trailer running: an outfall of owls ..... the city of the crosses .... las cruce nm

so ? Anybody been there ... anybody know where it is ??

At Chaco I met a guy early one morning who, like me, was out taking sunrise pics of the Fajeta Butte . We ran into each other again later , and swapped emails so he could send me a picture ( the one of me on my bike frozen like popsicle ) . He owned a solar company in Las Cruces, talked it up , and when I emailed him back about some RV parks he invited me stay at his place . Like most people (it seems) in the SW he had a dedicated pad with electric and water for his RV and I stayed a few days and had the benefit of local knowledge .

Because with my limited knowledge the best thing I could think of was , southern New Mexico , it must be warm . (After it dipping below 40 at night in Chaco ... I'm ready !) And now that I had looked at a map once or twice on the trip, I knew it was on the Rio Grande . This is what I found !

Take the state university . Place it in a town near the Texas / Mexican border . We are talking desert , high desert . Surround it with mountains . Run the Rio Grande through it and give it major Ag … everything from Pima Cotton , to Pecans , Corn to Cabbage , the famous New Mexican Pepper , onions, garlic , tomatoes … grapes ! NM has a burgeoning wine industry and this is one of the best appellateions . Throw in Spaceport America , Virgin Galactic , White Sands ….and you have a lot going on for an old spanish town of 100k !

Here is a link
las cruces

Anyway, I have had a blast hiking , running , touring . I literally woke up to the wonderful smell of chilis roasting every morning from the local salsa company . Hungry !!!!

Mellow & Janets house

looking east

locked gate while hiking

which one ?

running trail along Rio Grande

low tide on the River Large

dia de la muerte

There are about 25 miles of formal trails in Cruces and at least 100 more on levies, drains, ditches, and washes . The trail in the pics below was called the Outfall trail and ran about 7 miles from the Rio Grande up to a trail called the Trivitz trail . It followed a drain called the Alameda and had numerous signs about the burrowing owl . A few folks will tell you ... I have been enamoured by the "collective noun" thing . Pride of Lions etc . Ever since Sting used Murder of Crows in one of his best songs I get kicks out of it . A Memory of elephants , a Stand of Flamingos .....