Southern New Mexico - American Southwest - page 331

Las Cruces International Airport ( & 575/541-2471; www.las-cruces.org/facilities/
airport), 8 miles west of the city, offers no commercial flights at this time. El Paso Inter-
national Airport ( & 915/772-4271; www.elpasointernationalairport.com), 47 miles
south, has daily flights to Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston, among other
cities. The Las Cruces Shuttle Service, P.O. Box 3172, Las Cruces, NM 88003 ( & 800/
288-1784 or 575/525-1784; www.lascrucesshuttle.com), provides service between the El
Paso airport and Las Cruces. It leaves Las Cruces 12 times daily between 5am and
9:30pm for a charge of $40 one-way or $70 round-trip per person, with large discounts
for additional passengers traveling together. A $9 charge is added for pickup or drop-off
at places other than its regular stops at major hotels. Connections can also be made three
times a day from Las Cruces to Deming and Silver City.
VISITOR INFORMATION The Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau is at
211 N. Water St., Las Cruces, NM 88001 ( & 877/266-8252 or 575/541-2444; www.
lascrucescvb.org). The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, 760 W. Picacho
Ave., can be reached at P.O. Drawer 519, Las Cruces, NM 88005 ( & 575/524-1968;
www.lascruces.org).
WHAT TO SEE & DO IN LAS CRUCES
On a hot day, when the church bells are ringing and you're wandering the brick streets
of Mesilla , you may, for a moment, slip back into the late 16th century—or cer-
tainly feel as though you have. This village on Las Cruces's southwestern flank was
established in the late 1500s by Mexican colonists. It became the crossroads of El
Camino Real and the Butterfield Overland Mail route. The Gadsden Purchase, which
annexed Mesilla to the United States and fixed the current international boundaries of
New Mexico and Arizona, was signed here in 1854.
Mesilla's most notorious resident, William Bonney, otherwise known as Billy the Kid,
was sentenced to death at the county courthouse here. He was sent back to Lincoln, New
Mexico, to be hanged, but escaped before the sentence was carried out. Legendary hero
Pat Garrett eventually tracked down and killed the Kid at Fort Sumner; later, Garrett was
mysteriously murdered in an arroyo just outside Las Cruces. He is buried in the local
Masonic cemetery.
Thick-walled adobe buildings, which once protected residents against Apache attacks,
now house art galleries, restaurants, museums, and gift shops. Throughout Mesilla, color-
ful red-chile ristras decorate homes and businesses. On Sundays during the summer,
locals sell crafts and baked goods, and mariachi bands play.

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Places of Note in Mesilla
For a fun and easy jaunt that will familiarize you with the history and architecture of this
interesting village, purchase the booklet A Walking Tour of Mesilla, NM, sold at shops
around the plaza and at the J. Paul Taylor Visitor Center, in the Mesilla Town Hall,
2231 Avenida de Mesilla ( & 575/524-3262, ext. 117), where you'll also find period
photos and plenty of brochures on the area, as well as clean public restrooms. A good
source for Mesilla events is www.oldmesilla.org .

Other Attractions
Las Cruces Museum of Art This museum houses galleries, art studios, and class-
rooms, with frequently changing exhibitions of contemporary art in a variety of media.
It offers art classes year-round. Two recent exhibitions included traveling shows by Salva-
dor Dalí and Auguste Rodin.