Archive for the 'Las Cruces' Category
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
Robledos and Dona Anas
Every visitor to Las Cruces is struck by the beauty of the Organ Mountains, east of town. But there are numerous other mountain ranges in the area, including the Robledos and the Dona Anas, both north of Las Cruces. The Robledos are on the east side of the Mesilla Valley, the Dona Anas west of the valley.
Neither range are as spectacular as the Organs, and it’s hard to capture their beauty.
Here are two photos of Robledo Mountain taken after a light snow, yesterday. Robledo Mountain is the highest peak in the range, 5890 feet. The mountain was named for Pedro Robledo, who was killed May 21, 1598 and was buried nearby. Pedro Robledo was a lieutenant in Don Juan de Oñate’s colonizing expedition to New Mexico. Pedro Robledo was survived by a wife and five children, and his descendents still live in New Mexico. (Details here.)
If you look east from the Robledos, you can see the Dona Anas. The highest peak in the range is 5835 feet. (Photo taken December 29, 2009.)
Tags: Las Cruces, Misc Images, Snow
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Rain Granted
The last post (Sunday) noted that rain was predicted. Monday we got it. It rained almost all day, an unusually long rain at an unusual seasonal time.
Tuesday morning the clouds completely obscured the Organ Mountains. There had been a very light snow during the night, so it was reasonable to expect snow on the Organs.
About 12:30 pm the cloud cover cleared and the Organs became visible (click for a larger image):
The rock formation in the foreground in this photo is known as La Cueva, because of the cave at its base:
Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains, Snow, Weather
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Organ Mountains - Rain Expected
It has been raining today and the forecast is for quite a bit more rain. We’ll see. Here’s what the Organ Mountains looked like this afternoon:
Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Mine House Spring - Hayner Mine
The structure known as the Mine House is located on the west slope of the Organ Mountains, not too far from the foot of the mountains. Not much is known about the house, except that it was used by the Hayner Mine while the mine was being worked. Some sources say it was a bunk house. The site was selected evidently because of the spring nearby. The date Sept 1930 is scratched in the concrete of the building, suggesting a possible date for its construction.
The road to the Mine House is very rough, as this Youtube video shows.
The site is fascinating to visit:
The Mine House is the usual starting point for hiking to the Hayner Mine, which is 6 tenths of a mile from the house. The trek is uphill and challenging, but not too difficult.
A short distance above the Mine House there appears to be a grave:
The view of the mountains from above the Mine House is spectacular (click image for a larger view):
The view of the Mesilla Valley (click for larger image):
Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains, History, Hiking
Monday, March 9th, 2009
Under No Rain
The clouds whorled over the mountains. The air was gelatinous, it was so packed with moisture. The desert fragrances were a blast of consonance and dissonance.
A few drops…
And a few drops…
And not much more.
A tenth, less than two tenths, but still the mountains devoured it.
Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains
