We stayed two nights at La Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces. It is very neat and clean and has a lot of amenities. It has a great community room, a hot tub (unusual), a very nice laundry (which we used) and the longest dog park we have seen yet. It is also pricy – $45 per night. I’m not sure it is worth it as the sites are barely adequate for our rig (and had no table), the cable connection was unusable (we used our antenna) and some of the rules were just bizarre. For example, they demanded that guests refrain from setting foot on any unused site because they take great pride in how well they groom the fine clay after every departure. I half expected to see Monk at the registration desk.
The tableless site at La Hacienda
The sunken dog walk
Naturally, Jett and I took great pleasure in tramping across one to do laundry. Rebels.
It did, however, have a great view of the dramatic mountains near Las Cruces. That looks like a painted backdrop (see below), but I assure you that those are real mountains.
A butt view of Patience
The sunset also produced some appropriately spooky lighting.
Spooky sunset
We really had just one tourist foray in the Las Cruces area and that was to Mesilla, just outside the city. It is an old spanish town that it pretty well preserved due to the fact that the railroad bypassed it in the 1870’s and it pretty much died on the vine then. But it was a favorite hangout of Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, Pancho Villa and other icons of the wild west. Several of the buildings have plaques documenting the history of the building and they all seem to relish the gruesome deaths of those who formerly resided there.
Plaque on home of Billy the Kid’s lawyer
The town square was quite scenic, with many authentic and colorful adobe buildings. It was anchored by a very picturesque cathedral. The square was hosting a crafts and farmer’s market (featuring locally-grown pecans and pistachios) while we were there.
Mesilla square
Mesilla shop
Where Billy the Kid was tried
The cathedral
I was very interested in seeing the White Sands Missile Range, but those plans were thwarted by a need to get Cha-Cha to a vet to check out a rash that he had developed. Finding a vet on Sunday was tricky, but, fortunately, Las Cruces had a PetSmart with a Banfield Animal Hospital attached. The vet thinks it is a minor allegic reaction and is nothing to worry about.
We still have one extra day to spend before we get to Las Vegas and we will probably spend it in Tucson. The forecast there is for highs near 90 for the next 3 days. So while those of you back east are dealing with wind, rain and flooding from Hurricane Sandy, we will be watching the news at the poolside bar.
We will be with you in spirit.