The experience a visitor to Las Cruces, New Mexico feels is akin to opening a beautifully wrapped gift, layer by layer. Approaching the city from the east, one sees and feels the vastness of the beautiful White Sands National Monument. Proceeding westward, the Organ Mountains loom, purple and jagged against a setting sun. Then up over the San Augustin Pass with jaw-dropping views for endless miles in all directions before descending to the Rio Grande Valley and historic Las Cruces. Or, approach the city from the west just as dusk falls, and strung along the fertile river and up from the valley are thousands of lights like a long string of glittering beads backed by the Organ Mountains. Approached from any direction, Las Cruces is an awe-inspiring city, and one with a long past and a brilliant future. Las Cruces was founded in 1849, named for three crosses which marked the graves of travelers and soldiers. It is now the state’s second largest city with the space industry, New Mexico State University, agriculture, and tourism contributing to its astonishing growth. The city has come a long way since its beginning as a major trading route on the famed El Camino Real which linked the United States with Mexico. Nearby is Old Mesilla which dates to 1850 when it was a stage stop on the Butterfield Trail connecting St. Louis and San Francisco. It is now a popular tourist destination with little shops housed in historic buildings and great restaurants featuring unique New Mexican fare. From the days of being an important player in the saga of the Old West, to an up and coming modern city, Las Cruces continues to change without completely letting go of its past. |