NEW MEXICO, LAS CRUCES TO BE SPECIFIC

It's barely noticeable as you travel into New Mexico from Texas that you are entering a different State. As you slide over the border it’s the same topography as we have been seeing for many, many miles, a tough landscape of brush, rocks, mountains in the distance and seemingly dry although there had been rain recently. Our destination was Las Cruces, a place that we both had heard much about and were looking forward to seeing. Our RV resort was a five minute drive from the city of Las Cruces and accessible to everything we needed. The office at Hacienda RV & Rally Resort was beautifully appointed with southwestern furniture and artifacts and the pads were very flat, made of packed gravel. There was a dog run, about 100 yards long,  a Wal-Mart directly across the street and an RV supply store where we were able to buy some new clips for our bedroom mirrors (our third set – they notoriously break in our model RV but are extremely inexpensive to replace).

We spent a day touring Las Cruces, in particular the section called Old Mesilla, an historic section that now caters to tourists, with over 40 shops, each a specialty unto itself and a couple of Mexican restaurants. We loved it. Wandering through the narrow streets with the adobe style houses slung low to the ground and the cactus plants it looked exactly as we had imagined and hoped. The city of Las Cruces, population 97,000, has an average temperature this time of year (January) of 29 – 59F or -2 – 15C, and is 3,896 feet above sea level. I had no idea we were so high up, it’s not like you are twisting around mountains as you go up, it’s a gradual rise and you are at the top of a mesa.

Taken in Mesilla, the historic district.

It's possible Billy The Kid did not enjoy Las Cruces as much as we did.

La Mesilla Historic District, which includes the plaza, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

La Mesilla Historic District, which includes the plaza, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

Amazing shop that sold everything including what was on the outside.

Typical adobe style home.

Because of my obsession with infused olive oils and vinegars we went into a little shop called The Rustic Olive and started to chat with the owners. They talked about places to visit in the area and highly recommended that we visit White Sands National Monument, just 50 miles/80 kms east of Las Cruces. We were baffled when they described a landscape of white sand dunes that went on for miles and miles. Quite honestly we only went to see what all the fuss was about and because it took us across parts of the desert where missile testing had been done.

What we found when we arrived took our breath away. The park consists of 275 sq. miles of white sand dunes and drifts that is actually comprised of natural gypsum. Located at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert is a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. The dunes rise from this basin, are brilliant white and are ever changing. The sand covers everything in its path as it is driven by strong southwest winds. The sand shifts to such an extent and so often that it is difficult to sustain life in the sand dunes. Some desert plants have adapted to avoid burial by moving sand. Wildlife consists of animals that stay underground in burrows and only come out at night. Rodents, rabbits, foxes, coyotes, porcupines and other nocturnal animals hide out during the day and lizards, beetles and birds are active in the daylight in the vegetated areas.

Driving up to the White Sands. The San Augustin Mountains are a small mountain sub-range at the southern terminus of the San Andres Mountains east of Las Cruces, where we stayed. Organ lies at the southwest foothills; the townsite, White Sands lies to the southeast. San Augustin peak is 7,030 feet (2,143 m) high.

Driving up to the White Sands at San Augustin peak.

246 sq. miles of white sand dunes

Met this cute guy and his two dogs

Stole his two dogs :)

The monument is very well organized with an historic adobe building that houses the Visitor Center and contains a museum, book store, a gift shop and washrooms. Dunes Drive leads you eight miles into the heart of the dunes where there are five marked trails to follow. Throughout the area where visitors are allowed roads have been plowed (just like snow is plowed) and various parking lots have been established with picnic tables and barbeques at each parking spot and public washrooms. The visitor center also has saucers for sliding down the sand dunes if you wish, perhaps for rent but we didn’t check. We walked through them and over them and up and down them for about 40 minutes and, exhilarated, went back to the car and drove back to visit the Visitor Centre.

Photographing the dunes is tricky at best. There are elaborate instructions for people who shoot with sophisticated cameras but I found no such instructions for shooting with a cell phone. The pictures I took don’t really do justice to the dunes at all.

There are many places of interest to visit in and around Las Cruces. There is a wealth of museums, art galleries, farmers markets, outdoor music and wine festivals. It was a surprise to us to learn there are several vineyards and

wineries in the area, some of them with tasting rooms. Who would have thought that New Mexico is the oldest wine producing state in the country – production started in 1629. Today there are 47 vineyards and wineries throughout the state, according to the information we received. Below is a link if you are interested in reading more about this thriving wine industry.

http://nmwine.com/wineries 

Of course a visit to any place in the southwest would not be complete without trying out the local Mexican cuisine.

We did just that in Las Cruces, taking the dogs to a dog friendly little hole in the wall called Rosie's Cafe. The food was, as you would expect, wonderful. Erik tried the chicken fried steak, something we had seen on menus since we got into the southwest. It's a steak, battered like fried chicken and deep fried then covered in either white gravy or Mexican gravy and served with rice and re-fried beans. It's a meal you have to try at least once and don't count calories.

The city of Las Cruces was one of our favourites so far. No ocean or even Gulf Coast, no fresh fish, but a charm that we loved. We liked the low skyline, no glass high-rises coming out of the desert sand, just low slung adobe homes in traditional earth tones. Even shops, shopping centres and business offices are built in this traditional manner.  Even though it poured buckets one night, our stay there was enhanced even more by the promise of that blue, blue sky that greeted us the next morning. 

Even Kaede and Freddy liked this place a lot. The dog park was huge and Freddy got to run and Kaede got to meet her little mini-me.

Kaede, on the left, and her little look-alike, Mia.