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Southeast Attractions and Travel Guide
All regions of New Mexico claim that Billy the Kid, arguably New Mexico's most famous outlaw, spent time in their neck of the woods for some reason or the other. Some have proof, some do not.
But there's no doubt that the Southeast region can claim Billy because
this is where The Kid gained the lion's share of his notoriety. 
The famous
Lincoln County War, a classic battle among rivalrous cattle barons, merchants
and cowboys, gave Billy the chance to strut his stuff. Boy did he ever,
especially during that daring escape from the Lincoln County jail where
he killed two deputies.
Other famous legends sprung from the Southeast region as well, including Smokey Bear, who cheated death one day during a devastating fire in Lincoln National Forest and became America's legendary icon for fire prevention.
And then there's the alleged flying saucer that crashed in 1947 and caused a continuing saga known as the Roswell Incident, a UFO story that most definitely is out of this world. Whether the incident is true or not, the enthusiastic people of Roswell choose to defy logic and pay tribute to alien beings during an annual UFO festival.
Another wondrous place that seems not of this planet is Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where the damp 870-foot underground caves offered prime conditions 200 million years ago for the development of fascinating stalagmites and stalactites.
Down the road at White Sands National Monument is the 
world's largest
deposit of white gypsum sand dunes, with a legend or two of its own. Nearby
in Alamogordo is the New Mexico Museum of Space History, where a concise
account of man's fascination with the heavens is at your disposal along
with a whole gamut of fascinating scientific gadgets and visuals.
The sky also is the focus of the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak near Cloudcroft, where scientists are accumulating valuable data about the sun. The thermal air currents in the sky above Hobbs make this small oil and gas community a mecca for soaring and gliding enthusiasts.
Don't forget about nearby Ruidoso, where casinos at the Inn of the Mountain Gods and Ruidoso Downs, home of the world's richest quarter-horse race, offer Las Vegas-style excitement. The legendary West and the horse are also extensively celebrated at the nearby Hubbard Museum of the American West, containing more than 10,000 items.
For more information on traveling in this area of the state, visit the regional tourism authority, South Eastern New Mexico, at www.newmexicosouth.com/.
Southeastern Cities: Alamogordo, Alto, Artesia, Bellview, Bent, Broadview, Cannon AFB, Capitan, Caprock, Carlsbad, Carrizozo, Causey, Cedarvale, Cloudcroft, Clovis, Corona, Crossroads, Dexter, Dora, Duran, Elida, Encino, Eunice, Floyd, Flying H, Fort Stanton, Fort Sumner, Glencoe, Grady, Hagerman, High Rolls Mountain Park, Hobbs, Holloman Air Force Base, Hondo, Hope, House, Jal, Kenna, La Luz, Lake Arthur, Lakewood, Lincoln, Lingo, Loco Hills, Loving, Lovington, Malaga, Maljamar, Mayhill, McDonald, Melrose, Mescalero, Milnesand, Monument, Nogal, Oil Center, Orogrande, Pep, Picacho, Pinon, Portales, Rogers, Roswell, Ruidoso, Sacramento, Saint Vrain, San Patricio, Sunspot, Taiban, Tatum, Texico, Timberon, Tinnie, Tularosa, Vaughn, Weed, Whites City, Yeso