Back Road Adventure
| The valley of the Rio Grande winds like a green snake through the brown desert from Colorado through New Mexico and Texas, forming the enormous border between that vast state and Mexico. By providing water, cover, comfort, and sustenance in an otherwise arid land, this green corridor has been a lifeline for animals for eons and for humans for a few thousand years. Highway 28, a back road, leads you through that segment that runs from Canutillo, just north of El Paso, to Las Cruces, New Mexico, a scant thirty miles, called the Mesilla (meh-SEE-yah) Valley, so named for its northern terminus at the old-town village of Mesilla, New Mexico (or maybe vice-versa). With its long views, plentiful history, and great beauty, Highway 28, the valley’s oldest byway, provides an adventure through fragrant fields, dusty vineyards, and shady orchards, past villages, shops, churches, and saloons. Old? Indeed. The known origin of the road is with the Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate in 1598. The Highway 28 route approximates a portion of the legendary colonial Camino Reál and a portion of the easternmost border of the 20,000-square-mile Gadsden Purchase of the mid-1800s, the last southwestern puzzle-piece to form the continental United States. To find Highway 28, take the Transmountain Road exit (#6) from Interstate 10 and drive west to Doniphan Drive. Turn north to the next traffic light, marked FM 259, and turn west. A mile down the road, you’ll cross the state line, where NM Highway 28 begins. The first leg will take you to Anthony, New Mexico/Texas, the two-state town. In those first several miles, you’ll pass a grassy, expansive polo field, pecan orchards, cotton, alfalfa, and chile fields, an art residency, the village of La Union (lah oon-YON), and two wineries: Zin Valle, the brand new one, and the other, La Viña, the oldest winery in New Mexico. Both, thankfully, have tasting rooms. La Union has several attractions. There’s a quaint little second-hand and antique shop that’s worth a browse. (What’s antique and what’s second-hand is in the eye of the beholder.) There’s also a large nursery that specializes in xeriscape landscape plants. Even though this lush, green valley is watered by the Rio Grande, water is precious and increasingly limited as population grows, so xeriscaping around these parts, pardner, is vital. And as you leave the don’t-blink-twice village, on the left you’ll see the intriguing sculptures...hmm...a little strange...on the lawn of the Border Art Residency, set up to house artists for one year while they develop their crafts. |
|
 |
|
| Pecans have laid down solid roots in the valley, as we’ll discover soon, while cotton has been a staple of the valley economy for somewhat longer, producing quality fiber that is cherished around the world. Vineyards have squeezed in and found a place in the blend, but the hottest item around is chile, the annual green and red manna that feeds the fires of a growing national addiction. You’ll see these, along with various other agricultural crops, everywhere. Anthony, New Mexico/Texas, is bisected by the state line, right down the middle...one town, two states, two counties, two governments. Highway 28 runs west of the town that has also proclaimed itself the Leap Year Capitol of the World. Seems odd that a town would have its fiesta only every four years, but with leap year as the theme, what else can you do! It’s a pretty big deal, though, especially for leap-year babies who come from all over the U.S. to celebrate. If the co-pilot will take a look at the map now, you’ll see you’ve just passed the very westernmost tip of Texas. When traveling northward from Anthony, it’s a good idea to stop somewhere along here to get your bearings. The views are extremely long and beautiful. If you face due east and extend your right arm, the southern mountains, above El Paso, are the Franklins. South of the Franklins is a wide pass, the proverbial El Paso del Norte, the Pass of the North, through which the river flows, as did natives, colonists, highways, and railroads, and the very reason for the settlement of the region. Extend your left arm, and those are the Organ Mountains (see the organ pipes?) that rise over Las Cruces. Straight ahead is the Anthony Gap, a low saddle pass between the ranges. That odd-looking layered cone peak is called Bishop’s Cap. Behind and above you is the mesa (table) land. If you don’t feel small now, you’ve got a problem...or no perspective. |
 |
 |
Continue north several miles to La Mesa. This village is iconic among Mexican food aficionados for its two excellent restaurants that are literally across the highway from one another. Chope’s, on the left, was founded in 1915, while Severo’s, right side, is much newer. On most days, especially weekends, you’ll see both places packed with folks, eating the best chile dishes available and drinking cold beer by the quarts. A few more miles bring us to San Miguel. Bearing in mind that you are in the middle of the desert, prepare yourself for a sight that will blow your mind. Quite suddenly, you’ll dart beneath the overarching branches of a huge (3,200 acres) pecan orchard. This farm is the headquarters of the nutty Stahmann family. Its origin dates back to 1926, when the late Deane Stahmann was accused of going nuts for planting the first pecan trees. Deane had the last laugh, however. This farm, along with the Stahmann family’s 2,000-acre Australian orchard, makes the family the largest pecan producer in the world. The New Mexico orchard alone yields as much as 12 million pounds of pecans annually. That’s a lot of nuts, folks! A stop here is well worth it. Right in the middle of the orchard is a store that sells not only the nuts but everything imaginable that can be made from or with pecans, plus chile items and racks of southwestern knick-knacks and gadgets. When you burst from the trees, you’ll find yourself back in the sun and just a short several miles from Mesilla. As you pass Union Avenue, on your right you’ll see the cotton gin, another valley icon and a factory that swings into motion once a year to process the farmers’ yield. On your left is the village. Pick a street and turn in for some real fun. You’ve probably heard all about this place without ever knowing where it actually was. Now you know. Welcome to Billy the Kid land. If you saved some appetite, you’re in luck. There are a number of excellent restaurants here serving a variety of cuisine but most notably Mexican food. You’re really in the home of a style of Mexican food some call Norteña, some call Comida Corrida, but all agree it’s the place to find it. La Posta, a rambling, venerable adobe has a cool indoor patio with tropical birds and fish, several unique dining rooms, eighty-some brands of tequila, and great food. The building itself was once the stagecoach stop for the historic-but-short-lived Butterfield Overland Mail, then later a hotel, and since 1939, a famous restaurant. |
| Find the village plaza, park the car, and wander around and outward from the little square. Shops of all kinds abound: a bookstore, chile and confection shops, many southwestern, Native American and Mexican curios, jewelry, and clothing stores, galleries, coffee shops, breweries and wine tasting rooms, B&Bs, a Nambé (pewter) shop, and even an art cinema, most housed in charming adobe buildings. Two more restaurants are on the plaza, one of which, the Double Eagle, provides the ambience of an old-west hacienda and saloon, complete with lofty pressed-tin ceilings, an air-conditioned patio, and paintings of scantily-clad bar girls of yore. Mesilla was once the Spanish colonial capitol of the huge Doña Ana land grant, later a territorial hub, and was expected to become the large city of the region until the upstart down the road, Las Cruces, stole its thunder. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are probably the two most well-known outlaws who kicked up Mesilla’s dust (the Kid was jailed here and made a famous escape), but many notorious characters have wandered these historic streets. Mesilla residents likely are relieved the village stayed small, holding onto its lazy, warm, dusty colonial and territorial feel in layout, architecture, and mood. And they should be. This quaint old-style town attracts crops of tourists who come with their cameras, dollars, euros, and yen from all over the world. Once you start looking around Old Mesilla, you’ll probably wish you had most of a day to spend there. Heck, you’ll just have to make another trip. Highway 28 has two more miles, terminating at South Main Street in Las Cruces, which is a progressive, comfortable small city that provides big-city amenities while it maintains its decidedly small-town atmosphere. When it’s time to hit the road again, the fast track back to El Paso is Interstate 10. In just about thirty minutes, you’ll be back on the outskirts of the city, where you can hunker down for the night in one of El Paso’s fine hotels. Then, tomorrow, using a different itinerary in the Visitors Guide, head out on another Great Southwest excursion for a fun, relaxing, entertaining, perhaps even educational day. Bienvenidos, amigos. Breezy Cade, writer/musician, has been staggering from cantina to cantina along Highway 28 for three decades and knows what he’s slurring about. |
 |