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I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been a good German restaurant open in Alamo - or maybe there is and I haven't heard of it?
Also, have you tried the newer BBQ place on the west side of the relief road?
The lack of a German restaurant surprises me, too. I'm not fond of the German food I've had (Texas Hill Country), but it would be a nice and logical addition.
If you mean Sunset Run, yes. Expensive, overpriced for the size of the portions, and more bland, tasteless food.
I have gone on more than one visit to Tia Lupe's. My daughter loves the green chile cheeseburgers and says that they are the best she's ever had. Sorry that you visited on a bad day.
I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been a good German restaurant open in Alamo - or maybe there is and I haven't heard of it?
Also, have you tried the newer BBQ place on the west side of the relief road?
getting off topic just for a sec. i didnt even realize that there was a German school until the last day i was there. i thought that was really cool and i would try German food.
I'm surprised there isn't a German restaurant either or better yet, a variety of restaurants. There seems to be mostly a bunch of greasy spoon diners.
I like Alamogordo because it's surrounded by the mountains but finding a good restaurant is not an easy thing to do unless you enjoy the greasy and gooey stuff.
James57, we also just traveled most of that route for the same reasons. I must agree with your disappointment in Alamogordo. It is our hope to eventually locate an area for winter months and/or retirement. Alamo was on our short list. Yes it has many motel/hotels and restaurants to accommodate tourist. And the awesome White Sands, museums and even the little zoo, for the tourist. We were surprised at the many local businesses that were out of business or closed early...like 4 p.m. We saw several "points of interest" pieces of literature touting "Old Town" on New York Ave. Really? Went there to look around. Businesses gone, closed, neglected, nothing. And it was mid afternoon. That could be such a wonderful business area if promoted to bring in business tenants. We are business people where we live (have an antique store) and will open a business when we relocate. Buying a storefront building in a deserted area for $260.000 is NOT good business sense. We just went across the blvd. to Hastings, bought a coffee, sat on the patio discussing our preferred choice of Tularosa. Now there is a place with character.
As for Alamogordo, it has so much potential for great things. With tourism, the air base and all the marvelous scenery and history, the town fathers are letting it slip away. And that's sad.
...the town fathers are letting it slip away. And that's sad.
I TOTALLY disagree. Alamogordo has had a LOT of new commercial building in the past several years. The fact that some older commercial sites closed down is nothing more than a manifestation of "change" that is occurring. Alamogordo has never been and likely never will be a tourist haven. Its main economy is driven by government installations in the area - both military and science related.
Many thanks to all of you with such thoughtful replies. Lots of disagreement. I must admit to being very aprehensive when I pushed the send buttom on my original post. However, to my surprise, I did receive a few unexpected rep pts. Who would have thunk it?
I have spent some time thinking about my experience, and will admit to some regrets. The biggest one is in not giving Capitan a better look. I drove north from Ruidoso and was picturing the drive during the winter months. Seemed to me like lots of areas where any ice/snow would make it a tricky proposition.
Once i got within shouting distance of Capitan a valley opened before me. However, seems I didn't get a good look at the small town itself. I drove 48 until it hit rt 380 and turned right toward Roswell. Guess that means I missed the actual downtown area?? ALso was I on the wrong side of town? Perhaps if I had driven in from Carrizozo, my impression would have been different. In retrospect, I probably should have stopped at the Smokey Bear Motel which was my original intent and spent a day looking at the area more closely.
The problem was that I would need to drive at least once a week into Ruidoso for supplies. For me a trip to Alamogordo would not be necessary. Thus, my biggest concern was that drive for supplies in the winter months. Of course , I come from the Midwest where that drive would be impossible quite a bit of the time.
I do admit to faulty thinking at times. My judgement has led me astray in the past, so perhaps I should give Capitan another look? It still makes the most sense for me as the logical choice if I were to settle in that general area.
Again, I want to apologize to any I may have offended. That was not my intent. What you got was a personal travel log similar to a diary. Perhaps it was best left unposted?
Jim
ps Is there some other way to get from Ruidoso to Capitan that is a less mountainous drive?
I drove 48 until it hit rt 380 and turned right toward Roswell. Guess that means I missed the actual downtown area?? ALso was I on the wrong side of town?
You missed seeing about as much as you saw by turning east. US-380 west of the intersection with NM-48 has restaurants, service station, shops and the Smokey Bear museum and park but nothing resembling "downtown." It's just a small town with the usual highway frontage businesses on 380. You can utilize Google Street View to travel up and down the road through town if you're really interested in seeing more.
US-380 (and other paved roads in the county) is well maintained in winter and has only a couple of shaded hillsides where the driving requires caution after the sun has melted off any snow or ice on most of the pavement. Snowplows plow and salt those shaded areas first after every snowfall event.
OTOH, Capitan has a good market and other retail outlets that make it unnecessary to travel to Ruidoso any time of the year unless you're dissatisfied for some reason with the selections there.
ps Is there some other way to get from Ruidoso to Capitan that is a less mountainous drive?
NO. Not without going MILES out of the way.
See my post preceding this one.
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