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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #50
March 9, 2001
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Dear Subscriber:

Spring Break 2001 is here. It signifies the end of that 
period beginning with the end of the holiday season when the 
vast majority of Americans stay close to home and pay extra 
attention to family matters, work and school. Spring break is 
the unofficial beginning of a new vacation season, albeit a 
halting beginning. There will be another lull in travel during 
April while students and parents put the cork in the bottle 
for another school year.

Then in May, the USA goes into vacation mode. For two or three
months, families bust their behinds trying to have all the fun
they dreamed of having all winter. Dads can be heard yelling 
over their shoulders and into the back seats of SUVs all over 
America, "You're gonna have fun on this vacation, whether you 
like it or not!"

Cloudcroft is getting ready. In the village this time of year 
it reminds one of a circus that has come to town and is 
feverishly setting up to welcome the patrons. Merchants are 
straightening up around their stores. They're ordering a 
stepped-up amount of merchandise in anticipation of more 
boardwalk traffic. Sounds of hammers, drills and saws mingle 
with the melodies of the birds and other wildlife as the locals
get ready for "the season".

If you haven't been here since last summer, you might be 
surprised at much of the face-lifting that has been going on.

Still the winter hangs on. A new storm is blowing in and 
blowing out again as I write (Wednesday). The weather has been
schizophrenic like that for the past couple of weeks. It
remains to be seen how much winter is left.

Most of the people that live around here are ready for a 
change. Short sleeves with the windows rolled down has added 
appeal with each passing winter day.

Most of our Spring Break visitors have snow on their wish list.
OK, we'll all THINK SNOW once more this year. Meanwhile, I
know exactly where I put my golf clubs last fall and I'll be
retrieving them at the first sign of spring blooms. I'm sorry.
To me The Lodge and Ponderosa Pines Golf Courses look better in
green than they do in white.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE NEWS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- ALTA VISTA CHALET MOTEL
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- CHARLES B. EDDY
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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It is a calico cat weather pattern of late in the Sacramentos.
One day is like spring, the next is like winter.

The past week has been fairly mild during the days, but the 
nights have been cold. Highs in the mid 50s. Lows in the lower
20s.

Between 4 and 5 inches of new snow fell Wed night (3/7/01),
adding to the accumulation already on the ground. Snow depth 
is significant for this late in the season.

Both snow play areas are open.
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VILLAGE NEWS
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The village of Cloudcroft is in search of an additional water
supply.

The wells currently serving the village are providing enough to
sustain current demands, but no more than that.

Livingston Associates of Alamogordo has been contracted to help
in the search for new well sites and test drilling is underway.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- ALTA VISTA CHALET MOTEL
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Located on the East end of Cloudcroft on highway 82, the Alta
Vista Chalet Motel is the first lodging in the village when 
coming in from Artesia, Hobbs, Carlsbad and points East.

Fireplaces, queen-size beds, rooms sleep from 1 to 8 persons.
Telephone and color cable TV.

See their web site listing on Cloudcroft.com for more details.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- CHARLES B. EDDY
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It was Charles Eddy's intention to open up the basin area near
the White Sands to new commerce in the late 1890s. It was to
that end that he established a railroad in the area and founded
Alamogordo.

It was inevitable that the majestic mountains near the new
settlement of Alamogordo would attract Eddy and his associates.
The Cloud Climbing train was built to the present site of
Cloudcroft at the turn of the century, opening up the resort
area to travelers from nearby El Paso and all over the South-
west.
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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Was there a real Smokey Bear?

A - Yes. Smokey was saved from a forest fire near Capitan
(about 45 miles from Cloudcroft) in 1950. While badly burned,
the bear survived and recovered.

It was about this time that the United States Forest Service 
was looking for a mascot for its new anti-forest fire campaign.
It seemed Smokey was the perfect choice. Smokey became the most
famous bear in the country. He lived out his life in the
National Zoo in Washington DC and after his death in 1976 he
was transported home to Capitan for burial with full honors.
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COMING EVENTS
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March 10 -- Cloudcroft Dance Theater/Epicurean Dinner and Ball.
Lodge Pavilion. Call (505) 687-3192 for more information.

March 24 -- Mayhill Family, Community and Education Club
Cultural Arts Show. Otero County Fairgrounds, Alamogordo.

April 12 -- Easter Festivities. Easter egg hunt in Zenith
Park at 10am. Easter Bonnet Contest and Parade on Burro Avenue.

April 16 -- Rattlesnake Show. Otero County Fairgrounds,
Alamogordo.

If you have news of a public event, email us.

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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:

We, too, would like to extend my deepest appreciation for your 
newsletter. We, like many others, also look forward to "You've 
Got Mail" and see it is from Cloudcroft.

My wife and I really enjoy Cloudcroft and are looking forward 
to bringing our new addition to our family, a new puppy, so she, 
too, can also enjoy our little part of Heaven. So, just a note 
to again say thanks and look forward to getting up there real 
soon.

Your friends in El Paso,
David and Deane Burks

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Hi Don:

Sorry to hear about the "minor emergency". I have a few tips 
for your bird friends about their feeders. These come from the 
Thursday edition of the El Paso Times.

1. Don't place birds feeders too close to windows. This will 
reduce the number of birds crashing into your windows. 

2. Disinfect feeders by scrubbing with a weak bleach solution. 
Be sure to let dry before refilling. 

3. Move the feeders around when the ground underneath gets too
dirty.

4. Offer a variety of seeds to attract the most and varied 
number of birds. 

There are many more tips, but I didn't want to give you too 
many at first.

Good luck.
Ray Fourzan

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Dear Newsletter:

Trinity Site is in Socorro county. It is just across the county 
line from Lincoln County, about 20 miles north of Otero county. 
If you flew, line of sight, from Trinity to its closest encounter
with Otero County, you would even cross a small bit of Sierra 
County.

Alamogordo has always been labeled "Home of Trinity Site".
I have not figured why. That might be an interesting 
investigation. It is actually a lot closer to Socorro.

I have a friend that saw the blast and heard the explosion. He 
was in a Santa Fe Railroad facility in Albuquerque. He thought 
a boiler blew up at the round house and finally put it together
several years later.

When traveling across US 380, you can see Trinity Site, if you 
know what your are looking for. It is almost due south of 
Bingham and about 20 miles from the highway, nestled in the 
shadows of the Sierra Oscura mountains. It is real close to 
Stallion Range Gate. If you take the tour and depart from 
Stallion Range, you will be on Federal lands for a much shorter
period of time. The tour is worth going to at least once in 
your lifetime.

If you take the Tularosa Gate or Little Missile Range Gate (if
they still offer LMR gate), you will travel through Mockingbird
Gap, mentioned often in the Richard Bradford western novels. I
think it was Bradford, could have been Zane Grey. 

John Gordon
Cloudcroft
WD5DHR

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Dear Newsletter:

HELP!!! I am trying to contact people from my class ('81) for a
possible reunion later this year. Would you please post this to 
the newsletter? (Thank you.)

If any of the readers know contact information for this group, I
would appreciate receiving it!

This is 20 years, folks! Let's try to get together!

Hoping to see you all,
Karen (Simon) Roberts

[Contact us for Ms Roberts' email address.]

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Dear Newsletter:

Hope all is well while your wife is away. My husband too is lost
when I go for a while. We will celebrate our 17th anniversary 
this March.

We have visited Cloudcroft and are presently keeping an eye out
for a nice deal to buy a place. It looks more like a couple of
years away, though. We have friends that used to live in Mayhill.
They moved up north of Alamagordo. Please excuse any misspelling
of names as I am getting use to them.

Just subscribed to the newsletter and enjoy it a lot. Cloudcroft
is such a nice place. Looking forward to visiting again soon.

Happiness in Huffman, TX
Shirley Bell

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