Mesilla, NM

We are still in Las Cruces, extending our stay by a day to get the brakes replaced on our tow vehicle...ouch! Yesterday we visited the historic community of Mesilla which is just a few miles south of here and where Stahmann's Pecans are grown.

"Mesilla ("Little Tableland") is the best-known and most visited historical community in Southern New Mexico. Since its' beginning, around 1848, Mesilla has had a major influence on the economic, cultural, historical, and political life of the Mesilla Valley. From the Gadsden Purchase, to the Civil War, to the Butterfield Stage Coach Trail, to the trial of Billy the Kid, to being a lively social center in the 1880s--Mesilla has been a prominent part of the rich history of the Southwest. At the time Mesilla was founded, the population of the town was concentrated around the Plaza for defense against Apache Raiders who were a constant threat to the settlement. Many of the adobe buildings built during that era remain today. " Source - http://www.oldmesilla.org/

I really loved the old adobe buildings and shared a photo yesterday of one of several ceilings we saw that were made of branches laid across beams. Here are a few photos I took of buildings around the Plaza, beginning with my favorite. This doorway, along the line of connected adobe buildings shown in the photo below, led to a private courtyard:

These are businesses along one side of the square that surrounds the Plaza.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I absolutely LOVE the colors, architectural shapes, and materials of southwestern design which probably makes our neighbors thankful for the Architectural Committee regs of our HOA...giggle!
 
We ate a late lunch at the highly recommended La Posta. The interior Meanders through halls and under archways that are brightly decorated in all these fantastically colorful tiles and paint and other materials. The food was authentic Mexican and each dish was a perfect composition of flavors.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It is with great trepidation that I post this next picture. I NEVER pull my hair back but my forehead got so sunburned at Dylan's game last Saturday that I can't stand to have my hair constantly touching it. However, it is the only photo I have of the food and the table; this restaurant is FABULOUS!!!

 
And for those who have purchased pecans from Stahmann's, here are some of the trees on their 4,000+ acre farm along the Rio Grande River where they grow 8 to 10 MILLION pounds of pecans a year. Miles of their pecan trees line Hwy 28 south of Mesilla. You can see the tiny leaves just beginning to unfurl, soon there will be thick canopies of green. But, you know how I love the sculptural beauty of bare trees.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Lovin' Life ~~ Discovering Historic Towns

Bev