Monday, March 18, 2013

Las Cruses New Mexico




We left Alamogordo yesterday morning (Sunday) and moved a little west to Las Cruses, maybe a two hour drive. We are 15 miles north of Las Cruses at Leasburg State Park.  We arrived early enough to beat the strong winds that had been fore casted. It did get very windy yesterday afternoon, a lot of dust was being blown around. We did drive into town to replenish our food stock and to stop at a large flea market that we had seen earlier on our way in along the freeway. The flea market was a bust because of the wind and the dust that was everywhere; we left without a purchase hoping there would be other opportunities for these huge sales.  

This morning we woke to a mostly overcast day. It was strange not seeing the blue sky. It did clear up however and the wind kicked up again, not as bad as yesterday but still windy. We drove back into town to explore the area. Just south of  Las Cruces we found the historic village of Mesilla, where Billy the Kid stood trial. Now the plaza of Old Mesilla is home to quaint shops offering crafts from local artisans as well as numerous restaurants serving authentic New Mexican cuisine.  We walked through the plaza and visited many of the shops. In the center of the plaza sits the San Albino Catholic Church. Another beautiful church we found, although not in the Mesilla area, was Our Lady of Health.

Our plan for now is to leave here in the morning and head an hours north to yet another one of New Mexico’s wonderful state parks.

 Our campsite
 Wind and sun protection
 Mesilla Plaza


 Interesting entry



 Old town, old car







 San Albino Catholic Church

 Inside San Albino

 Our Lady of Health