This post is going to cover a lot! Have you been to White Sands National Monument?, Old Mesilla and the Movie Made There, Have You Been To Mexico on Cinco de Mayo? and the Organ Mountains

Spending a week in Las Cruces with our gracious hosts, Ken’s sister Susan and husband, Pat, whom acted as our personal tour directors covered a lot of ground! Our first daytrip:

Have you been to White Sands National Monument? Don’t miss it!

White Sands is an hour’s drive from Las Cruces. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. The photo  above was taken around sunset in 2011. The photo below was taken around noon just a this week.

Imagine saucer sledding on the dunes, or hiking the trails. The gypsum remains cool to bare feet in the heat of the day. Here are two slide shows with the sunset ones with long textured shadows and the other with high noon bright sun with little texture, just white gypsum for contrast.

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Meet Susan and Pat

 

Old Mesilla and the Movie Made There

Old Mesilla dates back to the mid 1800’s. Its original buildings are all adobe structures. Billy the Kid was hung here. This section of Las Cruces rivals the Mesquite section for its antiquity. We watched a movie here in the old theater (Fountain) made by local resident, Mark Medoff, based on his play of the same name, The Heart Outright. It was filmed right here in Mesilla and at the restaurant right next door to the theater. The movie was excellent!

The bus depot in the film is actually a top restaurant in the area.

Here are a few more shops near by.

Mesquite area:

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These are adobe built buildings. The home is the oldest in Las Cruces, I think. It is being remodeled in this photo.

Have You Been To Mexico on Cinco de Mayo?

Yup, that’s what we did! We drove an hour and a half south westward to Columbus, NM and parked our car in a parking lot just outside the border crossing to Palomas, Mexico. Our agenda was to celebrate the holiday at the Pink Store for shopping and lunch. It is just a short walk across the border.
After crossing over, we are greeted by the statue of Poncho Villa and, of course, the Pink Store.

Upon entering the store, you’re given your choice of a free beverage: soda, water, margarita or beer. They have an incredible selection of stuff from Mexico and other Central American countries. There’s an entire room filled just with decorative tiles. Of course, only jewelry would easily fit in our RRRV. Here are photos of only 3 of the rooms.

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Here’s a close-up of a humorous miniature set:
We had a really nice typico Mexican meal for lunch and wandered around town for a short time before it was time to head back over the border for home. All of our dogs were at doggie day care for the day. Here’s a slide show of some of the scenes I spotted in town.

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Organ Mountain and Flowering Cacti

Las Cruces is well known for its prominent Organ mountain. It’s a backdrop to almost every view of the city. For me, the best time to photograph it is near sunset. The view from Susan and Pat’s backyard is also perfect because it is not obstructed. Here is my photo taken from there:

Flowering Prickly Pear and Cholla (in Susan and Pat’s yard):

Whew! This has been an incredible week. We’ve been blessed by great company, great weather, and a great area to visit and play. Also, Hacienda RV Resort is a great place to stay!