Las Cruces

"Eat dessert first, Life is uncertain" -Anonymous

I would add especially if you are eating sopapillos to the quotes above

We love Las Cruces. Rachael was born here and my parents have always talked fondly about living there. We got up and walked around the corner to Walmart to get some yummy groceries since we were staying in New Mexico for a few days. Avocados there were only TWENTY-FIVE CENTS!!!! And they were super yummy. We got those, tomatoes, cheese, hummus, tortillas, milk, ham and peanut butter and jelly. We ended up making most of our meals in our room with the help of the microwave.

Always in the background are the Organ Mountains. Gorgeous and different they rise out of the backdrop of Las Cruces to constantly amaze. Rachael fell in love with them. New Mexico is actually really mountainous, contrary to my original belief.

After shopping and lunch we headed to Old Messila Village just outside of Las Cruces. It was once a stop on the stage coach line and is famous for people such as billy the kid who used to frequent there. There was a gorgeous old church there that still holds mass and we considered going that evening. We also stopped by a shop that sold Green and Red Chile Pecan brittle. Amazing we had to have some. There was also a shop called Nambe - famous for unique design and a metal that looks like silver but doesn’t tarnish or rust, absolutely gorgeous. All the buildings are built stucco style and there are large bundles of dried red chile peppers hanging from peoples doors and the streets in the old village were cobblestone.

After wandering around Old Messilla we headed down to New Mexico State University to see the Chile Pepper Institute. Along the way I realized that I had lost my favorite glove that Rachael brought me back from Italy. Trying not to freak out we decided to go ahead to our tour of the Chili Pepper Institute and then go back to Old Messilla Village to find it. The institute wasn’t what we expected but it was still really interesting. We were thinking we would go out and see the fields where they grow peppers or something like a farm. Because we are traveling in January nothing was growing so a sweet college student - also named Autumn by the way - told us all about how they grow the chili peppers and how they recently discovered the hottest chili pepper on the planet. Its from India and called a Bih Jolokia - its recently been in the guiness book of world records. She let Rachael and I try a hot sauce and a salsa made with the peppers. It was really hot but yummy, it crept up on you after the taste from the back of your throat. We bought several packets of different kinds of peppers to try and grow in our apartment and some of the sauce to give to steve and sarah.

Leaving the Chili Pepper institute we headed back to Old Messila and split up to find my glove. Retracing our steps I searched in several stores we had made purchases in with no luck. On a whim I went back and checked the parking lot where we left the car and thanks be to God there it was! Rach in the meantime had found a local winery that had live music the next night. On the way back into Las Cruces we passed Lulu’s - this adorable store and we had to stop. They had amazing stuff for the house and fantastic jewlery. I would love love love to buy the whole store. There was a copper ring fashioned into a gorgeous rose and I loved it! Unfortunately it wasnt my size. Rachael and I did buy a pottery bowl for our apartment, we think we will put all our match books or assorted chocolates we have collected along the trip in it eventually. There was also another winery next door that sounded fantastic, serving local wines. We might head there tomorrow night after dinner.

We went from Lulu’s back to our hotel and had dinner before heading out to see a three dollar movie (not quite as good as the 1.50 movie in Raleigh but better than full price) and saw “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” which was really good! I want to see “ the Princess and the Frog” also!

The next day we got up early and headed to the Gila Cliff dwellings. We drove three hours out really into the middle of nowhere but it was BEAUTIFUL! The road was really windy and there was some snow so it took us awhile to get to the monuments. When we arrive at the park we had to drive a few miles from the visitors center and then take a short hike up the canyon to reach the cliff dwellings. They were amazing! built into caves in the cliff, you could see where people lived and how the rooms were divided.

After our hike and the long drive we were zonked. We came back and cleaned up and went to have dinner at my parents FAVORITE restraunt in Las Cruces called La Posta. It was also listed in our Atlas and I think it is pretty infamous. It has been there since the stage coach route used to come through ( at least 100 year) and the food was fantastic. Rach and I split chili con queso, chips and salsa, guacamole salad, green enchiladas, a chili relleno, rice and beans, and a fold taco. SO YUMMMY. Desert followed with an apple empanada and sopapillas. The Sopapillas are so good it is almost unbeliveable. Soft, flaky and filled with honey. We were so stuffed afterwords that we skipped the wine tasting and headed back to veg out and get some sleep.