New Mexico: Portales and Ruidoso Downs

As I write we're in Las Cruces, New Mexico. To get here we drove diagonally through southeastern New Mexico with stops in Portales and Ruidoso Downs.

We picked Portales because we think that's where our dog, Maddie, came from. Maybe Arlo, too, as he's also from a New Mexico shelter. So we thought we'd take a look.

Portales has about 12,000 people and is the home of Eastern New Mexico University.  And, it's the nation's largest producer of organic peanut butter. I had no idea. There are lots of dairy farms nearby plus I read there is a "dairy solids plant."  I thought maybe that was a fancy name for a manure handling process other than a tractor-pulled manure spreader.  But a company called Dairy Farmers of America produces milk, dried milk, whey, and liquid milk products like condensed milk and cream. The dogs like peanut butter and they like milk. But I'm guessing Salt Lake City is more to their liking than Portales.  

Ruidoso Downs and nearby Ruidoso are resort-like, with lots of hiking, a ski resort, big pine trees, shops and restaurants.  And, just like the name sounds, Ruidoso Downs has a horse racing track -- we read that the purse of their Labor Day race is a million more dollars than the Kentucky Derby. The area is also the home of the original Smokey the Bear -- an actual bear cub found in 1950 clinging to a charred tree. He was rescued, appropriately named, and lived for 26 years. Which is better than the average bear. 

Portales, New Mexico is the Roosevelt County seat.  The above building is the county courthouse. It's an art-deco-type structure with southwestern  accents and several military memorials on the grounds.  This building is in the center of a town square.  The statue is of a man named Washington Lindsey, who was the first mayor of Portales  and later became governor of the state. He was originally from Bev's home state of Ohio.

Our camping spot at the Circle B Campground in Ruidoso Downs.  So pretty.  Since it's off season, we almost had the place to ourselves.  Much better than the place we stayed in Portales -- if I included a photo of that place it might scare you.  But the Portales RV park did have horses nearby (a fellow camper had a sign on her RV stating that she is a "mounted shooting" champion) and another neighbor had a puppy.