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 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

A scratched stone at the location memorializes the killing of Jon Faulkner in 1894. It is known that this stone is not at its original location, which is presumed to be nearby, so it does not mark an actual grave site. A search of various sources reveals no information about the killing of a Jon (or more likely John) Faulkner in 1894 (anyone know more?).

At the top of the stone is scratched “MAID 29 DE 96,” i. e., made 29 December 1896.

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Also at the site are many Petroglyphs. Here are a sampling:

Figure and horse. The horse may have a saddle.

The wide stride and the over-the-shoulder stick with the bag strongly suggests a soldier.

A beautiful Petroglyph, evidently a man cat. Behind it is a much smaller animal, which could be canine or feline:

Here we have a Petroglyph and a modern scratching:

The Petroglyph is made by tapping with a rock, the letters by scratching. You can see the clear difference in making technique here:

A mysterious petroglyph, partially buried:

Also in the area are many grinding (mortar) holes:

These holes were used by to grind various seeds into meal. The longer the period of use, the deeper the hole. One interpretation of the size variation is that different seeds ground better or easier in different sized holes. So many holes together might also be a sign that grinding was often a group activity.

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

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

I SAW with open eyes
Singing birds sweet
Sold in the shops
For people to eat,
Sold in the shops of
Stupidity Street.

I saw in vision
The worm in the wheat,
And in the shops nothing
For people to eat;
Nothing for sale in
Stupidity Street.

- Ralph Hodgson, 1917

Source here.

Ralph Hodgson Biography

Tags: Ralph Hodgson, poems, literature

Tags: Las Cruces, Organ Mountains, Windmill