Ruidoso NM and travel day to Arizona…

Before we left Las Cruces we spent one last night with our friends Merrill and Sonia and took a daytrip over to Ruidoso, New Mexico.  They wanted us to see a house they are planning to buy and live in once Sonia retires in July. The drive over was really enjoyable as we were able to catch up and revisit with our friends.

We passed by the White Sands Missile range and kept a close lookout for any stray missiles… Next up was a different type of white sands as we passed by the White Sands National Monument. We have visited this place before and if you haven’t you should as it is a very unique spot. The sand is not silica based since it is all gypsum sand…

Then we got to Alamogordo where we saw the largest pistachio I had ever seen. We stopped  to check it out and discovered that they not only sold pistachios but housed a winery as well. After trying several wines  (three maximum is their rule) we opted for the cabernet which was quite good.

Finally we stopped in Ruidoso and drove many steep and windy roads until we finally arrived at their house… really neat house and with a million dollar view!!! The panorama of the mountains was breathtaking and we were greeted by several beautiful Steller’s Jays as we gazed out over the fir and pine trees. On the way back from their house we stopped at a little Irish Pub where I had my first (but not last) Smithwick’s beer from Ireland.

As morning broke we made our way to breakfast where one more order of huevos rancheros was on tap. A quick stop at the farmers market and we were off to Deming, New Mexico for a nights stay. We relaxed and got ready for our trek heading west and as we left Deming, we passed the John Deere store and an old gin (built by the father of a blogger we know!) and headed west…

We are now parked at Benson, Arizona and it is a new state for Abbey. We are staying at the Butterfield RV Resort (Passport America $18.50) where we will reside for a several days as I want to explore south of here to the Huachuca Mountains. Ahhh, but that is tomorrow…

But before that I think we will hit the hot tub here at this park…