Take a step back through time to those wonderful days of yesteryear to the mythical town of Bonita City, a place that knows no zip code and is still a long way off from cellphone reception. Bonita City is generally a quiet, tranquil place during the heat of the day. Nothing much is going on except for the sounds coming from the Flying J chuck wagon where Cookie is working on the biscuit dough, getting that barbecue  chicken and beef ready… and the ever-present sound of the bubbling, boiling, cheapest pinto beans they could find. Starting at 5:30 p.m. (Monday through Saturday) Bonita City comes alive with the hustle and bustle of merchants opening up the sweet shop, gift shops and, of course…the Flying J Ranch Box Office. There’s a flurry of activity along Main Street between 5:30 and 6:50 p.m. That’s when everybody comes to Bonita City. The kids are lining up for two-dollar pony rides. From babes to big boys, the cowpokes (and pokettes) mount up for a supervised stroll through the wilderness surrounding Bonita City.

If you hear gunfire… Don’t worry! It’s coming from the Bonita City pistol range where kids of all ages are trying out their skills. Nearby is gold panning for the “49-er” in all of us making for a pleasant evening… Located on Highway 48, North of Ruidoso.  Open Monday through Saturday through Labor Day and on Saturdays in September.  For info call  James & Cindy Hobbs (575) 336-4330 or toll free (888) 458-3595 or visit www.flyingjranch.com

Now you can check in on your neighbors in Ruidoso and see what the weather’s like before you come visit your fine piece of land (second home? vacation getaway? retirement home?) in Vera Cruz Mountain Ranch!

Located at Sudderth and Eagle Drives, this new, state-of-the-art weather station reports current temperature, the high and low temps for the day, current wind speed and high gust speed, humidity, rain and barometer. The weather station has a live feed on www.RuidosoWebCam.com so anyone, anywhere in the world can see midtown Ruidoso and accurate weather conditions.

In addition, thanks to Frank Potter of Imports, Etc.- this midtown weather information is now being fed to official weather stations for use on TV and radio forecasts.