Days Inn & Suites Mesilla Valley Inn

The Joy of New Mexico's Food

by JKMathieson

Las Cruces is located in the Mesilla Valley and is a nice mid-size town. It is the 2nd largest in New Mexico and grows in size when the university is in session. The best thing about Las Cruces is the food. Here's some great places to go if you are ever there. And by the way, Mexican food should never be expensive!
Enchiladas- El Sombero
Gorditas- Roberto's
Burritos- Go Burger
The hottest chile- Las Compas
Tacos- La Posta (in Old Mesilla)
Green chile salsa- Napalitos
Tamales- Roberto's

After stuffing yourself, take a walk around Old Mesilla, a nice historical location with cute shops, an old church, and a funky (smelly) bar called El Patio. You can find tacky gifts on the plaza as well as nice ones. Check out the Nambe shop while you are there. Enjoy the mountains, the river, and the nice people. Growing up in Las Cruces was somewhat boring, but now I find it quaint with much more to do whenever I return. There is hiking in the mountains, sports at the university, a lot of cultural things, and the food mentioned above. There is a good sense of family in Las Cruces.

Dripping Springs

by e7forever

Dripping Springs is located In the Organ Mts. 15 mi E of Las Cruces. It is named for springs that trickle from the rocks. It is a National Recreation trail that leads to the old ruins of Boyd's Sanatorium, Van Patten's Mountain Camp, La Cueva Cave and more.

Old Mesilla

by Basaic

The town of Mesilla is located just Southwest of the city of Las Cruces. In the late 1800s Mesilla was the larger more important town but when the railroad was coming through Mesilla opted not to allow the railroad to build a depot here and Las Cruces grew faster than Mesilla. Mesilla is important historically for several reasons. It was an important stop on the Butterfield Stage Line, it was an important part of the purchase of land from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase and it is where "Billy the Kid" was tried and sentenced to death for his activities in the Lincoln County War. The center of the town was the plaza which they have tried to maintain as close as possible to the way it appeared in the 1800s.

There are several historic buildings in Mesilla including La Posta de Mesilla which was a stop on the Butterfield Stage Line. It is the only building on that stage line that is still in tact and still in use today.

Mesilla is also home to the newest state park in New Mexico, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, which just opened in December 2008.

For more information, see my Mesilla Page.

Views of Las Cruces, New Mexico

by vikingrider

"Urban Sprawl Changes this once Quiet Town to Metro"

When I arrived in LC in 1970 as a college student to attend New Mexico State University, Las Cruces boasted a population of 15,000. The town was woefully backwards and I had to return to New York State to buy such basic things as my contact lenses!

Now 35 years later, how I wish the town could have been frozen in time. For we are inundated with wealthy retirees who are driving up real estate prices by their constant demands for a retirement dream home. Predictions are that this area will be as metro as Phoenix.

When once I could drive to nearby El Paso, Texas and see no lights for 40 miles, now, it is a busy freeway with the small rural villages of Mesquite, Vado and Anthony, spilling over into each other.

Yet, there are some areas that at least for now, maintain their views. Enjoy these photos because it won't be long before it will never look like this again.

Las Cruces --a fork in the road

by AGBAT

Las Cruces is where I-10 and I-25 split. I-25 goes north to Albuquerque, Denver, and beyond while I-10 heads for Tucson, Phoenix , and Los Angeles. New Mexico State University is in Las Cruces and many of the civilian workers at White Sands Missile Range live there also. The town is situated in the Rio Grande Valley and has extensive irrigation farming along the river. The mesa areas on either side of the river's flood plain is desert. Old Mesilla (hang out of Billy the Kid) is the main tourist attraction. An hour north is Elephant Butte lake and an hour east is White Sands National Monument.