Las Cruces II

We also found two more National Monuments while we were in Las Cruces that we had somehow missed in the past. We figured out why. Prehistoric Trackways National Monument that preserves land with preserved dinosaur tracks was established by Obama in 2009, which was after our last in-depth exploration of Las Cruces. Unfortunately, being a BLM managed monument, it has virtually no services.

Unfortunately, the BLM has determined that in order to better preserve the location of these prehistoric trackways without having any on site personnel, they simply don’t publish the location of any of the gems. We did manage to hike some of the trails in this impressive area with a panoramic overlook of the entire city of Las Cruces, so we enjoyed ourselves a great deal, even if we didn’t find any dinosaur tracks.

We did get a good picture of what it looks like to be in the Southwest in very rural and remote locations. These unique decorations seem to be evident in most of the signage in the area, even with the posted signs that hunting is prohibited.

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument is also an Obama proclamation effective May 21, 2014. Dripping Springs was previously a New Mexico State Park, so it actually has a visitor center. Its claim to fame is that in the 1870’s, the existence of a small dripping fresh water stream attracted Colonel Eugene Van Patten to build a resort and shuttled the rich and famous up here by stage coach. Allegedly Billy the Kid’s killer, Sheriff Pat Garrett and Pancho Villa both stayed here in its heyday.

In 1910 Dr. Nathan Boyd built a tuberculosis sanatorium hoping to take advantage of the warm, dry New Mexico climate to cure his well healed clientele. The venture did not turn out to prove any significant cure results and failed a few years after it was opened. However, most of the buildings still remain in a state of arrested decay, just yards from the Dripping Springs that attracted both Van Patten and Boyd to invest all they had in building their dreams in this remote location.

With these, we have now hit all the National Parks and Monuments in both Texas and New Mexico. Next!

Talk to you soon!