Las Cruces, NM

[redrockcoulee]

I am probably going to be going to Las Cruces, NM late October on a course and if things go as planned I will spend the first week of November with my wife in that area. Llooking for some interesting off the nomal tourist locations to photograph. Will of course look into White Sands and a couple of other sites that pop up on the "what to do web sites" aimed at the average person.

We both like landscapes, old buildiings (the worse condition the better) and industrial sites as well as pretty pictures to show the folks back home that don't like images of skulls and dead animals. Will fit in at least one day birding and my wife will want to see some galleries as well (she is a printmaker by training and partakes in just about any art form she can manage to find some time).

Have not decided on equipment taking yet but if not the LF gear than at least MF and of course digital to take advantage of the amount of shots one can that way, especially as the chances of coming here again is small. However as there are the two of us we might just bring both LF and MF so we each have one to use at the same time.

Almost two years ago I did spend a few days travelling north and south of Santa Fee so this time would perfer to spend it near Las Cruces but as not sure if we are flying in and out of there looking for places up to the middle of the state.

Thanks for any suggestions. Will be renting a car to get around.

[shadow images]

Definitely visit cloudcroft. Was stationed at Holloman and there is lots to see within driving distance.

[Don Boyd]

Redrock, I have lived in Las Cruces the last two years but not shot much around here. I spend most of my shooting time 2-hours north at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Mostly digital folks shooting birds around there but I have found I love using my 4x5 there for images like this: http://donboyd.com/gallery03/image05.htm,

or like this one from my MF Pentax: http://donboyd.com/gallery02/image01.htm.

The Bosque hosts the Festival of the Crane Nov. 21 - 23 with lots of tours of the area, exhibits, wildlife rehabilitators, and a zillion digital folks with the l-o-n-n-n-g lenses.

Las Cruces has had 3 galleries close in the past 6 months but there is usually a good show at the Branigan Cultural Center and the Tombaugh Gallery at the Unitarian Church. The most visited place is probably old Mesilla. It has a few galleries and restaurants, San Albino, an old Catholic church (aren't they all), and numerous adobe buildings. Here is one link to some information but there are others: http://www.oldmesilla.org/index.html

Kirk Gittings knows of some petroglyph sites around Las Cruces and if they are of interest to you you might drop him a note.

I will be gone for most of Sep. and Oct., returning around Nov. 3, give me a call if you are still around. By the way, the closest commercially served airport is El Paso, a 1-hour drive south of Las Cruces. Albuquerque is a 3-hour drive north. If you are flying in on your own, Las Cruces does have an airport on the mesa west of town.

Best of luck,

[goamules]

Hi, I lived there for about 10 years before coming to Tucson. Try Dripping Springs. There is a dirt road east from University, you'll dead end at the Organ mtns. Old sanatarium buildings and great mountain cliffs.

For adobe buildings, you can't beat old Mesilla. This was the biggest town between El Paso and Calif for a hundred years before Las Cruces existed. Nice plaza and some good older towns on the same road south by 10-20 miles. Eat a Chope's if it's still there, near La Mesa. Nice pecan orchards along the way.

There is a lot right around las cruces, you don't need to drive all the way over to Cloudcroft, but White sands is nice along that way.

PM if you want more ideas, I did a LOT of off the beaten path all around there.

Garrett

[redrockcoulee]

Redrock, I have lived in Las Cruces the last two years but not shot much around here. I spend most of my shooting time 2-hours north at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Mostly digital folks shooting birds around there but I have found I love using my 4x5 there for images like this: http://donboyd.com/gallery03/image05.htm,

or like this one from my MF Pentax: http://donboyd.com/gallery02/image01.htm.

The Bosque hosts the Festival of the Crane Nov. 21 - 23 with lots of tours of the area, exhibits, wildlife rehabilitators, and a zillion digital folks with the l-o-n-n-n-g lenses.

Las Cruces has had 3 galleries close in the past 6 months but there is usually a good show at the Branigan Cultural Center and the Tombaugh Gallery at the Unitarian Church. The most visited place is probably old Mesilla. It has a few galleries and restaurants, San Albino, an old Catholic church (aren't they all), and numerous adobe buildings. Here is one link to some information but there are others: http://www.oldmesilla.org/index.html

Kirk Gittings knows of some petroglyph sites around Las Cruces and if they are of interest to you you might drop him a note.

I will be gone for most of Sep. and Oct., returning around Nov. 3, give me a call if you are still around. By the way, the closest commercially served airport is El Paso, a 1-hour drive south of Las Cruces. Albuquerque is a 3-hour drive north. If you are flying in on your own, Las Cruces does have an airport on the mesa west of town.

Best of luck,

Thank you Don. I already had the Wildlife Refuge marked on my map. Will be looking up the other places closely.
Getting together would be wonderful if it is conveinent.
Have little choice how I get to Las Cruces as government is paying and it is always the cheapest way that counts although they do pay from the Medicine Hat airport instead of making us go to Calgary first. The Hat is about 2/3 the size of Las Cruces.

Thanks for those suggestions

[sparq]

The Very Large Array may be worth a trip.

[redrockcoulee]

Just taking a break between painting ceiling and cleaning floors. Garrett I will be PM you for sure.

Very Large Array: had seen it on the map but had not looked it up yet. Something else

Shadow Cloudcroft, any town that has angle parking on main street is the right type of town. Thanks guys. Got a couple of months to plan it anyways but there is always something special that does not show up on google or tourist maps that locals love. For most of its existence near here was Red Rock Coulee, which according to my handle I think is very special

Ivan

[Hollis]

I wouldn't call cloudcroft much of a town, its about 6 buildings and some houses. Try the Sunspot observatory. At least the drive is nice that direction.

[claudiocambon]

White Sands National Monument is only about 1.5 hours to the NE, I think, and worth a visit. Have fun!

[h2oman]

I did four years of grad school in Cruces, and my in-laws live in Alamogordo and Ruidoso, so I have spent some time in the area. I wasn't doing any photography at the time, but did a great deal of hiking and rock climbing in the Organ Mountains and elsewhere. My interest is landscapes, so I will address only those possibilities. I would guess that the previous suggestion of taking in Old Mesilla for architecture is a good one. If you ended up going on beyond Alamogordo toward Cloudcroft, as suggested by others, you might prowl the back streets of La Luz and Tularosa for some interesting houses and buildings.

The Organ Mountains (about 10 miles from Cruces) can be spectacular, depending on the clouds and lighting. I always thought of them as a miniature, desert version of the Tetons - yes they are that craggy and interesting. As mentioned, Dripping Springs is a good place to go to get in the heart of them on the west side. To my mind, Aguirre Springs, over on the east side, is even nicer. It is accessed off the highway from Cruces to White Sands/Alamogordo, just after going over the pass.

Back on the west side, the best views of the whole Organ range are had off of a good gravel road that goes from the road to Dripping Springs over to the highway to Alamogordo. I don't remember the name of the road, but a little poking around should yield its name or location.

Alamogordo is at the base of a huge escarpment on the west edge of the Sacramento Mountains, which I find quite impressive. With good evening light the hills and cliffs are beautiful. About 10 miles south of Alamogordo toward El Paso is a place called Dog Canyon, with a good (strenuous) trail from the basin floor up the canyon. Just going UP the first half mile or so puts you on a nice bench where the upper reaches of the canyon become visible.

I'm thinking White Sands is only about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes from Cruces, as I recall. The Very Large Array is a long ways from Las Cruces, like 3-5 hours? I personally liked running and bicycling up by Cloudcroft/Sunspot, but I don't think I'd go there as a photographer. Everything is pretty much forested up there, and not terribly interesting forest at that.

Enjoy the area, it has a lot to offer!