++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #61
June 8, 2001
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Subscriber:

The thunder is rolling through the valleys and over the hills 
of the Sacramentos this afternoon. A little rain is falling.
Perhaps it is the opening of the rainy season. If it is, it's 
a little early.

Phoenix would just as soon the sun come back out. Phoenix is a
three-year-old chocolate colored Lab-Pit Bull mix. Sounds like
a rough and tumble, take no prisoners kind of dog, doesn't it?
Fact is, Phoenix is a whimp. Thunder makes her nervous. She's
sitting under the desk at my feet right now. She wants me to
believe she's just resting, but I know the thunder scares her.
She knows I know. So why all the pretension?

It's a give and take, I guess. For her sake I pretend she's a
fierce protector of home and family, and for my sake she 
pretends I'm the greatest human that ever walked upright.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

----------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
----------------------------------------------------------------
1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE NEWS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- ANTIQUE MERCHANTILE
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- THE ATOMIC MUSEUM
5. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
6. COMING EVENTS
7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8. CONTACT INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------------------------
LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
----------------------------------------------------------------
Summertime is in full play in the Southern Rockies. Temperatures
of around the low-80s are commonplace. That is about as warm as
it gets at this altitude. Lows are in the small to mid-40s.

Today's shower is the first in several days. Not enough to
completely alleviate the dry conditions, but enough to keep the
dust levels down. If we could only bottle and sell the smells
after a summer rain in the Sacramentos. There is nothing like
it.
----------------------------------------------------------------
VILLAGE NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Census 2000 reports there are 749 full-time residents of the
village of Cloudcroft. Almost an equal number of males to
females.

The median age in the village is 42.9 compared to the median 
age in the United States of 35.3.

The census reports over two thirds of the housing in the village
is occupied only part time.

-o-

Water restrictions have been imposed on the Village of
Cloudcroft. Outside watering has been limited to one day per
week. Call the village office for details.
----------------------------------------------------------------
INSIDE THE SHOP -- ANTIQUE MERCHANTILE
----------------------------------------------------------------
In scenic Cloudcroft, walk to the end of Burro Street and you
will find the Antique Mercantile. Enter and discover a cozy and
warm ambiance in this store filled with an eclectic mix of
treasures of years gone by. We have antiques and collectibles,
including linens, furniture, costume jewelry, glass, porcelain,
baseball cards and comic books. 

Looking for something special? Our friendly staff will be happy
to help you. Call us at 1-505-682-2583 or email us at 

ssaiers@pvtnetworks.net

For more information, see their website link under shopping on 
Cloudcroft.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------
CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- NATIONAL ATOMIC MUSEUM
----------------------------------------------------------------
The National Atomic Museum is located on Kirtland Air Force 
Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, approximately 6 miles from the
airport.

To get to the museum, drive to the Gibson or Wyoming gate of
Kirtland Air Force Base. Park at the gate and present the guard
there with your license, registration, and proof of insurance.
You will receive a car pass and then you can drive directly to
the museum, which is located on Wyoming Blvd., approximately 
1 mile south of Gibson.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
----------------------------------------------------------------
Q - Will the Cloudcroft Ski Area be open this coming winter?

A - The past 3 winter seasons have not been good ones for Ski
Cloudcroft. A lack of natural base has shortened their seasons
considerably. Ski Cloudcroft is the southern most ski area in
the United States and is therefore not always gifted with ample
snow.

Now there is some question about the lease The Great American
Ski Company (operators of Ski Cloudcroft) has with the Village
of Cloudcroft (who actually owns the ski area property).

It is too early to tell how all this will affect next ski 
season.
----------------------------------------------------------------
COMING EVENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------
June 8, 9, 10 -- Western Roundup.

June 8, 9 -- Melodrama. Open Air Pavilion

June 8 -- Brisket and Beans. Zenith Park. 5pm.

June 9 -- Western Roundup Parade. 10am. Burro Avenue

June 9 -- Street Dance on Burro. 7-11pm.

June 9 -- Railroad Days train display. Cloudcroft Middle School.

June 14 -- Flag Day ceremony and parade. Burro Avenue.

June 16-17 -- High Rolls Cherry Festival. High Rolls.
For information call (505) 682-1151.

June 16 -- High Rolls Cherry Festival Fiddling Contest, 9am. 
Cowboy Poet, Jared Nessett, 2pm.

June 17 -- High Rolls Cherry Festival stage entertainment,
10am.

June 23-24 -- Blue Grass Festival. Camp Chimney Springs

June 30 -- Fiddling Contest -- Open Air Pavilion

June 30 -- Fourth of July Parade and Craft Fair, Timberon.
10:30am. For information call (505) 987-2258.

July 7 -- Lumberjack Contest

July 14-15 -- July Jamboree

Cloudcroft Art Society meets the second Thursday of each month
in the Old Red Brick School House. Call (505) 682-2494 for 
more information.

Senior Van from Timberon to Alamogordo leaves the Timberon
Lodge promptly at 8:30 every Tuesday morning.

If you have news of public events in the Cloudcroft area, email
us.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
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

-----------------------------------------------------------------
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

Thanks for keeping us posted. The Inn is a beautiful place and 
Ruidoso holds a special place in my heart as a horse lover. Our
prayers are with the Fire Fighters and all who live in that 
paradise.

G. Davey,
Winter Springs, Florida

[The Trap and Skeet Fire started June 2 on the Mescalero 
Reservation, 3 miles south of Ruidoso, due to human cause. The 
fire burned 463 acres, but is now 100% contained. Our daily 
coverage of the fire is posted here:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/trap.htm

We will provide daily coverage of any fires that threaten the
Cloudcroft area.]

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

I hope you are saving all these wonderful articles you write. 
You could compile them and put out a book called something like
"Life in the Clouds".

As for the Emerson, I've got you beat on time. We bought our 
Curtis Mathis right after we married. That's nearly 30 years 
ago and it's been the course, our one and only main set, then 
in the master bedroom (when we finally got one) and now is in 
the guest room.

Love this newsletter!

Carolynne Priore
Lake Kiowa, TX

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

I enjoyed your Emerson Tale. You have such talent. You made it 
come alive.

Next time keep us in suspense, not knowing who your old friend
it was that died! Then, in reality, it was the old lady or the
old TV that you were so attached to.

Thanks, have a nice day.

Pauline (Pat) Lucas 
El Paso, Texas

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

The latest issue arrived just in time. We had to replace our old
TV last year. We made a great mistake when we bought one of the 
"Smart TV's." Our old one had this little door where you could 
manually adjust the color, horizontal, etc. We now have to use
2 remotes to make this "smart" one work. It has smart picture 
for color, contrast and sound. When we select any of the above,
nothing seems to happen.

A couple of months ago I was admiring the new washing machines. 
All those knobs, lights, auto this, auto that. The salesman 
came over for the usual pitch. I said I thought the machine was
smarter than me. He said, "Yes madame, it is." I dread the day 
my current one dies.

I bought several items at the grocery store today that had 
"safety features." I had to get out a kitchen knife to open 
them. How safe is that? To end with a happy thought: we have a
three-month-old puppy that came with all the old features.

Rita Lofton
Cloudcroft

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

I can sympathize with you on your feelings about your Emerson 
TV. I had one years ago. My parents gave it to me before I left
home for the first time and it was the first TV set I ever 
owned.

Times weren't like now where every kid in the family has his 
own color, remote-controlled TV. It was a wonderful set but 
died years ago and had to be replaced with a "new improved" 
set. 

Now I feel the same about my husband's work car, which I had 
named "Ol' Red". It's a 1980 Datsun 200 SX. Interior is dried 
out from the sun; paint job is faded. But he ran like a top. 

My husband could even work on it himself if he decided to and 
not have to pay through the nose for some specially-trained 
technician to do it. 

About a month ago someone failed to stop behind 5 cars that 
were stopped at a red light and "totaled" ol' Red. Well, in the
insurance companies' eyes, he's totaled because the frame is
badly bent and would cost more to repair than they say he's 
worth.

It was so reliable for all those years. I wonder if we will
ever be able to replace it with an auto that's made as well as
he was. In fact, we replaced our Lincoln before we would think
of replacing ol' Red, although the Lincoln was a much newer 
automobile. It wasn't nearly as dependable and had certainly 
cost more to purchase.

To us ol' Red is worth the cost of a new car. To the insurance
company he's worth only a few hundred dollars. I don't want to
gouge the insurance company I just feel that we should be able
to receive a replacement without having to go into debt since
it wasn't our fault that some idiot failed to stop and rammed
into a line of stopped automobiles! 

We hadn't intended to get rid of him until he just wouldn't go
and could not be repaired. It's just not fair! 

Thanks for allowing me to vent on this. It's a very sensitive 
issue to me since ol' red has been in our family ever since my
husband and I were married. To others he's just an old faded 
heap of metal. 

Luci Kumpunen

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Newsletter:

I wish I could say I lived in Cloudcroft but unlike my three 
brothers I don't. I've lived there several times over the years,
but always had to move in order to make a living for my family. 
I'm now living in Waco, Tx working for the Department of Defense.

You may know my brothers, or not, Mike Mills, Richard Mills and 
Bob Mills. I really envy them, and wish I were living back in 
Cloudcroft. Not to worry, on one of my visits to Cloudcroft, I 
hope to find the perfect home for my family and I to retire to.

I see in the latest issue of the Cloudcroft Newsletter #60, that
Carole Arnold-Gresham from Axtell, Tx. has sent her children 
off to manage the "Alta Vista Chalet Motel" in Cloudcroft. 
Never fear, the good folks of Cloudcroft will welcome them with
open arms. I have some of my best memories from the times I've
lived and visited Cloudcroft and I look forward to storing up 
many more in the future.

I really enjoy the Newsletter and look forward to reading it. 
As I read each issue, I feel as though I'm there, walking the 
streets and visiting the different shops in town. I look forward
to my next visit in July.

John A Mills
Waco, Tx.

================================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
================================================================
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe, email: unsubscribe@cloudcroft.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
TO SUBSCRIBE
To subscribe, go to
http://www.cloudcroft.com/subscribe.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------
BOUNCED EMAILS
If email to an address bounces (returns to us), that email
address is automatically deleted from our mailing list. If you
cease getting this newsletter suddenly, probably your provider
bounced your newsletter. This can happen when a provider is too
busy or is shutdown for some reason. If this happens to you, 
just revisit our site and re-add your email address to our list.
----------------------------------------------------------------
SUGGESTIONS
If you have comments or suggestions for this newsletter, please 
direct them to: newsletter@cloudcroft.com
================================================================
Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to your friends.
However, we ask that you keep it intact and forward it in
its entirety.