Adventure 376: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Heading West.

At thirty-four degrees, the morning was not quite frosty, but it certainly was beautiful. Sunlight danced off the mountainside like cascading waterfalls, and as we made our way up and  over the mountain into the white sands of Alamogordo, we were met with many contrasts. The first thing I noticed as we passed through the Mescalero Apache Reservation was that beside every ramshackle residence and double wide trailer was a late model automobile, most certainly the result of casino profits. I'm not begrudging the residents their windfall, heaven knows it's little consolation for the disingenuous treatment they've received during the European takeover. I'm simply observing the stark difference. On a natural note, long before we left the sweet smell and cool of the pines, we could see the far reaching mounds of white  sand amidst the puffs of tumble weeds in the desert, and beyond that lay the Organ Mountains, glorious in their praising reach toward the sky.  We stopped on an empty road in Baylor Canyon, took the bike down and rode beside these majestic mountains for about an hour and a half. The fresh air revived us, the bright sun enlivened us, and the lack of wind encouraged us. It truly made our day. We arrived at the Sunny Acres RV park around noon, set up, did the wash, and kicked back. This is the third time we've stayed at this park. It's convenient, well run, quiet, and perfectly situated in Las Cruces. Since it's March Madness, we watched basketball most of the afternoon. For dinner, we walked a few blocks to the High Desert Brewery where we had an excellent burger and a version of  green chile stew that while not quite as good as ours, passed muster quite nicely. Tonight, we'll watch a little more basketball, snuggle into our freshly washed sheets, dream sweet dreams of sugar plum fairies, and take off for Tucson tomorrow early. We truly are among the fortunate, a place in life that we don't take for granted, a place in life that we know is a gift, and a place in life that we know is a product of grace. We're thankful and humble enough to realize that life is good, especially today.

 Sometimes we just stop the trailer, take the bike down, and ride for a while.

 Selfie of the day. Perfect weather.

 The Organ Mountains are among our favorite ranges.

 Papa taking a quick break while Judy sheds a layer behind the sign.

 While not a pine tree, sage brush has its own beauty.

 I'm ever amazed by the murals we see. This is just half of a masterpiece sprayed onto an auto repair shop. Somehow, the tumbleweeds stacked in front of this proud woman make her seem to rise on the strength of the earth.

 This brew pub, one of three in Las Cruces, is a mere four blocks from the RV Park.

 Chile Verde with spicy corn bread muffins.

 A quite excellent pub burger.

Lucky me, I even got to take a growler to go.