by the way!) 

Someday I hope to retire there and even get involved in all the
town politics, because everyone that knows me, knows I have the
mouth for it! All of you people in Cloudcroft are like from my
hometown. I love reading about you and can't wait to see you
again soon.

Della Eckles
Lubbock, Texas

PS. Thanks for the newsletters, I love them!

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Dear Newsletter:

For Pete's Sake. Tell the EPA to go suck a lemon and get on
with salvaging the timber that was burned before the beetles
destroy it, or it rots. I can't believe those people. 

Reginald W. Duncan 

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Dear Newsletter:

I am also from South Padre Island, TX. My husband and I were
planning to retire in Cloudcroft, but he was taken from me last
year suddenly. Now I am still thinking very seriously of doing
this on my own. Hopefully I'll be able to check out some real
estate up there this year. I love the mountains, being actually
a Wyomingite at heart, not a Texan. Wyoming is a little far 
from all my kids. We spent 2 wonderful vacations in Cloudcroft
before my husband died, and loved it.

Pat Brattin
South Padre Island, Tx

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Dear Newsletter:

Thank you for the news from Cloudcroft.

The first time I remember visiting Cloudcroft was in the '50's
when my grandparents (Loyd and Elizabeth Posey) lived there.
Since he drove the mail from Alamogordo through Cloudcroft to
Mayhill, they moved to Alamogordo in the early '60's so that he
wouldn't have to get up so early in the morning to be in Alamo
by 6:45 am. I still remember riding with him through the '50's,
'60's and '70's, from the 6 foot snow drifts behind the
Cloudcroft Post Office, and driving down Cox Canyon to Mayhill
and back through James Canyon to Cloudcroft.

My parents (R. L. and Patty Posey; he is a 1945 graduate of
Cloudcroft High!) now live in Mayhill on 170 of the prettiest
acres in the Universe.

If I am lucky enough, I will live there some day.

Mark Posey
San Antonio, Texas

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