THE Trip, Dripping Springs, OR, The Last Man and Woman Outta the Mountains, The Views

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Yesterday, I shared with you some of the challenges of the hike to Dripping Falls, near Las Cruces New Mexico.  Now, lets see some of the beauty that makes such "treks" so, so, so worth it!

Above:  Man enjoying the view, looking back towards Las Cruces.  Those peaks in the middle of the photo are known as La Cueva, a rock shelter with a long history, including some great tales about "El Ermitano", an Italian noble, turned hermit, who became one of La Cueva's most unusual occupants.

Before you get all the way to Dripping Springs, you will come upon several small buildings, the remnants of what were a Livery associated with the Van Patten's Mountain Camp. The camp was a resort hotel, a get-away for the residents of Las Cruces, some 17 miles away.  The camp was built in the late 1800's by Major Eugene Van Patten, a Confederate officer who served under General Stonewall Jackson.

The springs are at an elevation of about 6,000 feet.  Lookie what we found on the way up:

Ya, snow, not much, but there it is.

The "dripping" spring turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, water wise.  We were not surprised, I told Man there better be at least a drip of water after the effort to tromp that 1.5 miles.  And, snicker, that was about all there was, a drip or two.  Look in the middle of the photo, that sorta dark spot, that is the drip from the wall above.

The buildings from the Van Patten's Mountain Camp did not disappoint however, at least if you are a lover of old falling down remnants, mmm, history and historical buildings, and I am!

You can see these buildings are tucked up almost against the mountain walls.  Breathtaking.

The trek up the mountain to see the Dripping Springs and the old Van Patten Mountain Camp buildings was well worth the effort.

Man and I would visit Mesilla again, and actually drove back up to the Dripping Springs Visitor's Center with MOC friends Nita and Al, but this hike, err, trek up the mountain, would be the last major activity/sightseeing we would do before we headed west again, leaving Las Cruces and the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, behind.

We have enjoyed our time here, and would not hesitate to return here for another extended stay.



.