March 30 – April 4, 2026
I only had two things planned for my stay in Las Cruces – White Sands National Park and Organ Mountain – Desert Peaks National Monument.
I stayed at the Hacienda RV Resort on the western edge of town. It may have even been in the town of La Messila, the town center of which I could walk to (but I didn’t).
The Roadrunner
Reading through the “what to see and do” brochure at the RV resort I discovered another Las Cruces attraction. This is the Roadrunner Statue at rest stop on I-10. Towering above I-10 at the rest stop is a 20 foot tall, 40 foot wide Recycled Roadrunner Statue made from discarded materials.
Organ Mountain – Desert Peaks
From the US Bureau of Land Management website – “The Organ Mountains are a steep, angular mountain range with rocky spires that jut majestically above the Chihuahuan Desert floor to an elevation of 9,000 feet. This picturesque area of rocky peaks, narrow canyons, and open woodlands ranges from Chihuahuan Desert habitat to ponderosa pine in the highest elevations. Located adjacent to and on the east side of Las Cruces, this area provides opportunities for photography, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, camping, and wildlife viewing.
The Desert Peaks include the Robledo Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas, and Doña Ana Mountains, characterized by desert mountains rising steeply from flat plains.”
The picture below was taken from the site of the Roadrunner Statue; quite a distance from the monument.
I drove for a closer look.
White Sands National Park
On April Fools Day I drove to Whites Sands, about 70 miles north of Las Cruces. It was an extremely overcast day which made for lousy photography. On a bright day there would be great contrast between the sand, the sky, and the mountains. I almost went back two days later but decided the drive wasn’t worth it.
The park is basically an 18 mile loop road with pull offs and picnic areas. Many people climb the dunes with sand slider discs and slide down the hills on them.
Cloudcroft
The town of Cloudcroft is about 30 miles north of White Sands. I had heard of Cloudcroft while in Carlsbad as a destination and some suggested I take the route from Carlbad to Las Cruces via Cloudcroft. But Cloudcroft is a mountain town at ~9000 ft elevation and I didn’t want to pull the trailer over the mountain.
Only two pictures from Cloudcroft and they were taken on the way up the mountains at a scenic overlook. In the town of Cloudcroft I enjoyed lunch and a local IPA.
Alamogordo
The city of Alamogordo is halfway between Cloudcroft and White Sands. I couple I was chatting with over lunch recommended I stop at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alomogordo. It was a cool museum with some interactive exhibits but I found most interesting was that Ham the first Astrochimp’s final resting place is at the museum.
