Framedlight

  After we had consumed our coffee in Mesilla we went to nearby Bosque del Mesilla State Park. We met some really friendly rangers there but saw very few birds. As always they were hiding. The reserve lies alongside the banks of the Rio Grande. The autumn is the driest season in New Mexico and there was very little water flowing along the river. There had been some fires in the reserve and the blackened branches made a good contrast against the light green foliage. We did see a number of house finches in a tree. After our little walk we had a picnic lunch and then set out for the main event of the day, driving north west to the City of Rocks. The weather was looking very stormy again, especially as we drove past the Cooke Range Mountains.

Mesilla lies just outside the city of Las Cruces where we were staying and it was high time we paid a visit. In the 19th century, as the US/ Mexico borders shifted, Mesilla, being on the southern fringe, kept changing nationality until 1853 when it became permanently part of the US. At this time it was the most important town in the area. Mesilla was at the crossroads of two major transport hubs, the Butterfield Stage and the Camino Real. With its many cantinas it attracted figures such as Billy the Kid, Pat Garret and Pancho Villa. All was going well until 1881when the Santa Fe Railway was expanding and expected to run through the town. However Mesilla asked the Railway far too much money for land rights and the tiny village of Las Cruces offered free land. The Railway took the cheaper option. So since then Las Cruces has grown into the second largest city in New Mexico and Mesilla has stopped still.  But it is a very pleasant backwater. We walked around the plaza and admired the Basi