Pics of Thunderstorms

Continuing to Sunspot, continued

We bypassed the town of Alamagordo and continued towards Cloudcroft and Sunspot. We passed through a tunnel along the way and then started driving up the mountain.

We didn't go to Cloudcroft but continued up to Sunspot stopping along the way at a few viewpoints. Most of the view showed the Tularosa Basin with White Sands and the mountains faintly in the distance. The road to Sunspot is considered a National Scenic Byway. We arrived at Sunspot at 12:15, took a short self guided tour and left at 12:50.

While at Sunspot we enjoyed wildflowers, an unusual lizard and smelled the bark of a Ponderosa Pine. Did you know that Ponderosa Pine bark smells just like butterscotch? We learned that on a ranger hike too.

After leaving Sunspot we drove down the mountain to Cloudcroft, while enjoying the clean cool mountain air of about 65-70 degrees and the lovely views. When we arrived in Cloudcroft we found a little park for our picnic. It was still quite cool, but refreshing. We walked around Burro Street after lunch and browsed the shops. We didn't go to The Lodge, but it is a neat old hotel with a great Sunday brunch at the restaurant called Rebecca's. Rebecca is the resident ghost at the hotel so there is lots of interesting history. On the way back to Las Cruces we stopped at a place called McGinns Pistachio Store. They had all flavors of pistachios and pecans of various flavors, wines, and cherry cider. All of these things are grown and produced locally. I would not have thought that the southwestern desert would be an area where you would find this but since there are various elevations with the mountains, I guess it works. We bought Ranch flavored pistachios and Atomic Hot Pistachio Chile Brittle. The brittle could definitely become addictive. The drive back to Las Cruces was a sky show. The thunder showers that are typical of the Monsoon season in July and August were in full swing. The intensity of the rain was like a midnight blue wall horizontal from sky to ground.. it almost resembled a twister with frequent lightening strikes. Seeing the storms against the backdrop of the mountains as we approached Las Cruces was a great way to top off the afternoon.

Sunspot and Cloudcroft

I am still trying to catch up on our trip activities which are becoming dimmer and dimmer in my mind!!! On Thursday, August 13th, we left Las Cruces at 8:00 a.m. and headed east on Rte. 70 towards the other side of the Organ Mountains towards the Lincoln National Forest and the Sacramento Mountains. On the way, we passed the White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument
The sky was sunny but with some clouds, which was a prelude to what we would see on our way back in the afternoon. The east side of the Organ Mountains is breathtaking, majestic with lots of green. Last summer we hiked up the east side and were in the Ponderosa Pine elevation. White Sands N.M. is about 40 minutes from LC. There are lots of dunes with green plants and bush outcroppings along the road. We didn't go into the park this trip but it is a great time and visually stunning. You can get the little dish sleds and sled down the dunes. The sand doesn't really get hot because it is gypsum. They also have sunset strolls and full moon walks there many evenings. We have yet to try and of the evening activities at White Sands but we would like to in the future.

We arrived at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park at 9:00 a.m. & saw some tame-life along the way
After signing in at the Visitor Center, we started up the Dog Canyon Trail. We were planning to go on the easy trail which takes you right into the canyon and only takes 30 minutes but it was flooded out a couple of years ago. We started up and I do mean up the strenuous trail which was very rocky and winding. After a quarter of a mile, we decided we had enough; yes we are old wimps. But we got some great pictures.
We saw lots of our favorite Ocatillo, plus yucca, cacti, and an Indian Paintbrush. The Indian Paintbrush, which is a red flower, is one of the most common wild flowers in the west and our children would recognize it anywhere since it was one of the first wildflowers they saw when we went to the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in 1993. During the 1993 trip we took a nature hike about native plants in the park with one of the park rangers. The kids got a little bored and whiney but they have never forgotten some of the things they learned.

I will have to continue the rest of our day on another post since I am short on time right now. Please forgive my difficulty with placement of my pictures. I am still on a learning curve with the blog options. I welcome any tips in the comments.

Meet the Neighbors

August 12, 2009
We were meeting with some people at our house this morning to make some decisions about this and that and one of our neighbors came over and introduced himself. Let me backtrack a bit and say that we currently live in Illinois and we won't be moving to our retirement home for another 3 years. So we can take our time having it completed.

Anyway, our neighbor and his wife invited us over for drinks for the evening. They are a lovely couple , the same age as we are and they have lived in Las Cruces for 20 years. We really enjoyed getting to know them, sitting on their porch, playing with their dogs and drinking wine and beer. The weather was lovely and the mountains were in view the whole time just as they are from our back portale at our future home.

"Mission Accomplished"

August 11, 2009
Our original plan was a trip to The Shoppes at El Paso, which is an outlet shopping center. On the way I was reading about things to do in El Paso and I told Rick about the Mission Trail. The Mission Trail consists of three old mission churches that range from 150 to over 300 years old. We decided to take the side trip which was actually all the way on the east side of Old Paso>
www.themissiontrail.net/
The drive to get there took us through diverse neighborhoods with some older, shabbier looking homes, commercial areas, chile fields, pecan groves, and Mexican restaurants or food stands advertising their fares about every 500 feet. The three mission churches are Ysleta, Socorro (which is also a town in New Mexico), and San Elizario. At the last church there were two ladies walking around to each door to try to go inside. They told us that they were keeping the church locked up because someone had stolen one of the statues of a saint inside the church a few weeks ago. I guess that nothing is sacred, not even a saint!

After our religious excursion, we went to the Sunland Park Mall which is the biggest one in El Paso. It is very nice inside with lots of big plants and light streaming in but it is also cool and a good respite from the intense heat in the middle of the day. We had lunch at the Greenery Restaurant. They have a very diverse menu and everything is very fresh. I had a turkey sandwich on jalapeno bread with green chiles and avocado. Next door they have a marketplace attached with fresh meats, cheeses, angus beef cuts, seafood, a huge wine selection and lots of gourmet items.

From there we continued to the Shoppes at El Paso. The inventory was not that great so I only purchased a lightweight sweater at Ann Taylor for $12. We were hot, tired and ready to head back to the hotel in Las Cruces for some rest.

Las Cruces Trip

We just returned from a week in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We are in the process of building a retirement home there and plan to move in 3 or 4 years. In the meantime, most of our vacation time has been spent in New Mexico for the past seven or eight years. Each time we travel there we find new areas and activities to explore. We also return to favorite places as well. We usually fly into El Paso, Texas since it is only 45 minutes away. I was suprised when my husband informed me that El Paso is the 22nd largest city in the U.S. In addition, it is on the border of the U. S. and Juarez, Mexico. We have been to Juarez in the past but it is too dangerous to go there now. Despite this, El Paso evidently has a pretty good "safe city" record.

Las Cruces is in the Rio Grande River Valley, has a population of around 90,000, the second largest city in NM. It is the home of New Mexico State University and the stunning Organ Mountain range which can be seen everywhere you go in the city. Agriculture is very important. Chiles, corn, and pecans are grown in abundance. Hatch, NM, which is known for mass growing of chiles , is about 20 minutes away. There are also several vineyards around. The White Sands Missile Range is one of the major employers of the area. A new spaceport is being built within an hour or two drive of the area as well.

Las Cruces is hot and dry but has a fairly high elevation of between 4000 and 5000 feet so it cools off in the evenings in the hottest summer months and the fall, winter and spring seasons are wonderful. Mountain ranges of 7000-10,000 feet are within a couple of hours to the east, west, and north so it is very easy to escape the heat with a day trip.

I will post some of our experiences in New Mexico in the days, weeks, and months to come.