Smokey Bear Museum Gift Shop — Local services in Capitan

First let me tell you. This place gives me the same feeling as that given by Walt Disney. Oh not the land, or the World and certainly not the grand scope both provide, but it harkens back to a time of the Sunday morning show that I waited so much to see when a child. My name is Roger Browning. I am a writer and my first published novel, 'The Reckoning of Rance," is out on amazon right now. It is a story about a dysfunctional ranching family from Texas, that with lifes struggles brought on and fought down through-out its hallowed pages. It's a rough one, but one with meaning if one might reach its end. I am telling you this because of my meaning to become a writer stems from a visit to my childood favorite Sunday evening show, 'The Wonderful World of Disney', a show that saddens me that new children will never know. That show brought me to a documentary, as only Walt could do about a bear in the fiery mountains of Capitan New Mexico. That was my beginnings to put my words on paper, that very show. The same feel is here where the grave of that bear remains. A small park so beautiful to take notice of the life that meant so much and so well. The feel is that of the old frontier, that gives back the past feeling of that Walt's own way felt once projected in for me. A theatre that brings you back to the life of the burnt paw bear and to the conservation so important for the young to learn without their knowing that they had, just like the Sunday show had done for me then. Enjoy the services of their cabin gift shop and buy their souvenirs, but enjoy it all while learning and paying your respects to the great teacher, Smokey the bear. My name is Roger Browning and my book is 'The...

This was a wonderful and very sweet stop on my trip. It's right on the 2-lane highway in a cute little town.

The OG real life Smokey was born in the Capitan Mountains. After the rangers rescued him and fixed up his little burned bear paws, he lived in the zoo in Washington DC so people from all over could visit him. After his death, Smokey's body was flown home and this is his final resting place.

The museum and gift shop is filled with incredible memorabilia. There is a ton of information and a short film about the Forestry's prior campaigns and how the idea of Smokey the Bear started, then how the real bear cub became the very effective mascot for prevention of forest fire.

A neat bit about the gift shop is that it's made from reclaimed wood from the forest where Smokey was rescued. For $2 to enter the museum, it's definitely worth it to honor and learn more about the little bear that saved...

What a museum and gift shop! Smokey the Bear has been memorialized in such a special way. The history here and his story is amazing and will luckily live on in our hearts forever. The museum is a must. Then you exit out into the gardens. Beautiful and also contain his burial site. After strolling through the gardens you exit out to the nearby gift shop. Amazing memorabilia and special gifts are available to purchase. Nat was waiting patiently. Her knowledge and love for both Smokey and the town was impressive. This is a must stop...