Sunday in Mesilla

We will be going on a cross country trip in the end of July. When staying in El Paso, am thinking about driving up to Mesilla. One place I read said that there is a craft market there Sunday afternoon, others say it is Wed and Sat am. Since our day will be Sunday, will there be a market, or shops open? If not, any better ideas for a Sunday in the area? Thanks

Sunday in Mesilla

Maybe a trip up to White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo. Plus there is a nice space history museum there too.

Sunday in Mesilla

The only craft market I know of in that area is the farmers market in Downtown Las Cruces, which is Wednesday and Saturday mornings (probably what you%26#39;re talking about) on the pedestrian mall. Downtown LC is about a 15 minute drive from La Mesilla, FYI.

Sunday morning is before the tourists arrive and while the church is in session so, yes, the shops will be closed. They open around noon, IIRC, about the same time as the restaurants (and bars).

My favorite spot in Las Cruces is Dripping Springs. If you don%26#39;t mind the one mile, relatively flat hike to the site, it%26#39;s well worth the time. More info here: blm.gov/nm/…dripping_springs.html

There%26#39;s a great little coffee shop in Mesilla as well, if you just want somewhere to chill out for a while.

I%26#39;d also push you to not stay in El Paso. People in El Paso would flip out on reading it, but Las Cruces is just a much better town with better hotels, less traffic and better food. It%26#39;s worth the extra half hour drive.

If that doesn%26#39;t work for you, you could always take the back way west (I think you%26#39;re heading west) along the border road: NM 9. It follows an abandoned railroad line that once ran from Bisbee to El Paso. The bridges are still there in many places and one of my favorite things to do when on that stretch of road is walk the old line and pick up stuff like pieces of broken plates and old cans that were thrown from the trains in the early 20th century. But that may just be me. You%26#39;ll go through historic Columbus and get the chance and parking and walking into Mexico at Palomas, although they%26#39;ve had a couple of gang firefights there recently and it%26#39;s probably to stay away at this point.

Or, consider taking a side trip to the Chiricahuas. And, if you do that, don%26#39;t do the monument, just go in on the east side through Portal off Highway 80.

We have been to the Farmers Market in Las Cruces (yes, on a wednesdaymorning) and we were not impressed to say the least. Actually we spent most of our time in that great bookstore with many old books and had a nice espresso at the backside. La Mesilla is a great place for a visit and also don%26#39;t miss White Sands NM as mentioned before.

Tet

Very close to El Paso is a great park to visit, Hueco Tanks State Park. I visited in April so it is hard for me to say whether it is a good place to visit in the end of July. If you decide to go you need to get a permit in advance to visit since only 60 or maybe 70 people at a time are allowed to be inside the park. The park has exceptional pictographs and only way to protect them is to limit a number of visitors. If you get there without a permit you need to wait until someone leaves the park and then you are permitted to get inside but first you%26#39;ll to go through a briefing on what you are allowed and what you are not allowed to do while in the park. There are also guided walks and hikes but again you need to register and prepay for them. Nonetheless, it is an exceptional place for wildflowers, variety of blooming cacti, birds, pictographs. I%26#39;ll be returning to this park every time we stay in El Paso. As to Messila, we got there last year in April on Sunday afternoon and the place was the zoo, did not enjoy it because of crowds. We always enjoy staying in El Paso at the Residence Inn. El Paso has a lot to offer if one is willing to find out. A few years ago we had a great stay in Marriot%26#39;s near the airport.

Other options not too far from El Paso are Fort Davis and McDonald Observatory and Carlsbad Caverns. It all depends how far you are willing to travel, where are you visiting before and after your stay in El Paso.

Colinaz, thank you for posting information about Dripping Springs. I%26#39;m adding this place to my list of things to see in the area. As to the route 9 along the border we took this road in the beginning of April 2007. Wildflowers were fantastic but driving on this road is not for everyone, at least to two couples we met later in El Paso. There is a very nice park in Columbus right on the border. We enjoyed route 9 tremendously. It is isolated road and it goes along the Mexican border with only a few local cars passing but lots of border patrol cars and soldiers with tanks and machine guns. Really, I hope this not a daily thing with those machine guns.

Ditto on hw 9. Great drive and no machineguns when we were there last time (2005). Also went into Mexico from Columbus, probably the easiest way to get in but not much accross the border and don%26#39;t forget your passport.

Park the car at the USA side.

Just a caution about crossing into Mexico at Columbus NM... there is a possible/probable drug war going on and possibly not too safe. My Mexican immigrant students are telling me stories about scary visits (shootings, carjacks etc ) when they visit family in Chihuahua Mexico. I think right now it is best to keep out of that area of Mexico.

From one of our local news channel websites was this headline and article...

';Parents are keeping their children out of school and police are arming themselves with automatic weapons in two border towns south of Deming because of recent bloodshed from a drug war. ';

kob.com/article/stories/S446942.shtml?cat=500

Thanks for all the information guys. After reviewing your infor, I switched reserv., and will spend one night in El Paso, spend the day either on hwy 9 or 28 (we%26#39;ll see by then), going to Mesilla and White Sands. That night we will stay in Deming instead (on way to Vegas, no use backtracking. 2 more questions- Mesilla or White Sands in am vs. pm. Also, has anybody done the Sunday brunch at the Double Eagle in Mesilla? At $20 each, it doesn%26#39;t sound too bad. I%26#39;ve seen mixed reviews. We%26#39;re into ghost stories, and their%26#39;s is cool.

Double Eagle in Mesilla is great! Worth visiting. If you want to see White Sands.. do it early in the day. Otherwise it will be way too hot to enjoy!

On the other hand . . . White Sands in the evening when the sun is going down is enchanting. On full moon nights in the summer they stay open later. The moonlight reflecting off the white dunes is surreal. Once the sun starts to set the temperatures drop quickly and the sand gets cold.

There IS a crafts market on the plaza in Old Mesilla on Sunday afternoons and it is wonderful, lots of handmade items. There is usually music and all the shops and restaurants are open. Don%26#39;t miss it!

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