Hello everyone, our last post was in August 2021. We have not been moving much as we were in Arizona from August 1, 2021 until January 21, 2022. It was a long break for us and basically we got bored and restless but could not move around as much as we would have liked. We are healthy so no worries there
After leaving Arizona we went to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
We used our Harvest Host membership and stayed one night at the Rio Grande Winery.
This was a perfect spot for us to take a break driving from Tucson. “Founded in 2004, Rio Grande Winery continues the hand-crafted tradition of winemaking in the oldest wine region in America. Experience a breathtaking view of the Organ Mountains while enjoying wines hand crafted from our 28-acre estate vineyards.” The wines were great as was the hosts. We definitely wines: Land of Mañana and Desert Nights Rosé.
Las Cruces (“the crosses”) is the second-largest city in the New Mexico and is the best place to get pecans. They claim NM Pecans are the best pecans Nationwide and have their own website. New Mexico now produces approximately 20% of the U.S. pecan crop each year and, in 2006, New Mexico became the largest pecan producing state in the nation for the first time in history. Anyhow, we headed downtown and went to a local Pecan Shop. We of course had to buy some.
We went into Historic Mesilla (downtown Las Cruces). We found that Billy the Kid is a big story here. It appears that Billy was sentenced to die in Las Cruces after Sheriff Pat Garrett captured him. (Sheriff Pat Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent.) After sentencing, Billy the Kid was moved to Lincoln, New Mexico. “On April 28, 1881, Billy the Kid escaped from the jailhouse in Lincoln, New Mexico. He avoided capture until July 14, when he was ambushed and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett at a ranch house. Billy the Kid is buried in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, though some believe the myth that he lived on.” They of course have a gift shop on the premises of what used to be the courthouse.
Pat Garrett is best known for his involvement in the Lincoln County War, but he also worked in Las Cruces on a famous case, the disappearance of Albert Jennings Fountain in 1896.”
-Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.
-Leaving a nickel indicates that you and the deceased trained at boot camp together.
-Leaving a dime means you served together in some capacity.
-Leaving a quarter at the grave, you are telling the family that you were with the soldier when they were killed.
While this tradition can be traced back for a variety of reasons to the Roman Empire, it became common practice during the Vietnam War.
In addition, there are many water tank murals in the Las Cruces area and can be seen through the Las Cruces Water Tank Mural Guide. They are not clustered and we were only able to see this one.
Of course we looked for murals. There is a Las Cruces Mural website and there are many but we limited our pictures. None of the murals are listed on that website.
