4/11/21 My office appointment was eliminated at the RV resort and I now have a 4 day weekend. So I decided to take a trip to New Mexico and do a little hiking and exploring.

Las Cruces is a sprawling city nestled on the west side of the Organ Mountains. I didn’t have a place to stay and chose one of the reviews I found, the Siesta RV Park. For $34 you get a full hook up and a tiny spot and for one night, that worked for me. The first thing I did was to check out the bath house and this place was very old and outdated, but clean, which was good enough. I got a good night’s sleep and that is a plus.

The next day I headed out to Dripping Springs that resides in the The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. This was established to protect significant prehistoric, historic, geologic, and biologic resources of scientific interest, and includes four areas: the Organ Mountains, Desert Peaks, Potrillo Mountains, and Doña Ana Mountains. The Dripping Springs trail leads to an old settlement that included cabins, stone ruins, a sanitorium and resort. Very interesting for photos. The springs were not dripping unfortunately, due to the drought in the southwest. I spent the day hiking and got a pretty good tan. Seniors get free admission too! I stayed at a Hacienda RV park for 2 nights and it was much better.

I had planned to drive to Carlsbad Caverns, but the reservations were sold out that weekend (being a holiday), and drove to White Sands National Park instead. There I spent the entire day and it felt like driving though the dunes. The sand was definitely white and set a beautiful foreground to the mountains. However, it was crowded with picnickers everywhere. It reminded me of Lake Michigan on a weekend, except without a lake. There were sand riding discs available for sale and it actually looked like fun. The kiddos seemed to be enjoying themselves. I went on one of the bigger trails and only walked about 1/2 mile in because the height of the dunes was too demanding. There were ups and downs on 20′ dunes and I could only walk so far. I took a break and drove into Alamogordo, a nearby city, to do some shopping.
After that, I drove back to the park and enjoyed the late afternoon sun, staying until sunset to take some snaps. It was a great day!
This was a great trip and I plan to visit New Mexico again when I have more time.