Las Cruces Memories

Las Cruces has quite a bit of unusual architecture to enjoy. Here is a snapshot of what used to be a very popular dancehall connected to an early drive-through liquor store, Lamar's. 

The round structure is falling to ruin, unfortunately. Behind it, just literally perhaps an inch separating them, is the venerable hardware store, Hayden's, in business since 1960. Hayden's was established by Hayden and Elnora Wiley. Over the years, the family business was expanded and continues to grow with Las Cruces and the surrounding neighborhoods. It's a small store where you can find almost any piece of hardware you could ever need, no matter how obscure.

That's handy to know, if you are considering retiring to Las Cruces! And I hope you will!

Las Cruces Begins Holiday Decorating for Christmas 2020!

Yes, it's true: Perhaps it's due to COVID-19, but Las Cruces has caught something else, too: Holiday Fever. 

It seems everyone is starting early for the winter holidays.

One of the favorite light sets to use is the lighted Christmas Chiles strings! We love our chiles here (not chilies or chilis -- we spell it C-H-I-L-E-S!) and it shows.

It's also time for new ristras. I have one on order through Ristramnn's in Old Mesilla, right next to Las Cruces. For the long, long ristras, early in the season you have to order them, as they are bought within minutes otherwise. Later in the season, you might be able to get a long one without pre-ordering. 

The smell of the red chiles drying in the ristras is heavenly! You may not know it, but the green chiles will ripen to red. That's the chiles you see in the ristras. Some smaller chiles called serranos are also used in ristras.

Thank you for dropping by, and see you Wednesday!

 

 

More Mesquite Historical Neighborhood

Mesquite is the orginal townsite of Las Cruces. It's a neighborhood of small homes and shops nestled against the downtown area. Mesquite Street is the original El Camino Royal, traveled over 500 years ago by conquistadors, priests, and settlers.

Some of the businesses that were established decades ago are still going strong along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road" that eventually grew to be the longest highway in North America, from Mexico City to Canada), such as Nopalito Restaurant, which also has another branch near Telshor. But the main restaurant is on Mesquite Street, across from Beck's Coffee and down from Mesquite Art Gallery, two relative newcomers who appear to be doing quite well. A few blocks down, on the corner of Amador and Mesquite Streets, is Lujan bakery, great for traditional Mexican "pan dulce," or pastries. Get ready, because Mexican pastries are nothing like European or U.S. baked goods. They are much less sweet, and often feature colored flour that looks like icing -- and isn't -- on top. Strange at first, it's easy -- all too easy -- to develop a taste for pan dulce.

The building for Sunshine Grocery and Grill still stands, newly painted, but it isn't a grocery now. Built in 1918, it is a local landmark, and is used as a location for movies filming in Las Cruces.

It will be interesting to see if after COVID-19 runs its course, if the Mesquite Historical District continues to develop as a corridor for small, quirky businesses.

Would you like to live in the Mesquite neighborhood, just steps from the weekly Farmer's Market and famed COAS Used Bookstore?

The Tiniest Store in Las Cruces

Because of its age, Las Cruces has a variety of strange and unusual buildings. Sunday drives around town are always interesting because of this. On one such drive, we discovered this tiny religious store, City of the Crosses, at 307 S. Main Street. Built against the back of another business, it is barely the size of a den, and it takes its name from the nickname for Las Cruces.

If you choose Las Cruces for your retirement, you'll love the light traffic. It's one of the plusses of the area. Driving is easy here! Not only is there little traffic, but weather conditions are almost always mild, even in winter. It's enjoyable to be out and about on our sunny winter days.

Thanks for dropping by, and see you tomorrow. Leave a comment if you have any questions about Las Cruces, the City of the Crosses.

Our Wonderful Saturday Farmers Market

 

Las Cruces boasts a very active, very interesting Farmers' Market that is held twice a week: The main market on Saturday mornings, and a much smaller market on Wednesdays. The Market is downtown, along Main Street, all year around!

You do NOT want to miss going to the Market. And in the warm seasons, you want to go VERY EARLY, because it gets entirely too hot. Local produce, pasteries, snacks, food trucks, craftspeople, artists, jewelry makers, seamstresses, and more are there each Saturday morning! Many times there are musicians of all ages performing on each block. Sometimes wonderful Mariachi bands are playing, and sometimes it's brave students perfecting their craft.

With COVID-19, of course, everything is changed. But I'm writing this as if those troubled days are behind us and everything is as it was in terms of having a robust market with thousands of visitors. Right now, it's a smaller market, but that will change, I hope, when we are free from the spectre of COVID.