Retirement……LOVE IT!

We have spent the last week in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  We arrived on Friday, April 6, set up camp, and got ready to pick up our oldest son, Jeff, from the El Paso, TX, airport (just 45 minutes south of us) early Saturday morning.  Jeff had a couple of days between meteorologists conferences (first one in South Padre Island; second one in Las Vegas), so it worked out great for him to fly to our location.

An older lady from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (just across the border from El Paso), sat next to Jeff on the plane and told him if we had time we should drive up Scenic Drive because from there we could see downtown El Paso as well as Juarez, Mexico.  So we took her advice and made the drive as we left the city.  BOY!  Am I glad we did!  The panoramic view was unbelievable.  It was hazy that day and my pictures don’t do it justice.

This is the nice lookout area they created. It was lovely and peaceful up there.

If you look closely in the upper left quarter of the picture, you can see a sculpture that looks like a giant red X. To the left of the X is the Rio Grande River and in front of it is the bridge to cross into Mexico. Everything on the other side of the trees along the Rio Grande is Mexico.

I zoomed in a little on this picture, so the red X sculpture, the Rio Grande, and the bridge are a little easier to see.

After enjoying the view, we drove back to Las Cruces.  By then it was almost noon, so we went down highway 28 south to a small community Mesilla.  The town square in Old Town Mesilla is a wonderful place to visit.  The buildings and atmosphere make one feel as if they have stepped back in time.  We ate lunch in the open air courtyard of La Posta De Mesilla.  If you are ever in the area, this is a great place to eat some delicious Mexican food (I didn’t take any pics of the restaurant).

Interesting roof in the building that once was a courthouse.

The Basilica of San Albino is in the background.

After that we went back to the RV to rest a little while.  In the late afternoon, we decided to go to White Sands National Monument which is about an hour drive from the RV.  The park and all the white sand is just unbelievable.  If you are ever in the area, you absolutely MUST visit White Sands.  We were there for sunset, and it was phenomenal.

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of Jeff taking a picture. 😆

Sunset was at 7:30 and the park closed at 8:00.  After the sunset, we were hurrying to get out of the park.  We ate some supper at Red Lobster and headed home.  Some day I hope we go back to White Sands during the daytime and spend more time exploring the dunes.

Sunday morning we went out for a big breakfast at Denny’s and drove around  downtown Las Cruces.  Then we did a little shopping because Jeff needed to buy a couple of shirts for the Las Vegas conference.  We went back to the RV, watched some of the Cardinal baseball game, then took Jeff to the El Paso airport around 6 p.m. to catch his flight. It was a whirlwind two day, but we loved every minute of exploring the Las Cruces area with our oldest son, Jeff.

So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty