Eastern Plains MainStreet Communities: Clovis, Portales, Tucumcari and Santa Rosa
Prairies and plains seem like unlikely places to find scuba diving and wooly mammoths, but you’ll find both just minutes from our eastern New Mexico MainStreet communities.
In a state not necessarily known for aquatic attractions, you may be stunned to find Santa Rosa is a hub of scuba diving. Right in the middle of town is the 81 foot deep Blue Hole artesian well. Its constant 61 degree temperature makes this a year round diving destination for several surrounding states. 10 miles south of the town is Puerto de Luna, where historic sites include the Grzelachowski House where Billy the Kid ate his last Christmas dinner. See where Billy was buried, 45 miles south of Santa Rosa in Ft. Sumner. His tombstone had to be placed behind fencing because it had been stolen several times! Visit the Billy the Kid Museum to relive the outlaws’ life. Also in Ft.Sumner is the Bosque Redondo Memorial, where the Navajo and Apache tribes were force marched by the U.S. Army in the 1860’s onto a reservation in a journey remembered as “the Long Walk.” A new museum sits on the site where thousands lost their lives in this sad chapter of American history.
Only minutes away from both Clovis and Portales is the Blackwater Draw Museum. One of the most important archeological sites in the world, the museum features artifacts dating back 13,000 years, when early Clovis man (named for the town!) would hunt wooly mammoths and evade sabertooth tigers.
Conchas Lake State Park and Ute Lake are both about a half hour away from Tucumcari, and both provide camping, boating, and state record sized game fish.
