A Weekend Getaway to Southern New Mexico

I've lived in the eastern half of the United States all of my life. Moving to Colorado at the beginning of February means my first time living west of the Mississippi. One of my goals, even though I've visited all 50 states, is to explore more of the west. So Mr. UR and I started planning some long weekends, and shorter forays, too, when we first arrived. in Denver. We looked at airfares to major cities in the west for a 3 day weekend this spring- and came up with extremely high prices for a short jaunt.We're talking $450 to Phoenix or Seattle or San Francisco. Then I remembered that our daughter had enjoyed White Sands National Monument on her college graduation road trip a few years back. I checked flights to El Paso and bingo! we had a winner. For $100 round trip (not including luggage but we just went with a back pack for such a short trip) we could enjoy Texas and southern New Mexico for a few days. Consider it booked.

Here's a few of the things we got up to:

White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument lies about an hour northeast of Las Cruces. It is the world's largest gypsum dunefield and the sand covers an area of 275 square miles. It's a relatively young dunefield, only 10,000 old, and became a national monument in 1939 after being home to the Apache Nation and ranchers. (Make sure you check the park website as the road here takes in the White Sands Missile Range and it can be closed to visitors)

 Upon arriving at the Visitor Center, which is a cool adobe building from 1939 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the area doesn't seem all that impressive. Sure there are sand dunes but nothing that you probably haven't seen before. Starting the Dunes Drive you still see the dunes mixed in with the desert vegetation. Your first stop is the dune boardwalk - a short walk out and back with signposts to learn about the vegetation and animals that live here. It's when you get into the heart of the park that you really see it's uniqueness. Driving is like driving after a snowstorm, only with sand lining the road instead. The bluebird skies with the pure white sand almost hurts your eyes. And the sand isn't hot - sinking your feet in feels cool and refreshing.

Some of the things you can do are dune climbing, picnicking, walking, camping, and sand sledding. The gift shop sell sleds for $25.99 and wax for $4 so you can sled down one, or several, of the dunes. (You can also turn your sled back in to the gift shop for a koozie trade if you like) We decided not to purchase a sled and just dune climb for the views. But when Mr. UR offered to video a woman sledding who was on her own, she offered to give us her sled as she was on her way to the airport and was done. She also had received it from someone so we took a turn sledding and then passed it off to a set of grandparents who were there with their granddaughter. 

Another thing you can do is the nightly sunset walk. Led by a ranger, this walk affords you the opportunity to see the mountains and sky fade in shades of purple and pink. We didn't stay for the evening but if you do go during prime season, make sure you arrive early for this walk. I overheard a ranger tell someone that there were 80 people on Thursday night and 100 on Friday that came for this walk.

Organ Mountains Desert Peak National Recreation Area

I'll be honest and tell you that I had never heard of the Organ Mountains before I started planning this trip. Boy, was I surprised to see such unique mountains and national recreation area. These craggy peaks - named so as they were said to resemble a pipe organ - dominate the landscape around Las Cruces. (They reminded me of the Dolomites in Italy) Desert landscape and craggy peaks - they really have their own sort of beauty.

We spent our first day in Las Cruces visiting White Sands so we decided to do a hike in the Organ Mountains the second day. We headed to the Dripping Springs Visitor Center and the incredibly nice people there helped us come up with a hike. We decided to do the Dripping Springs hike which was a 3 mile round trip hike with a gradual elevation gain - sounded perfect to us. Our end point would be, yes, Dripping Springs - which we were told would be only slightly dripping. 

This hike is the route of the old Butterfield Stage Coach route - a precursor to the Pony Express - that led to a sanitorium, mountain camp and resort hotel. There were a good number of people out on the beautiful Saturday morning but not too many. It was very cool to get so close to the mountains and see the remains of the buildings that used to be there. And luckily, we didn't spot any rattlesnakes! I'd gladly do this hike again - it was a very scenic and fairly easy one.

The nice people at the Visitor Center also told us about a scenic drive that was on the other side of the mountains so we headed there after our hike. It was a drive that led us into the Aguirre Springs Campground - we would never have known about this if not being guided there - which has great views and some 60 picnic tables. We picked one out for a lunch break and headed out to visit some wineries.

Visiting Wineries

Some 400 years ago Spanish settlers - and their clergy - planted the first grapes along the Rio Grande River, and now New Mexico has a healthy number of vineyards to visit with Las Cruces being its anchor. We visited three very different vineyards and enjoyed them all. 

Fort Seldon Winery

Fort Seldon Winery, sitting across the street from the ruins of the fort of the same name, is hosted by a couple in their backyard. It is an extremely small operation and they are the only two employees. They take care of the whole vineyard operation from planting to pruning. We arrived right before a large family arrived for a celebration so we enjoyed a glass on the patio and got on our way - my Gewurztraminner was excellent.

Rio Grande Winery

Rio Grande is a larger operation with not only wine tastings available but also food selections. There is live music on the back patio with adirondack chairs with mountain views to enjoy it in. We tried a few samples and then settled on a glass enjoying those views on a gorgeous day. 

Sombre Antigua Winery

This winery was my favorite that we visited - not only for the wine but also for the vibe. I think it helped that there was great live music and everyone seemed to be relaxing and enjoying themselves. There is outdoor patio seating - we almost blew away in the winds - and food available. Also, this winery is closer to El Paso if you happen to be in that area.

Where We Ate -

We stopped for lunch at the famous Texas chain of Whataburger and it was our first time eating there for both of us. Burgers were large, service was great and we both liked it.

And you can't go to New Mexico without getting some good tex-mex, can you? We chose La Posta de Mesilla - famed for Mexican food and steaks since 1939. It was crowded (it was Saturday night) and we were told our wait time for a table would be 20 to 30 minutes, but it wasn't. I got the sour cream enchilada which I thought was a bit bland and Mr. UR got the folded tacos which were delicious. The chips and salsa were excellent, too.

Another place we had to try was the Pecan Grill and Brewery. Did you know that southern New Mexico, specifically the Mesilla Valley, grows 70 percent of New Mexico's pecans and it's the most valuable crop in the state? There are SO many pecan trees in and around Las Cruces! So we headed to the Pecan Grill and Brewery for a taste of their "world famous" pecan beer. Delicious. Unique but still delicious. We had to add a few happy hour apps as our meal, of course, as one does.

Where We Stayed

We used earned hotel points and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express South in Las Cruces. It was a decent play to stay and lay our head for the night. Upon arriving we were a bit concerned to see 3 school buses in the parking lot - and the front desk employee said that the breakfast area could be quite crowded from 8 to 9 due to a FFA Convention (that's Future Farmers of America for those of you who didn't have that group at your high school) But we didn't run into any problems at breakfast or with noise. 

Things to note: the hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub - which was super crowded with families on spring break when we were there - outdoor patio with grill and is in the midst of a renovation project. We didn't hear any construction noise, though.

Bonus thing to do: At a rest stop west of Las Cruces on I-10 is a 20 foot statue of a Roadrunner- New Mexico's state bird - made of recycled materials. There is a good view of the city if you'd like to make a stop.

I really enjoyed our weekend away and discovering such a different area than where I've lived before. If you've not experienced the stark beauty of southern New Mexico, you should give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did!

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!