Teri,
We were pleased to see the recognition Spruce Cabins received as Vintage Business of the Month and doubly pleased so read how you and your husband are maintaining the cabins in such good condition. Just for the record, we accidently came through Cloudcroft while on our belated honeymoon in September 1960 so contrary to the news in the article, you have actually had guests going back 52 years who stayed with you and also for at least two years thereafter. I doubt many will recall but September 1960 was unusually hot and we had planned our belated honeymoon trip to Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands and Juarez. As we came out of the caverns and were standing on the hot parking area, we looked at our map and saw a little green area just north of the route we had planned to use so we thought we might get some relief from the heat if we drove that way. As you can well imagine, when we arrived on Labor Day afternoon, the temperature was an unbelievable 50° or so and there was a steady drizzle and folks were going around in their windbreaker jackets. We stopped at the Spruce Cabins and inquired about spending the night and they told us we would get their off-peak rate of $8.00/night. Because we already had reservations in Alamogordo at the White Sands motel, we decided not to stay in Cloudcroft but rather continue on our way. The next morning we did go through the National Monument and the continued on to Juarez for the afternoon. After we had walked about two blocks in the oven of Juarez, we looked at one another and asked “why are we doing this to ourselves?” and found a telephone to call the Spruce Cabins and they told us to come on back that they had a cabin waiting for us. Needless to say, we had a great 5-day stay in Cloudcroft and met some other great guests from San Antonio who were also staying at Spruce Cabins. Cloudcroft is to us, like so many other folks, a very special place and we have visited there many times since our honeymoon. In 2003 we purchased a cabin in Cloud Country West and have enjoyed many wonderful days there. We also feel very blessed to know so many great people in the Cloudcroft area.
Our special thanks to you and Tim for the work you have done to make Spruce Cabins a great place to stay while in Cloudcroft. We are pleased to know that your guests can still enjoy their time just as we did many years ago.
Jim and Pat Lanier
10 Rushing Oak Court
Huntsville, TX 77320