Twitter road trips USA: Texas to New Mexico day four – as it happened

Since we crossed the border into New Mexico yesterday, the chants of "Green chile! Green chile! Green chile!" have been constant. After checking into our motel, actually consuming some of the famed pepper mixture was top of our list for Santa Fe. (The perfect choice for a day of record-breaking heat spent in hot springs, I say.) 

We considered heading to The Shed (highly recommended) but in the end I decided on the similarly popular Horseman's Haven Cafe, a hole in-the-wall Mexican diner next door to a gas station. The place is unassuming but since reviews on Yelp often include the phrase "face meltingly hot", it was the only choice. 

We ordered chile cheeseburgers ($6.25) and John had a 3D burrito ($8.95). Everything was smothered in green chile (except for mine, which came with red child on the side, because I am a baby).

I tried the green chile – a dull heat that was spicy enough for me. John and Sarah, though, decided to kick the heat up a notch by ordering the Level 2 green chile – which the waiter would only give to them in tiny amounts – and sweating/crying their way through it. 

After delicious food and 8,000 glasses of water later, we asked waiter Luis Varela about New Mexico. 

Known for: "It's the Land of Enchantment. We have a little bit of everything."

Best thing: "I would say the weather."

[Blogger's note: To which I replied, "are you insane?!"] 

Next up, we'll go explore the downtown plaza area.

We've just pulled into our motel, El Rey Inn, at the recommendation of gratefulred78. It reminds me a lot of the Austin Motel; clean, affordable and very much reflective of the outside town's culture. 

There's a nice courtyard and fountain outside, plus an outdoor pool and hot tub; we probably will not use these, but it's nice to know the amenities are there. 

We'd planned to arrive in Santa Fe early afternoon, so we've got to play catchup. First, we're going to feed ourselves: We're going to check out nearby Horseman's Haven Cafe at the recommendation of a couple of commenters and @jacecooke. Then we'll explore downtown Santa Fe, using a few of usaprofessor5's recommendations. 

So lets sign up for Santa Fe.

Curious about what Las Vegas, New Mexico must look like, we decided to check it out before heading on to Santa Fe. We had the Montezuma Hot Springs on our list, which was enthusiastically recommended by @HitTheRoad.ca. But this place is not easily found on Google Maps, or even to the naked eye.

After about 20 minutes of driving through and past town – and up a tiny mountain path on the side of a cliff – we stopped and asked for directions on the campus of United World College. The odd part about this area of New Mexico is that complete desert suddenly turns into mountains covered with pine trees; the campus of UWC looks a but like the Twin Peaks hotel as if it and the woods around it had been plopped into a small desert town.

Finally, we hopped over a highway guard rail as instructed, then came
upon three small hot spring pools.

We eased our way into one of the pools – not the best feeling at first in 93-degree heat – and chatted with David Gonzales, who was drinking beer out of an iced tea bottle and soaking his muscles. He drives about four hours each month for a lengthy soak in the springs. 

We asked him about New Mexico.

Known for: "There's not much here."

Best part: "You can breathe here."

The springs are a lovely roadside find, and the minerals from the water provide for a moisturizing skin soak. We reluctantly climbed out of the spring, swatted away aggressive horse flies and waved goodbye to David, who strolled off to refill his tea bottle.

Now we're only two hours behind schedule, perhaps the best time we've made all week. We'll be busy in Santa Fe as we only have tonight to see the town. On our hit list: Palace of Governors, Loretto Chapel and downtown Santa Fe.

We were going to try and reserve a room at La Fonda or Inn of the Governors, both of which seem like popular reader destinations, but alas, no room at the inn. We found vacancy at the El Rey Inn at the recommendation of gratefulred78, at $105 per night. At some point we'll take one of your recommendations for dinner for a green chile cheeseburger.

After stopping in at the Billy the Kid Museum in Fort Sumner, we were directed to yet another museum on the outskirts of town that houses the 'official' grave site of the famous outlaw.

Baking in the 100-degree sun, the grey graveled military cemetery looks like a really lonely place to spend eternity. In the middle is Billy the Kid's headstone, which rests under iron shackles to prevent thievery – the stone was stolen in 1950 and then again in 1981. Who knows if this is actually where the Kid is buried – locals took an educated guess after his original wooden marker washed away in a flood, shortly after his death at the hands of a local sheriff/bartender in 1881.

Museum employee and Tucumcari native Dana Moyer estimates that between 25,000 and 30,000 people from around the world visit the Old Fort Sumner Museum and adjoining cemetery each year. We then asked Moyer about New Mexico. 

Known for: "Probably the Old West, I'd say." 

Best part: "It's got a lot of different landscape. It's got mountains, it's got desert, it's got lakes. It's got a little bit of \ different stuff." 

We threw a few coins on the Kid's grave, then stopped at a gas station in town to fill up and grab green chile mini-burritos. Now we're on the road to Las Vegas. Some trivia about the town: Las Vegas has architecture for a southwest town. There are more than 900 buildings of every style on the National Register of Historic Places.

We'll be checking out the Montezuma Hot Springs at the recommendation of @HitTheRoad.ca, then speeding on to Santa Fe, where we'd hoped to be in 20 minutes. Not happening.

We are just arriving in Fort Sumner to check out Billy the Kid's final resting place at the recommendation of several of you - meganeaves, MichaelOKTX and NewMexicoLinnet.

Billy the Kid (aka William H Bonney but born William Henry McCarty Jr in 1881 to Irish immigrants) is one of the best-known outlaws the American Wild West. On one hand, the Kid is known as a thief and murderer, but his gregarious personality, hardscrabble upbringing and baby face has secured him a place in folk hero lore as well.

He was shot to death by a local sheriff at the age of 21, but was allowed a wake before his burial one day later. Interestingly, the exact whereabouts of the Kid's grave are unknown as a flood washed away his original headstone.

We've just pulled up to the Billy the Kid museum to learn more.

We're leaving Bottomless Lakes State park, and we're so glad we made the detour. The drive from Roswell to the park is met with stunning views of New Mexico's landscape, which is mostly brown under a bright blue sky.

Inside the park itself, Lea Lake has a large recreation area, paddle posts and foam surfboards. Sadly, we don't have time do any of the three, but taking in the gorgeous view - again, brown rock against bright blue water and sky - was reason enough reason to visit. (And we dipped our toes.)

While here, I decided to adapt the set of questions I've been posing Texans - misconceptions and truths - to New Mexico residents.

We asked lifeguard Hannah Freeman, 18, what her state was most known for, and also about the best thing about New Mexico.

Known for: "Green chile."
Best thing: "The Mexican food."

We asked Chris Villeneauve, 20, the same thing.

Known for: "Our green chile."
Best thing: "Probably this lake right here. It's our little desert beach we got."

Next stop: Fort Sumner to see Billy the Kid's grave. It's a popular reader recommendation.

What's it like to live in Roswell? We asked our hotel concierge about what it's like to live in a town known for aliens.

"It's better to be known for something than for nothing," he said with a shrug.

Can't argue with that.

We checked out of Candlewood Suites ($104 per night) and went to eat
inside the metal UFO at the local McDonald's in Roswell. Underwhelming. And while I'm sure it's not the biggest or best imitation UFO the town has to offer, it was about as much lore as we could handle so early in the day.

We have roughly 259 miles to drive today before we get to Santa Fe - compared with the 410 we drove yesterday, this is a piece of cake.

On the way to Fort Sumner (84 miles), we've stayed true to form and decided to take a short detour to visit the Bottomless Lakes State Park just outside Roswell at the recommendation of @Scott_Raven.

Bottomless Lakes was New Mexico's first state park, and the lakes, which
are actually sinkholes, range from 17ft to 90ft deep.

While Katie's waiting for her breakfast order, let's start the day sunny side up with a playlist chosen by our friends at Santa Fe independent online radio station IndieSF.com.

As ever, we'd like to make a readers' mix of tunes by artists associated with NM, so please leave your requests below the line.