Framedlight

As we were in Organ on Highway 70 we decided to make the quick journey north to the San Augustin Pass. Here the road goes through an extremely narrow valley between the Organ Mountains on one side and the San Augustin Mountains, a small southerly extension of the San Andres Mountains, on the other. As you come out of the pass an enormous desert plain opens up in front of you and you can see the settlement of White Sands and the Missile Range beneath you. There is a viewpoint with some information boards on it telling you of the benefits the missile base has for the environment! We tried to drive through to see the observation post of the range but it was closed. However we were to return to the White Sands National Park later.

Anne had found a great house in Las Cruces for us to stay in while we were in southern New Mexico and we were ideally placed for most of the things we wanted to see. Las Cruces lies on the flood plain of the Rio Grande on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and from the city you can see two chains of mountains, the Doña Ana to the north and the Organ Mountains to the east.  The Organ Mountains were established as a National Monument by President Obama in 2014 and rise sheer from the desert floor to a height of 9000 ft. The easiest walk starts at the Dripping Springs Visitor Centre and is a paved walk which leads to some interesting historical ruins and a pool and waterfall. It is only 4.8kms long. We had arrived late the previous evening and the day had started slowly, so the walk was begun rather late in the morning. It was fiercely hot which made the beginning of the route along the edge of the mountains rather slow. The path was crossed continuously by large grass hoppers which whirre