New Mexico for us was a two day whirlwind of long flat roads through the desert, with a few dusty little towns and iconic American characters along the way. We met Smokey Bear, Billy the Kid, the aliens from Roswell and even a real live roadrunner!

It all started with the parking lot at Walmart. We pulled in here as a last resort after crossing over from Arizona the day before. Although it's perfectly legal to sleep in most Walmart car parks, it isn't the most comfortable with midnight promotional announcements, security flashlights and constant traffic. We decided this would be the last time if we could help it!

We freshened up with a splash of cold water and some coffee and started driving down Highway 380. After a couple hundred miles of baron landscape our first stop was the resting place of Smokey Bear in Capitan. We had seen billboards of a cartoon bear all over the States, in blue jeans and holding a shovel, offering advise about fire safety. We had even heard forest fire prevention adds featuring 'Smokey Bear' on the radio, without really understanding the context... So when we heard there was an actual bear, called Smokey, connected to this cartoon with his own museum and grave site we had to see it for ourselves.

The original cartoon Smokey was created in 1944 as a government initiative to educate the public on the risks of forest fires as well as protecting the valuable logging industry during the WW2 war effort. His popularity quickly grew, particularly with the kids, and within a few years had his own radio show, TV programs and a series of toys and comic books. The museum claimed Smokey to be 'the most recognised icon in the world after Santa Claus'! While this seems true for the US, we thought it a bit of an overstatement, considering we had never heard of him. Either way, it was all an incredible feat of marketing and the rate of unintentionally lit wildfires has dropped dramatically since Smokey has been around.

The real live Smokey Bear came a few years later. In 1950 an orphaned and badly burnt black bear cub was rescued from a wildfire in the surrounding Lincoln National Forest. He was named Smokey and nursed back to health by some of the firefighters. Eventually he found a home in Washington National Zoo where he became the living symbol of Smokey Bear, attracting tourists and fans from all over the country. After a long and healthy life in captivity, Smokey passed away and was buried in Capitan. Since then Smokey Bear Historical State Park was established. The museum exhibits and garden finished with the gravestone of Smokey, and by then we almost had tears in our eyes...

Our next stop was Lincoln, a beautifully preserved original cowboy town. This was the home of William H. Bonney, otherwise known as Billy the Kid, and we learnt all about the political and economic battles between the Tunstall and Murphy-Dolan gangs. The old Dolan family house is now owned by an old couple from one of the northern states, who showed us their collection of old antique whiskey bottles. They found them underneath the house foundations while renovating the place, eluding to what life was like back in Billy's hay day, even for the builders!

The town of Lincoln still functions, mainly for tourists, and we were allowed to wander in and out of many of the old buildings. Billy the Kid is a local legend, and we figured he is kind of the equivalent of our Ned Kelly. The old courthouse was a highlight. It is now a museum, where we were guided through the dramatically violent scene of the Kids' legendary escape from jail!

The countryside from here to Roswell was a bit more interesting, as we followed the orchid lined Rio Hondo. Roswell itself was gimmicky with UFO shaped donuts and green glowing alien head lampposts, but good for a laugh. We explored the International UFO Museum and Research Centre for a good couple of hours, and although we were impressed with the museums' genuine attempt to simply display unbiased facts, we weren't totally convinced. The centre was inspired by the alleged crash landing of an alien spaceship at a nearby ranch. Witnesses spoke of injured little green men and foil thin metal that was stronger than steel, but this was all covered up pretty quickly by the US military. There isn't really any physical evidence (at least that the public knows about!), but some of the credible witness accounts were pretty convincing. What we are sure about is that something strange happened in 1947 just outside of Roswell, and the government still doesn't want anyone to know about it. No wonder there are so many conspiracy theorists! The truth is out there... Somewhere!

Our last stop on the way to Texas was Living Desert State Park in Carlsbad. It was essentially a government run zoo, divided into several different recreated desert ecosystems. Most of the animals were injured or orphaned in the wild, and the enclosures were reasonably well kept, particularly those which had attracted external sponsors like the intriguing Javelinas. It was too cold everywhere else we've been to see any rattlesnakes, but we definitely saw our fair share here in the nocturnal exhibit, and watching the little roadrunner seemingly run along thin air around its aviary was amazing. It never gave us a 'meep meep,' but it surprisingly looked very similar to the Loony Toons character.

New Mexico held an unexpectedly good dose of American pop culture and history. We are now heading to Austin for a good dose of Texan pop culture, particularly BBQs, music and 'weird'!