New Mexico & Texas

February 22
With a driving day to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and a day to do errands, we were ready to explore before heading to Big Bend National Park, Texas. First on our list was White Sands National Monument. Not knowing anything about this park, I was amazed to find really white 50 foot high sand dunes made totally from tiny particles of gypsum that have been accumulating for the last couple of thousands of years. With the desert wind, the right chemicals in the soil, a little rain and evaporation, they are ever moving and growing and are just like the dunes found on Mars! There is a lizard and a rat that have evolved to match the dunes and are white. There was a nice nature walk to take and a boardwalk a little further down the road. Both had informational sings along the way. Before leaving, we took our shoes off and went barefoot as we climbed the dunes. How soft the sand felt on our tootsies. Some areas were hard packed and felt surprisingly cold with the cold night temperatures. The park is surrounded by The White Sands Missile Range surrounds the National Park. They have a museum on the history of the missile range but we skipped that to head back to town for lunch.

We headed for a historical area of Las Cruces called Mesilla. What a little gem. It’s more modern history began in 1850, as a way station for the Butterfield Overland Stage. It grew to be the largest town between San Antonio and San Diego. Billy the Kid way tried and hanged in the courthouse on the corner of the plaza. The buildings from the 1850’s, built around the plaza are still standing today. One corner had the first brick building in New Mexico. A Frenchman had the bricks made right on site. He was murdered shortly after the building was completed and there were a number of murders of owners that followed. Thank goodness that trend eventually stopped and today it is a gift store. We had lunch at La Posta which is in the original Butterfield Stage building. While we were having a fabulous lunch, we noticed that right across from our table the area had been the blacksmith shop. A woman had started the restaurant in 1939, with dirt floors and four tables. Well, it has been a huge success and it is in a much better location today! To go with the BEST chips ever, I had a beer served over ice with fresh lime juice, a first! It is called a Michelada and is found on menus in this area. It would be fun to make at home. Our lunches were delicious and Norm finished his off with a piece of chocolate pecan pie that was to die for. The pecans are one of the local crops. The USS New Mexico nuclear submarine named their galley La Posta after this restaurant. Many restaurants in new Mexico were in the running but this one was chosen because of the fabulous food and its history along with the history of Mesilla. They incorporated some of the dishes in the menus onboard. As a previous restaurant owner, I think that would be quite an honor!
http://www.laposta-de-mesilla.com/index.html is an interesting link.

February 23/24
We drove through miles and miles of Texas desert past millions of creosote bushes to reach Big Bend National Park on the Mexican border along the Rio Grande River. We are camping in the southeastern corner near the Sierra Del Carmen mountains in the Rio Grande Village. The mountains have hues of pinks and lavender and turn to orange, pink and purple at sunset. Our first morning here we did our usual and headed for the visitors center to lay our time here. We took the Boquillas Canyon walk this morning down to the Rio Grande. The trail takes you a short distance into the lovely Boquillas Canyon. Remembering something I read, I listened to the sounds of the river realizing that I was listening to the further deepening of the canyon. The Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen is right across the river. When Chris and Norm were here 18 years ago, they hopped in a small row boat and a Mexican took them over to the village for a ride on a burrow to a taco stand! After 9/ll all that came to a stop. Today the Mexicans are crossing the river and have their trinkets and nicely painted walking sticks sitting along the trail with a money jar and explanation as to what the money will be used for. It is illegal to buy them, we ignored that, and put our money in a jar. Recently big wigs from Washington were here to see about setting up a remote crossing station. You would go a station, make a phone call and scan your passport to cross and do the same when returning. The forest service would provide a boat and the Mexicans would man it. Seems like a good solution. It would benefit the Mexican community and the Americans would love it. A little friendly interchange would be a good thing. If the project keeps on track, it could happen in 2012.

For our picnic lunch we walked to the Hot Springs. With the air temperature at 85 or so a full on dip in the Hot Springs wasn’t high on my list, but it was great to put my dusty feet in the nice warm water for a little soak. The water comes out of a spring and flows into the Rio Grande. In the 1930 and 40’s it was a heath retreat. The ruins of the rooms and a little market are still here. I guess the soaking pools were on two levels. Depending on your illness you might be on the upper level where the water was pumped up from the lower pools and then emptied into the river. The less contagious folks stayed in the lower pools. It was common for people to come for a week and take a couple of dips each day. We enjoyed our picnic glad to be healthy. There was a burro grazing on the other side of the river.

Our easy chairs were calling back at the manor and we read the afternoon away. A coyote strolled right through the campground!

February 25
We drove up a couple of thousand feet to and area called Chisos Basin in the Chisos Mountains. The vegetation changes from desert cactus to a pinyon pine, juniper and oak woodland. We even saw Mahoney and Ash trees as we walked a mile out to a lookout on the Lost Mine trail. Nice little hike with beautiful views of the rock formations and the valley below. Some of the birds and vegetation here are not found anywhere else in the US. We had some good views of Casa Grande, one of the rock formations that is well known in these parts. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the visitor center in Chisos Basin before taking a short walk out to gaze at the Window View. Rock formations come in on both sides leaving a space for rain to flow out of the basin to the valley below, hence the Window View. It is a beautiful area with a 360 degree circle of rock formations and very green with the large trees. Back down to the desert and the Manor for a tall glass of ice tea and a good book. Rachel and Jake are both watching snow fall today!

February 26
We visited the last “must see” area of the park today; the area of Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon in the southwest corner of the park. Driving to Castolon we passed a couple of ranch sites that had been going concerns around the 1920’s to 50’s. They were either adobe structures or stone and out in the middle of nowhere! It is hard to imagine living in such a remote and inhospitable area of the planet. As a tourist it made a beautiful drive with interesting rock formations but it is dry, dry desert with lots of cactus everywhere. We saw windmills still running but native vegetation had taken over. They raised various crops and ran cattle to the point of over grazing. The volunteer at the Castolon visitor center was full of information. It served as the headquarters for the area from the 1880’s until the park took over the area in the 1960’s. In 1916, the military moved in to help protect the community from Mexican bandits during the Mexican Revolution. By the time the buildings were constructed, the war was over and the buildings were sold to locals. The bunk house was made into a store which is still going today. Cotton was raised for a few years along the Rio Grande and they even brought in a cotton gin. Cinnabar was mined for mercury and processed here, of course there were no safety requirements at the time and the mercury was melted in big open pots. It was a going community with 2,000 to 3,000 people, Mexicans and gringos living together in Harmony. The store was called La Harmonia.

A few miles down the road we walked about a mile into the beautiful Santa Elena Canyon carved out by the Rio Grande. The canyon walls rise straight up 1,500 feet. It was nice to walk in the shade made by the narrow canyon walls as it was about 90 degrees! I had a “ha ha” moment when I stepped off the ledge along the river to feel the water temperature of the Rio and my foot sunk halfway up to my knee! The squishy, oozing mud was swallowing my shoe with my foot attached. Quick sand came to mind. Norm came to my rescue after we all had a good laugh and with a little difficulty, pulled me out of the oozing clay. I thought I might loose my shoe forever but all ended well. Norm did take a picture to record it for all time. Getting the mud off the shoe was another story. The canyon is really gorgeous and my favorite spot in the park.

A nature walk from our campsite led to a hill overlooking the valley to the west with the Rio Grande river and mountains in the distance, and the Sierra del Carmen mountains to the east. It makes a lovely walk at sunset. We had taken the walk last night and I inadvertently deleted my photos, so Chris and I walked up there again tonight for another great view.

I haven’t had a decent hand of cards for a couple of nights! Norm’s loving it!

February 27
We decided to leave one day early and head north. Sixty mile an hour winds were expected! Thinking of trying to stay out of the wind and inside the trailer when it is in the high eighties wasn’t sounding good. The forecast was correct and the wind hit us soon after we got on the road. We drove though a true Texas wind storm with the dust flying. At one point were stopped by the highway patrol and we had to take a detour because visibility was down to zero ahead and they had a big pile up down the road. The detour took us through a prettier part of Texas but the wind was a blowin. We got to Van Horn and set up at a KOA and stayed put inside the Manor! The walls inside the Manor were brown with dirt that had filtered inside. The walls are clean, we are cozy and hoping to see the Oscars tonight. Right now the wind has the cable out all over town.
February 28 - Jaiden’s Birthday!