Fun in New Mexico Part One

Our rental house this season is a newer home in a nice little neighborhood on the north end of Las Cruces. Penelope likes her daily walks on the suburban sidewalks, we don't have to worry this year about her walking in the native grasses and getting burrs in her paws. The backyard has a stone wall around it and opens out onto a native area that gives us a view of the Organ Mountains and a bit of the valley lights at night. It is not a fancy home but it does have three bedrooms.

We wanted to repeat a hike we had done last year to the Dripping Springs on the west side of the Organs. The springs were flowing more this year like a small waterfall. We visited the old camp ruins again. We also went to the four block long Farmer's Market again on a beautiful Saturday morning. 

On a weekday we drove to the ruins of Old Fort Seldon about 15 miles north of Las Cruces. The troops were used to guard wagon trains and settlers in the area in late 1800's.

We returned to a favorite restaurant at the Old Mesilla that has a charming interior courtyard. Of course we visited the Old Mesilla shops again and bought some of the green chili/garlic flavored pistachios that Steve loves.

On another excursion we found a nice state park with modern facilities and nice walking trails for birdwatching near the Rio Grande River. 

Those are the highlights of our first two weeks of glorious sunny weather.