Adventure Wednesday #3..."It's Smokey!"

I'd classify this as a "Little Adventure". I drove up through Ruidoso to Capitan, NM to the Smokey the Bear Memorial Park.  Capitan sits on US 380, where NM state Highway 48 intersects. I had a nice lunch at Renee's Cafe' (remember to bring CASH, no debit, credit cards, and no out of town checks...but the best egg salad sandwich that I've had in a long time!!

After lunch, I drove a couple of blocks up the road to the park. This is a small park, only a couple of acres. There is a nice little museum dedicated to Smokey the Bear, both the iconic cartoon forest fire prevention bear, and the live version who resided at the National Zoo for years.

I wasn't prepared for how this little memorial would affect me emotionally...Smokey was a part of my childhood, up until I was college age. Seeing his grave site was a bit of finality that impacted me more deeply than I had anticipated. The park also has a $2.00 admission charge, and they don't take cards or checks, either...

Museum Entrance

Exhibits of different new Mexico plant life in the park

Smokey's grave...still chokes me up.