2006 RV Trip Diaries - Las Cruces, NM

                                                                                                                                                                               

October 18 - Wednesday

It drizzled some as we came south.  In one of the canyons there was a magnificent  rainbow but we had left the camera in the trailer instead of putting it camera in the truck.

As planned, Jerry and Kay were already at the RV park in Las Cruces when we arrived this afternoon.  They had driven up from El Paso where they had been visiting friends.  It was good to see them as always and we had a nice St. Patrick's Day style dinner that Jerry cooked outdoors under his awning in the pouring rain.

October 19 - Thursday

The sun was is up--yippee!  Garrey and Jerry took our truck to the garage for our 6,000 mile maintenance and all was fine with it. 

Karen and Kay were picked up and we rode around Las Cruces looking for a place to eat, found a barbeque place, and  had a delicious lunch.

The King Tutankhamun: "Wonderful Things" From The Pharaoh's Tomb exhibit is here for a couple of months so we went to the Branigan Cultural Center to view the reproduced artifacts.  It was the first time Garrey and Karen had seen them but Jerry and Kay had gone to a showing in Seattle about 20 years ago.  It was an impressive display.  Karen had just read the book, Sphinx by Robin Cook so was especially interested in seeing it.

 

 


Kay and Jerry get ready to test drive King Tut's RV
We walked through the Down Town Mall afterwards but it was quite deserted today.  Karen tried to share a campfire with a cowboy in the plaza but they couldn't get the firewood to burn.

Garrey cooked a great buffalo spaghetti dinner for all of us and the conversation was good.

October 20 - Friday


This morning Garrey put sealant over the bedroom window that has leaked when it rained.  We hope he got the leak sealed but also hope it's going to be a long while before we get more rain to test it.

After lunch we went to the old town of Mesilla not far from our campground.  This is the oldest part of Las Cruces.  They say Cortez stopped there in 1540 when his expedition established the road between Mexico City and Santa Fe - El Camino Real.  Billy the Kid spent time and escaped from the Mesilla jail after shooting two of the jailers.  Many of the buildings are over 100 years old.  There's a quaint old plaza where mariachi bands play on Sunday afternoons.  


Old Mesilla Plaza

October 21 - Saturday 

They were having a farmers' market and craft sale at the downtown square so we all went down to check it out.  We purchased some small things.  We rode around some to check out different areas of Las Cruces.  We fixed a bring what you have lunch and dinner and enjoyed sitting out at the picnic table eating and sharing stories.   

October 22 - Sunday  

Garrey and I went to the 8:10 a.m. service at a beautiful St. Paul's United Methodist Church down town--a nice service.  The minister spoke on the mission of the church in preparation for their annual meeting next week.  Garrey felt with his former work he had sat through enough budget meetings.  Actually, Garrey felt that it was one of the most clever budget presentations he had ever seen.

Jerry and Kay fixed us a nice pumpkin pancake and ham brunch.  

Later we took the old trail south toward Mexico.  We stopped at the Stahmann's country store where they sold delicious pecan treats and other country things. The area is know for its pecan orchards, chili peppers, cotton, and vineyards.  

 

We stopped at the La Vina winery and gift shop and were surprised to find they were having a fair.  So we paid $10 to get in and got a band on our wrist for a wine glass and 5 tastes of wine.  Kay and Karen did the fair booths and we sampled the home made potato chips and huge delicious corn.  

Kay drove home as the fellows consumed most of our wine and all of theirs.