Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in Mesilla. Set back from the plaza itself, look for
Galeri Azul,
Mesilla Plaza (
&
575/523-
8783
), where you'll find colorful handmade altars by Ernie Bean, whimsical T-shirts and
sun hats, and kitschy jewelry.
Mesilla Valley Mall
is a full-service shopping center at 700 S. Telshor Blvd., just off
the I-25 interchange with Lohman Avenue (
&
575/522-1001;
www.mesillavalleymall.
com), with well over 100 stores. The mall is open Monday through Saturday from 10am
to 9pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm.
LAS CRUCES AFTER DARK
National recording artists frequently perform at NMSU's
Pan Am Center
(
&
575/646-
1420;
www.nmsu.edu). The
NMSU Music Department
(
&
575/646-2421
) offers free jazz,
classical, and pop concerts from August to May, and the
Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra
(
&
575/646-3709;
www.lascrucessymphony.com) often performs here as well.
If you'd like a cocktail in a fun atmosphere, a new option has opened up.
Azul Night-
club
, in the Hotel Encanto, 705 S. Telshor Blvd. (
&
866/383-0443
or 575/522-
4300; www.hhandr.com). In a contemporary setting reminiscent of a Spanish nightclub,
the city's youngish business set has drinks and hors 'd oeuvres.
EXPLORING THE AREA
NORTH OF LAS CRUCES
The town of
Hatch,
39 miles north via I-25 or 34 miles
north via NM 185, calls itself the “chile capital of the world.” It's the center of a 22,000-
acre agricultural belt that grows and processes more chile than anywhere else in the
world. The annual Hatch Chile Festival, over Labor Day weekend, celebrates the harvest.
For information, call the
Hatch Chamber of Commerce
(
&
575/267-5050
).
Fort Selden State Monument
is 15 miles north of Las Cruces between I-25 (exit 19)
and NM 185. Founded in 1865, Fort Selden housed the famous Black Cavalry, the “Buf-
falo Soldiers,” who protected settlers from marauding natives. It was subsequently the
boyhood home of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, whose father, Arthur, was in charge of
troops patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border in the 1880s. The fort closed permanently in
1891. Today, elegantly eroded ruins remain. The monument is open from 8:30am to
5pm Wednesday to Monday; admission is $3 for adults and free for children age 16 and
under. For more information, call
&
575/526-8911
or visit
www.nmmonuments.org
.
Adjacent to the state monument,
Leasburg Dam State Park
(
&
575/524-4068
) offers
picnicking, camping, canoeing, and fishing.
SOUTH OF LAS CRUCES
Stahmann Farms,
10 miles south of La Mesilla on NM
28, is one of the world's largest single producers of pecans. Several million pounds are
harvested, mostly during November, from orchards in the bed of an ancient lake.
Stah-
mann's Country Store
(
&
800/654-6887
or 575/525-3470; www.stahmanns.com)
sells pecans, pecan candy, ice cream, and other specialty foods, and it has a small cafe. It's
open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 6pm, Sunday from 11am to 5pm. If you'd
like to stay south of Las Cruces, book a night or two at
Casa de Sueños
, 405 Moun-
tain Vista Rd., La Union, NM 88021 (
&
575/874-9166;
www.casaofdreams.com). Set
high on a plain overlooking the Rio Grande River Valley, with the Franklin Mountains
in the distance, it offers atmospheric Southwest-style rooms about a half-hour south of
Las Cruces, with good access to El Paso.
EAST OF LAS CRUCES
The
Organ Mountains,
so-called because they resemble the
pipes of a church organ, draw inevitable comparisons to Wyoming's Grand Tetons.
Organ Peak, at 9,119 feet, is the highest point in Doña Ana County.
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