It isn’t exactly southwestern cuisine but it was time for a pizza fix. The local “place to go” is Magpies Pizza. Kent had a pretty standard meat and veggie pie and I tried the pesto version.  We both left quite satisfied.

This stop we visited the eastern unit of Saguaro NP, the Rincon Mountain Unit. Brittlebush are in bloom and blanket everything with a bright yellow.   The brilliant red flags of blossoming ocotilla seem to float above the rocky soil of the cactus forest.  We drove a bit and hiked a bit for a lovely morning.

Last time through here we steered clear of the huge Santa Rita Copper mine. It is impossible to completely miss a 1 ½ mile wide pit and this time we stopped at the overlook to check it out.  The scale of the operation and sheer size of equipment is technically amazing.  They have been taking copper from here since 1800 and there is no end in sight.

Site and tailings remediation requirements seem pretty light… grade and reseed. The large scale leaching process used for low grade ore is pretty ominous sounding.   Odd how I can be impressed by what they have figured out yet saddened by the fact that they are doing it.

Students, artists and businesses collaborate; the result, tremendous public art in the form of murals depicting heritage, daily life, local history and more. Check it out at membresarts.org.

There are a few older buildings to check out and lots of shops. If you make the journey, stop in at Diane’s Bakery and Deli.  The pastry is wonderful.  The BBQ at Two Brothers isn’t bad either.

Check out the Mimbres pottery exhibit at Western New Mexico University Museum.  It spans 1000 years of Mimbres inhabiting this area and it is amazing what archeologists conclude about the people and culture based on these pieces.

Today begins our second visit to this fun cluster of boulders. It will be our home base for a few days as we explore the Silver City area. A Great horned owl, coyotes, and lots of black tail jack rabbits and cottontails share the space.

Las Cruces has several of the suggested restaurants. Our choice, Dick’s Café.  Chips came with a salsa that nearly set our mouths on fire; still Kent stuck with the plan and ordered a green chili burger. What a great combination.

The mountains just east of Las Cruces are part of a newly created (2014) National Monument, Organ Mountains Desert Peaks.  We took advantage of a couple hikes on the west side on the mountains where the rugged terrain and many washes create lots of canyon hiking opportunities.

We checked out the east side and found a wonderfully remote campground, Aguirre Springs which is perched in a dish shaped cut-out high above the basin floor and about half way up Baylor mountain. The access road twists and turns and sites are small so it would be, at best, a motor home only stop for us.  Looks about perfect for tent campers though; great setting, great view, several trails, and lots of backcountry access.

High mountain crevasse are streaked with snow.

Shops ranged from fine art and local and Mexican crafts, local Ag products, to wonderfully unique clothes (mostly women’s of course), to junky trinkets and t-shirts from China.  I think I hit them all, thanks Kent for your patience and thank you stores for all the benches!

I tasted New Mexico wines and pistachios.  I even brought home a bottle of Heart of the Desert Riesling.  The red pepper pistachios were interesting!  We are not far from Hatch, New Mexico, the pepper capital, so the most asked question is which do you prefer, red or green.

There are bed and breakfast and lots of cafes plus a public plaza to relax in. It could be a fun place to spend a few days for anyone who enjoys people watching and relaxing in the sun with a cool libation.

The El Paso area lies along this heavily used trade route.  It is a great place for anyone interested in early American history.  Three missions dating from around 1680 play a big part in telling the story of the area; Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario.

Lunch was Mexican food at a local café, imagine that!

A huge bolder strewn rock outcropping rises from the desert floor where the overlying ancient sea bed has eroded to expose the tougher volcanic rock. Area springs and hueco (an Indian name for water holding bowl or depressions) with their promise of water year round have drawn humans to the area for thousands of years.  Monochrome red/orange stick figures 10,000 years old still grace the walls beneath protected overhangs.  More colorful mask drawings and even remains of a village tell of another wave of visitors some 2000 years ago.  The Apache and Tigua Indians left murals telling of battles and celebration.  49ers, Butterfield overland stage personnel, and Texas Rangers have overlaid their marks.  If rocks could talk.

The area is protected within Hueco Tanks State Park just outside of El Paso.