Cloudcroft, NM

Yesterday Tim, Jenny, Nathan and I went to Cloudcroft, NM. It is a town in the mountains 16 miles north of Alamogordo. Cloudcroft (a pasture for the clouds) was founded back in the 1890's when the El Paso and Northwestern Railroad built a railroad up the mountain to get timber down the mountain faster for all the building that was going on. The train built was a engineering marvel because it could climb 9000 ft within a few miles. It was called "Cloud Climbing Railroad". The railroad also brought tourism to Cloudcroft which was and still is the main economy. As cars became more popular the railroad was used less and less for tourism it was shut down by 1938 for passengers and 1945 for timber. Cloudcroft sits at 8600 ft about sea level. Its population is 749 with a median income of $40,800 and a median age of 43.
The town is small but the views are spectacular. The shops are primarily gift shops, antiques stores and hiking/biking stores. There are only a few restaurants in town but they all serve good food and the atmosphere picks up the local charm of the area. We ate at the Front Porch Grill which is a pizza and sandwich shop. It was good! We sat outside to enjoy the sunny and 65 degree weather. Going from 90 degrees to 65 degrees felt so good and being surrounded by tall pine trees and everything being green was a nice change from the dusty, brown desert. Jenny came to Cloudcroft last November to finally see her first snow. In the winter there are plenty of tubing and sledding hills along with an ice skating rink and a snow ski lodge. It is just a great place to visit any time of year!
On the way up to Cloudcroft we stopped at the Old Apple Barn. It is a unique general store with some great merchandise, fresh made apple cider and a huge assortment of home made fudge. All surrounded by Apple and Cherry Orchards. We enjoyed a sample of apple cider and fudge. Both were delicious and worth the stop alone. The Apple Barn is only open during the Apple and Cherry seasons from May 28th through Jan. 1st. You feel very welcome and at home at the Old Apple Barn.
On the drive back down to Alamogordo we stopped on the side of the road to do a short hike down one of the several hundred trails in the area. I got some great scenery pictures and watched several rock climbers scaling the flat surface of some cliffs and then repelling back down. Next time, we will all wear better shoes for hiking.
It felt good to be up in the mountains, enjoying the cool weather and spending time with Tim, Jenny and Nathan shopping and sharing the beautiful views. What a great day!