THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Las Cruces New Mexico, Then On To Tombstone Arizona

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

December 7 and 8, 2012

We spent two nights in Las Cruces, shopping and enjoying a great meal in Old Mesilla  at La Posta, yep, Mexican food, really good Mexican food.

La Posta was decorated for the holidays.  The day we were there they had over 24 trees up and decorated, and more were coming in!  And, yes, this is a chandelier, not a tree!  LOL

The restaurant is beautiful before the holiday decorations:

We strolled around town after our yummy meal, look at this neat old gate, ignore the modern PCV plastic pipe behind it. SIGHHH

I know I took a photo very much like this two years ago, I was drawn back to this area, loving the color, the style, the gate like wrought iron.  An, ohhh, myyy, I see Man's reflection too!  LOL

We would have enjoyed staying in the Las Cruces area for much longer, but, we had one more stop to make before our holiday layover in Tucson where we had a reservation for the 12th, so we had to move on out, heading west once again along I-10.

We saw signs about dust storms and zero visibility and we were passed by this, oversized load.  I'll say it is oversized:

Along this stretch of I-10, I am also always impressed by the long trains, lots of trains.  And, a nice display of geology too!

Ah ha:   Arizona state line!  WOOT!

And we know we are almost to Benson Arizona when we see these fascinating bolder/rocks/formations at the Texas Canyon rest stop.

Next stop, Tombstone area, where we will spend time visiting Tombstone, Bisbee and the Kartchner Caverns.




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THE Trip, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, Mesilla New Mexico

Copyright 2011, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I have been trying to get out and get a little exercise after all that icky time.  You know how it is, get the ickies, lay around, feel better, but weak from the lack of exercise.  So, a few days ago, we headed out to Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park which is only a few miles from the campground.  It was a pleasant day, and the forecast for the next few days was cold and wet.  Now was the time to get out and take a short hike, before the inclement weather arrived.

Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is very new, but offers a .5 mile walk (one way) on what they call a Resaca Trail, and another .5 mile walk (one way) on the Upland Trail.  You can walk one way on the Resaca, then go back to the Visitor's Center by walking on the Upland Trail, or do the Upland first, and return via the Resaca.

We chose to take the Upland to the Resaca.  This choice worked well for us, as the Upland Trail has soft sand, and you walk up hill, so, there is some exercise.  The Resaca Trail was harder ground, and flat.  So, we pushed a little, then had a leisurely walk back.

One of the first things we spied on the Upland Trail was tumbleweed, a LOT of it, and Man found this one to show me:

Mother Nature provides new and interesting things for us to experience.  These "hills" were not that large, maybe 20 to 40 feet tall, but, the shapes left by Mother Nature are artistic, and you know I had to have a photo.  These were actually "off" the property and we could not go closer to inspect them.

At the end of the Upland Trail where it meets the Resaca Trail, there is an area of constructed wetlands.  They were built in about 2002 to replace some wetlands that would be filled in when the Visitors Center was built.  Looks like the new constructed wetlands are to someone's likings, that itsy bitsy black spot in the water is an American coot.

He was so far away even with the 20 zoom on the Sony I could not get a decent photo of him.

There were benches here, we sat and enjoyed the sun, the American coon, the reflections.

Almost at the end of our walk, I did it again, another photo of the Organ Mountains.  You can see, we are quite a bit further west of them.

The Rio Grande River runs through this area.  During the winter the water flow is restricted, here is what it looks like.  A nice volunteer at the park told us that in the summer the river fills the banks and is about 5 foot deep.

We walked a mile, enjoyed the fresh air, the sun, the dessert, the Rio Grande River and the Organ Mountains.         Not bad for a couple of hours on a late December afternoon.

THE Trip, Gates and Holiday Decorations, Mesilla, New Mexico

Copyright 2010, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Man and I are on the mend and decided to have lunch in Mesilla, New Mexico.  It is an interesting town, boasts of historical figures such as Jesse James and Panco Villa and others, if you visit this Wikipedia page, you can get a brief history. 

I have a fascination with gates, and just could not resist this one, Happy Holidays to all.

* Additional photos taken in Mesilla will be featured over at Reflection's Flora and Fauna in the next few days.

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