half of the mountains, the district is primarily composed of Douglas Fir, Ponderosa pine, aspen, and oak, as well as numerous creeks and waterfalls. The district is traversed east–west by that section of U.S. 82 between Artesia and Alamogordo, which goes through the villages of Cloudcroft and Mayhill. Other roads include New Mexico State Road 6563, also known as the Sunspot Scenic Byway, which runs between Cloudcroft and the village of Sunspot, and NM 244, which exits the district north of Cloudcroft and enters the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Trestle A heavily forested area in an otherwise arid environment, the Sacramento Mountains have long been used for timber harvesting. To expedite the transport of timber to processing facilities and markets, the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway was constructed in 1898 by the El Paso and Northeastern Railway, a short-line railroad that connected El Paso, Texas and Alamogordo. A genuine engineering marvel, the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway climbed 4,747 feet over 32 miles of track, and included numerous switchbacks, trestles, and grades as high as 6.4%. Though the track was removed in 1948, evidence of the railroad is visible throughout the district. The most visible remnant of the railroad is the 320-foot trestle over Mexican Canyon near Cloudcroft. Crossing 52 feet above the canyon floor the trestle can be seen from vista points on U.S. 82 and by a number of short trails beginning at the Trestle Recreation Area, a day-use facility on the western edge of Cloudcroft. Sunspot Observatory The high mountains of the Sacramentos are also home to the National Solar Observatory's Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope, considered the world's premier high resolution optical solar telescope at the time of its inauguration in 1969. Located in the southern end of the district, the observatory is open to the public on a seasonal basis and can be accessed by the scenic New Mexico State Road 6563, also known as the Sunspot Scenic Byway, a two-lane paved road that travels the 15.5 miles between Cloudcroft and the village of Sunspot. Smokey Bear District Part of the original Forest Reserve established in 1902, the modern Smokey Bear Ranger District administers lands north of Capitan and Lincoln, in the Capitan Mountains, and south of Capitan to Ruidoso, immediately east of the Sierra Blanca or White Mountains. The area was initially divided into the Baca Ranch Ranger District, renamed the Capitan District in February