Las Cruces, NM

We finally hit the road. We were delayed for two days due to jeep repairs, but did leave Tucson this morning. We were sad to leave since we really liked Tucson, but we need to get home to Barbara’s mom. The maintenance delay cost us a second visit to see the grandkids in Dallas, though.

Our intent was to drive to El Paso, TX and stay at the military campground at Fort Bliss. While driving east this morning I called and found that they only had one space left for tonight. They do not take reservations or I would have made one days ago. It was highly unlikely that the one open space would still be available by the time we would arrive, so we opted out and called the Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, NM. They had room so we booked a spot. It turned out to be a top notch RV park. Very nice. We may regret this tomorrow, because stopping short of El Paso today just adds time to an already long drive tomorrow. I suppose we could have found something on the east side of El Paso, but we did not want the hassle of El Paso rush hour at the end of a long day of driving. Tomorrow is Saturday and a morning pass through town should be uneventful.

Las Cruces has some interesting history. The original settlement of La Mesilla was once the largest community between San Antonio and San Diego. It was a stage stop for the Butterfield Stage Lines that ran the Overland Trail. We showed you a portion of that road when we were in Fort Davis. Yep, the same long road. Billy the Kid was tried for murder here.

The Gadsden Purchase was completed here.

The Basilica

The plaza is the typical meeting place adjacent to the Basilica.

We were only a mile from the old town of Mesilla so we decided to walk there. We did a little shopping (we, in this case, should be interpreted as Barbara) and stopped in to an old Mexican restaurant. Great setting, OK margarita, not so great food. 

All the locals were excited that it started to rain. Drought, you know, but they had driven there. We walked home in it. Thankfully, it was not too bad.

We will try for an early departure, but you know how that goes with us. First there is the coffee, then the paper, then…