Jared and I had a few days off and had a bunch to get done to catch up on our blog. We needed some place cheap and somewhere near White Sands, New Mexico. I went there in college and just couldn’t believe we were within a few hours of the park, so I asked Jared if he’d like to finally go to see it with me. He was really excited, but there are no hotels actually near the park, so we stayed about an hour outside in college town, Las Cruces, NM. Because we knew we had a few days to stay in Durango when we went to get Rudy, we didn’t want to break the bank here in Las Cruces, especially since we needed to just get a load of blogging done. All I wanted was a pool since the temperature was going to be in the hundreds….the description said “pool”.
I purposely left off the name of the hotel, because this is not going to be a “bad review” blog. It is going to be a “how many amenities were listed but not functioning, so technically we weren’t lying, review” blog.
- Pool? Yes, there indeed WAS a pool. It was full of a phosphorus green substance that may have turned me into a super hero had I swam in it…or just offered me a quick and painless death.
- Laundry? Yes, there was a “Guest Laundry”. But it had one broken washer, one washer with a bunch of staff buckets, towels, and such on it, and a dryer stack that wasn’t working.
- Ice Machine? Yes, there WAS an ice machine. It even made noise when you pushed the bucket up to it. But did ice come out? Nope. Why would it? When I asked the front desk, they replied, “Oh, yeah. That hasn’t worked for weeks.” Hmmmm… Please don’t bother placing a sign there. Please. That takes the fun out of it.
- Bleach spots trying to remove BLOOD that was still visible? You got it! How many would you like? Just enough to make you feel uneasy? Perfect! We got you covered.
- Kleenex? Right here is where it’s SUPPOSED to be. Oh! You actually WANTED some. Oh, I’m sorry. All out.
- Fridge for your waters? Since we have no ice, that would be nice, wouldn’t it? Too bad. Just a spot on the floor where one was most likely stolen.
- View? Now we’re talking! We’ve got you staring out into the radioactive pool you can’t use, and a mound of dirt. Don’t say we don’t treat you well.
All joking aside, it was maybe worse. But it was funny. So that made it ok. Even when a burst bag of dog poop lay at the foot of our trailer, we just thought, “That may be a great deterrent to thieves!” There is always an upside to be found. We had AC, we had WiFi, and we had each other. So, amidst the crying kids, guys loudly and drunkenly professing their bromantic love to one another at midnight, and the afternoon mating sounds of some distant amorous neighbors, Jared and I found Las Cruces to be a very pleasant town to stay in.
The location we chose for dinner was a giant juxtaposition to our hotel. A vineyard and restaurant with fine dining, beautiful views, live music, and excellent service, Lescombes was about a twenty five minute walk from our hotel. Since we’d been cooped up all day, we decided to get out into the town, get some ground moving under our feet, and walk there. This was some of the beauty we saw on the way:
This was underneath an overpass. One unique characteristic of Las Cruces (and actually quite a bit of New Mexico) is the amount of wall art all over the city. A professional photographer could have a field day with all the different murals, graffiti art, and big, bold paintings that adorned the city’s businesses, store fronts, alley ways, and underpasses. We took pictures of some, but there was no way to get it all.
I’m not sure what this plant was, but they were all over and looked like little flames on the ends of these bunches, all over this bush. Really beautiful and vibrant.
When we finally got to our restaurant, we were so surprised at the vineyards that were so lush and thriving in the 104° heat, and the darling atmosphere of the restaurant.
We had an incredible dinner, sharing appetizers, a bottle of rosé, some fresh and vibrant salads, and even a dessert! Our server, John, was wonderful and really made our experience extra pleasant. Our favorite item was a lavender, whipped feta spread, with rosemary and lavender honey. I’ve never tasted it’s equal, and I damn near licked the bowl clean out. The walk home with the sunset was a much more pleasant 98°, and with a half bottle of wine each sloshing around with the most delicious food in our bellies, we didn’t even care how far it was. It went quickly and we were passed out not too long afterwards.
The next morning found us eager to get out again, so we looked up some local coffee places and chose one in the downtown district.
This coffee shop called “Grounded” lured us in just by reading their menu online. They claimed to have açai bowls, and since we missed our chance to get some at the best place in Yankton (The Mint), we were stoked to find them here!
Orange-cinnamon lattes, with macadamia nut milk. WINNER of all coffee beverages on this trip, thus far!
Once breakfast was slowly and meticulously enjoyed, we got back to our little “oasis” hotel to get some work done before our adventure part of the day: White Sands National Park, New Mexico. I highly recommend trying to see this extraordinary place at least one time if you’re ever in the area (or even within a few hours). I’ve included some photos here. We had a magic time. The sand was so packed, it was fairly easy to traverse it. We climbed to the tops of dunes and were able to see for miles. It was soft and surprisingly cooler than you might imagine, especially if you dug your toes in just a bit. It glistened and glimmered under the pressing and unrelenting sun, and looking at it without sunglasses on was as uncomfortable as eating a mouthful would have been. But it was vast and fluffy and unlike any place I’ve ever been. One of my favorite observations was all of the shoe prints going up the dunes, but all of the bare feet prints there were coming down. People walking up to get grounded.
No possible way to capture it all. Jared tried to get a panoramic picture, but this was just a quarter.
That’s just my shorts in the shadow…for all you juvenile sense of humor folks (like me! Hahaha)
After the sun had taken everything out of us, we drove the hour back to Las Cruces with one thing on our minds: a burger. We read some reviews for Bubba’s 33, a raucous burger joint in town, not typically our favorite type of place, but, have mercy sweet baby Jesus….their burgers were unbelievable! I asked Jared if I was hallucinating in the desert still, or if this was real. Maybe it was the fact we were starving, maybe it was the fact that we hadn’t eaten a burger in a month or so, or maybe it was just THAT good. Whatever the case, there was not even a sesame seed left once we devoured our dinner. Thank you Bubba’s!!!
Our last morning called for the return to “Grounded” for round two of the best breakfast before we headed on towards Durango and into the arms of our boy!
This questionable looking topping was a coconut oil/lemon zest topping, akin to “Magic Shell”, but much healthier. It was delicious. Absolutely a zing for the tastebuds, and now Jared and I are bound to find a place in Tacoma that sells açaí bowls…on second thought, maybe it’s best we don’t. Hahahaha!
Thank you so much, Las Cruces for your colorful town and your kind people. Everywhere we frequented, we were met with smiles and warmth. I’m sure we’ll visit again, maybe for the hot air balloon festival! On to Durango, CO to reclaim our boy, celebrate his 11th birthday, and crush this Summer tour with four gigs in a row in Montana!! See you there…
