Capitan, NM

After our visit to Lincoln, NM,  the town where Billy the Kid became famous, we went through the small town of Cpaitan, NM.  It is a vlllage located about 10 miles west of Lincoln at the north end of the Lincoln county National Forest between the Capitan and Sacramento Mountain ranges.  It sits at 6530 ft above sea level on 3.2 square miles.  It was founded in the 1890s but did not become incorportated until 1941.  Its population is 1443 with a median income of $27,200 and a median age of 42. 
Capitan is famous for one particular animal and mascot of the  Forest Service.  In the spring of 1950 a badly burned black bear cub was rescued from a large fire at Capitan Gap in the Capitan Mountains.  First called Hotfoot Teddy he was later renamed Smokey and became the real life version of the U.S. Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear.  Smokey was later sent to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. where he lived for 26 years.  When he passed away on November 9, 1976 Smokey's remains were returned to Capitan and buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan. 
Our visit to Lincoln was fun and let's just say visiting Lincoln with Jenny and Nate we saw things we did not see on our first trip to Lincoln. I have had another issue with the internet and was unable to create a slideshow but it will be completed today so  check back tomorrow and see what we discovered in Lincoln.