Crossing the Border to New Mexico!

After three nights in Van Horn, Texas, we were ready to head on west down I-10. We were blessed with another calm wind day--a rare commodity in west Texas. In fact, we remember that El Paso's weather forecast each evening included a wind-o-meter. So in our 3-hour drive we rolled through a calm El Paso and across the New Mexico state line.

Our destination is Las Cruces, where we had reservations at the Coachlight RV Park. Because of the cold temperatures and some blustery winds, we have left the motor home slides in for the last seven nights. We can live in these more cramped quarters, but we were looking forward to spreading out during this stop. So when we arrived in the early afternoon to find they had already rented out every camping site (even though we had reservations!), we were left with a "dry dock" spot in the back. Because it was a one-night stay until we move into our full hook-up site, we had night #8 with the slides in. Oh well!

We celebrated our change in plans by eating out and exploring our neighborhood. Just a few blocks away is the historic old town of Mesilla. The town's claim to fame is having the courthouse where Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang in 1881. Now the building is a tourist shop, but we can verify that they sell yummy cookies there. Mesilla feels a little like Mexico, with very narrow roads that lead to the little plaza. It's surrounded by gift shops, restaurants, and kiosks of craftsmen and bakers on a beautiful winter afternoon. We can recommend Andele! as a great place to eat. As the name would imply, the service was also fast.

The anchor of the plaza is the Basilica of San Albino. Built in 1907, it is now the center of the city, and even more important than the Billy the Kid courthouse.

We left the narrow roads of Old Historic Mesilla, and headed a few miles down the wide lanes of I-10 to a unique rest area. Overlooking Las Cruces is a huge roadrunner statue. We're hoping that roadrunner isn't hungry, because Mark looks like the right size for a bird snack in the picture below.

It's hard to tell in the picture above, but this unique bird is completely constructed from recycled junk. This wing includes crutches, golf clubs, a computer keyboard, a cheese grater, a remote control, a wheel . . .

The white under-belly of the bird is actually the flattened tops of leather tennis shoes. Who knew that those shoes could resemble the texture of roadrunner feathers?

Shoe soles give the texture of neck feathers, and a headlight makes a nice road runner eye.

It's interesting to compare it to the roadrunner picture Denisa took less than a week ago.

Besides a giant bird, one of the main reasons to visit this rest area is for the birds-eye view it gives of the city of Las Cruces. We could look down the hill to see the town below, with the Organ Mountains rising in the distance. Those mountains rise to 9,000 feet from the desert floor, and make a dramatic backdrop for Las Cruces.

We have already noticed that much of the town is surrounded by orchards. We could see the neatly lined pecan trees in front of us. We also visited with the owner of an apple orchard, and we heard there are pistachio orchards in the area as well.