Soggy Moose Travels : SMOKEY THE BEAR, LAVA, and CHUCKWAGONS

Day 3 10/4

SMOKEY THE BEAR, SMOKEY THE BEAR……

We started the morning with pumpkin pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We packed a lunch and headed out to some of this Land of Enchantment. First stop was a recon of where we are going to tonight for dinner and the Chuckwagon Jamboree. The Flying J Chuckwagon here in Alto, NM, is located nice and close to our great campground. As we left the Flying J, we noted there was maybe a route more favorable to towing a trailer, so we decided to check it out.

This route took us through the town of Capitan, NM, home of the Smokey Bear Historical Park. This was a must visit for me on this trip because as a child of maybe 8-10 years of age I used to write Smokey The Bear letters. He would send me his story and a Junior Ranger Card he had signed. I remember making trips to the Nation Zoo in Washington DC to visit Smokey. So one can see how special this visit was for me.

Smokey was actually created in 1944 as part of the WWII effort to protect the natural resources of our forests. Then on May 4, 1950, there had been a devastating forest fire, burning 17,000 acres, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, where a badly burned black bear cub was found clinging to a burnt pine tree. The cub was taken to a fire camp and given the name “Hotfoot” and his burns were treated. The next day he was flown by a Game Warden Ray Bell to a vet hospital in Santa Fe where he was further treated. When he was released from the vet hospital, he went to live with Warden Bell and his family till he was fully recovered. Smokey was then flown to his permanent home at the National Zoo in Washington DC.

Smokey was given a mate named Goldie, but they never had any cubs.

Smokey died in November of 1976, his body was returned home to the majestic Capitan Mountains, where he was buried in a small park in the city of Capitan. I remember well hearing his death and wore a black armband in his remembrance. I believe a lot of my love for the outdoors and wild placed can be attributed to Smokey and the letter and responses I received as a child. Yes, as I stood by Smokey’s grave I wept.

Smokey’s Grave

Today one can visit the original log cabin that housed the first Smokey Museum. The cabin was built with trees from the fire from which Smokey was rescued. It contains some memorabilia and sells Smokey branded merchandise. Next to it is the Smokey Bear Historical Park. Here one finds a great interpretive center telling Smokey’s story, Wildfire information, the various ecosystems of the New Mexico forests, and Smokey’s grave. This is very well done and easily worth the $2.00 admission fee.

This is Smokey I remembered visiting

Next we drove to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. Here about 1500 to 2000 years ago there was a great lava flow. This area covers about 125 square miles. Here the lava is smooth or rope Pahoehoe lava, with some occasional bits of block lava (a’a - a Hawaiian name). There is a visitors center and a nice one mile nature trail with lots of interpretive signs available to explain the lava, flora and fauna of the area.

We did see a young whip snake, a sapsucker yet to be identified, whip tail lizards, and a collared lizard. Again this was a nice place to visit and get ones Passport to National Parks stamped.

Pretty sure a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker

This evening we headed, or should I sauntered on over to the Flying J Chuckwagon for the Chuckwagons of the West Jamboree. Chuckwagons of the West began 50 years ago when the Flying W in Colorado Springs started inviting tourists to their evening cattle roundups and serving food. The six members of the association provide quality and value in family entertainment,” said Circle B’s Michael Horn. Other members include Bar-J, Jackson, Wy.; Bar-D, Durango, Co.; Circle B, Rapid City, S.D., and Flying J, Ruidoso, N.M.

After a meal consisted of Tender Brisket, BBQ Chicken, Cowboy Beans, Baked Potato, Chunky Apple Sauce, Biscuit, Spiced Cake, Coffee, Tea and Lemonade.

After dinner there was a 3 hour show featuring some of the chuckwagon wranglers from various chuckwagons. The music was western and the humor was lowbrow (yet entertaining). The musicians were very talented with many awards to their credit.

For future reference, the Chuckwagon Jamboree will be at the Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson, WY next year. We learned on this trip the shows are different each night so one should plan on attending both nights.