El Paso Trip

I also live in Maryland, and I've been to Las Cruces a few times. My daughter lives in Las Cruces. My wife and I like the town. We go into Mesilla to eat really authentic Mexican food. There is a restaurant there, (I don't know exactly where it is, my daughter and her husband take us there), but the food is out of this world! When I say restaurant, I use the term loosely. It's really a house with a few tables, and some outdoor tables. I can't rave enough about this place. Incidentally, of the times I have flown there, the best flight and service has been from Continental Airlines.

Do not go into Juarez. The narco violence there is terrible.

There is good hiking in the mountains next to Las Cruces. There is also good skiing in Ruidoso.

El Paso is not the most scenic town but it has excellent Mexican food and surprising good Vietnamese food. Taste of Saigon is excellent. The most famous restaurant in Mesilla is La Posta. It can't be the one mentioned above since although it is in an historic house it is very large.

Also, I forgot to mention make sure you visit White Sands National Monument. People sled down the sand. You can rent "snow" sleds at the gift shop at the entrance. It's very surreal, to be sledding in the middle of the desert.

Seconding RBCal - do not go to Juarez.

What time of year are you thinking of doing this trip? Right now might actually be kind of pleasant, but summer will be really hot.

Lee Ann

Yes, there is plenty for 5 days. No, don't go to Juarez.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is 2 hours to the NE. Carlsbad Caverns is another hour beyond that. Couple of Texas state parks within an hour or so of El Paso (Franklin Mountains and Hueco Tanks).

With all that and a trip to Las Cruces, you have more than enough for 5 days even if you don't do anything in the cities.

Even my many relatives who live in El Paso would say there's no reason to visit (except to see them). Surely there are better choices?

Found a lot of outdoor stuff that seems cool on the El Paso visitors website. We've decided to go.....

Guess we will stay away from Juarez.

We love Mexican food and besides all the outdoor stuff, we can add five more brew visits to our list. Just found a new one in Las Cruces that recently opened.

I'll post back with things we are thinking of doing.

Oh, we are going in February.

"Is El Paso and Las Cruces worth a cross-country flight?"

No. But if you do go to El Paso, be sure to be armed.

This is incorrect. El Paso is one of the safest cities in the US. Why do people post false info? If you don't know please don't give false info.

Juarez is dangerous, though.

February should be fairly nice weather. Dress in layers and you'll be comfortable.

Lee Ann

Yes, why are there people talking about El Paso like it is inner city Detroit. I have always seen El Paso listed as a nice place, up and coming place to move, great weather, etc...

When my wife and I were planning our trip to Detroit earlier in the year, we had numerous people ask WHY? We had a good time and were very pleased with the city/area. Yes it had crappy parts but all the people were very friendly and the riverwalk area and stadium area was nice. Blew away all my previous thoughts of Detroit.

Places to dine:

El Paso - try Barrigas for authentic Mexican fare (just don't go when it's super busy)

http://www.barrigasrestaurant.com/

For the best steak, you'll have to drive a bit out of town to Fabens to the Indian Cliff Ranch (about 30 minutes east of El Paso on I-10, take the Fabens exit , #49, turn LEFT after you exit the freeway and just keep driving into the desert ~10 minutes, restaurant will be on your right, drive in and go up the hill, parking will be next to restaurant):
http://www.cattlemanssteakhouse.com/

For great barbeque, try Stateline (love their sauce!):

http://www.countyline.com/comeseeus.asp#The%20State%20Line


Las Cruces, NM: In the town square of Old Mesilla, try the Double Eagle Restaurant:

http://www.double-eagle-mesilla.com/history/#Lew%20Wallace%20Room

La Posta has more advertising, but I personally preferred the food at the Double Eagle.

http://www.laposta-de-mesilla.com/

If you are going to be in Las Cruces and you enjoy spicy food, then you HAVE to drive about 45 minutes up I-25 to Hatch, NM, home of the REALLY HOT NM chile peppers. As you drive into Hatch, stop at the first stand on your right, it's Gilly's. Great guy. I just last week got some wonderful roasted chile peppers from him, also some dried chile peppers which he had painstakingly broken off the stems and de-seeded. He gave me a big bag for about $5. (Imagine what the TSA people must have thought with a suitcase filled with chile peppers en route to California! LOL!)

One final recommendation - on the way between El Paso and Las Cruces, take Highway 28 (instead of I-10) and stop by the Stahlman Pecan Farms:

http://www.stahmanns.com/pages.aspx?id=&docid=93

Have a great trip!

Is Truth or Consequences worth a drive?

I am sure there is nothing there but the name is just cool. My wife wants to go there just to say she's been there.

There are numerous spas in TORC. Before it changed it's name to TORC, it was called Hot Springs NM.

Is Guadalupe Mountains National Park really about 3.5 hours from El Paso?

Mileage, it's about 110 miles but Google Maps gives me 3.5 hours drive time.

No, 2 hours is more accurate. Don't remember exactly what my time was but somewhere around 2.

Mapquest says Carlsbad, NM is 2:45 from El Paso and GUMO is 45-60 minutes before that.

Weird. I checked Mapquest and it does give a shorter dirve time than Google Maps. Can't trust these things.....

Was Guadalupe worth the long drive?

Depends on how much you like hiking. The main entrance is basically a parking lot right off the highway, with access to several trails that lead into the mountains. There are a couple of other entrances along the highway (one leads to an old ranch, the other leads to McKittrick Canyon). It is not at all a drive-thru type of park.

An overnight trip to Carlsbad Caverns combined with Guadalupe Mountains makes more sense than just going to GUMO, as far as I'm concerned.

Besides the spas, there are a number of art galleries in T or C.

Lee Ann

I think we'll skip the drive to GUMO, not interested in Carlsbad. Would rather use that time to spend more time in other places.

These are brewpubs I have found online. I know some are currently open but others might not be based on the limited info I found. If you live in the area or have been there recently, let me know of you know anything. Also, if there are any brewpubs/breweries that I have not listed.

El Paso area:
Sunset Brewery & Pizza
Jaxon's Restaurant & Brewing Co.
Brew
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

Las Cruces area:
De La Vegas Pecan Grill & Brewery (just opened)
High Desert Brewing
O'Ryans Tavern And Brewery

The following suggestion would probably take longer than five days but was one of the highlights of our trip last Feb. We also flew out of El Paso after renting a car in Pheonix and traveling the southern border.

Go to Big Bend National Park along the Rio Grande River in south Texas. Truly spectacular. Stay at the park facilities in the Chicos (sp?) mountains there. Could travel from El Paso to Fort Davis, Texas, (stay in the Indian Springs State Park, there) then down to Presidio, Texas then along the Rio Grande to the Park. One of the prettiest drives we have taken. On your return to El Paso you could pick out another West Texas town to overnight in.

IMO--there was not much of note in El Paso. We did visit the Indian Springs Ranch in Fabens but did not eat there as it was closed at the time--looked like a nice view though.
We did eat a La Posta in Old Mesilla. Now that was a really good Mexican meal.

Margo

We had thought about Big Bend but don't think we want to squeeze in that drive.

So far (still researching), we are looking into doing/checking out:

-brewpub visits (of course)
-Hueco Tanks
-Organ Mountains
-White Sands
-Wyler Ariel Tramway
-Chamizal National Memorial (for the city view)
-Franklin Mountains
-Old Mesilla
-White Sands Missile Range Museum
-Pat Garret Grave

Does anyone know the plot number for Pat Garrett?

What are you planning to do in the Organ Mountains and the Franklin Mountains? Are you hikers?

Casual hikers, nothing that's going to take 1/2 or an entire day. Have not fully looked into what we can do at all the places yet.

Some things I have read that are in the area:

Aztec Caves Hike
Aguirre Springs
Kilbourne Hole/Aden Crater Volcanoes
Old Tin Mines Tour

I see that the Mescalero Apache Reservation is about three hours outside of Las Cruces. Does anyone know if handmade crafts are sold in and around the Las Cruces area by locals from the reservation? I wife has collected pottery from different tribes during our travels and she does not have anything from the Apache.

I'm also interested in visiting some ghost towns. I have looked up some but have not doen much researchon them yet. Any opinions on which are worth the time that are close to the El Paso and Las Cruces areas?

My husband is from El Paso. Statistically, it is quite a safe place. Not sure but I can't recall a time that I felt unsafe while there. I am glad others have stated that Juarez is unsafe. My husband used to go across the border all the time as a teen (20 years ago) but I'm not sure he would go now unless it was during the day & it was really necessary. He was at a nightclub there about 12 or 14 years ago & saw someone get gunned down -- he believed it was a "hit". Regardless, the crime has increased significantly in recent years. Not worth the risk.

As far as any place to check out, I have not seen anyone else mention this but you must go to Chico's Tacos. It is a family-owned El Paso icon that the locals frequent. The round tacos look like taquitos but they are wonderful & super cheap. Chico's has been around for over 50 years. They have several locations but I would recommend the older locations like Montana St. Other posters can help you out with the details.

I was not impressed too much the first time I had them but I woke up wanting some the next day. Hmmmm. Now, when we go to EP we are usually only there 3 or 4 days max but we have to go to Chico's twice even if one of those times is on the way out of town. They do not accept credit/debit cards, btw. It's not about the ambiance. The tacos are special -- i.e. probably made with lard & anything else bad for you. I bought a t-shirt the last time we were there & the couple of times that I have worn it out in public in my Austin suburb neighborhood I have had one or 2 people stop me & tell me how much they miss Chico's.

Don't know what else to tell you to do. We don't get out to normal places while there. We just spend time going to relatives' homes or staying at in-laws. I would love to check it out sometime as a real visitor but that will never happen.

Is there any area we should absolutely not stay in during our trip. We are staying a few nights in Las Cruces and a few nights in El Paso. We will be staying at Choice Hotels.

Also, has anyone ever gone to the VLA? Is it worth the drive? It seems like something neat to see and we'll probably never be out that way again. Of course, coming from Las Cruces, so will probably stay one night in Socorro.

For those familiar with the areas of Socorro, Las Cruces, Silver City, and el Paso.

I am trying to get to ans see as much as possible while we are out there. We arrive on 2/13 late afternoon and leave on the 19th in the morning.

Arrive El Paso and drive straight to Socorro for the night.

Visit VLA and Kelly Ghost Town early morning and then make our way back south. Conflicted at this point on if we should drive to Silver City and stay there one night or just go back to Las Cruces for the next couple of days. of course, take into consideration stopping at some sights along the way while driving.

The rest of the time will be in El Paso area.

Yes, a lot of driving possibly.

Do you think this can be done?

Things interested in doing/seeing:
Very Large Array
Kelly Mine Ghost Town
Fort Seldon State Monument
White Sands Monument
White Sands Missile Range Museum
Organ Mountains
Old Mesilla
Pat Garrett Grave
The Bataan Death March Memorial Monument
City of Rocks State Park
Rockhound State Park
Franklin Mountains State Park
Hueco Tanks State Park
Wyler Ariel Tramway
Chamizal National Memorial

Any opinions on these? Worth it, not worth it?

You really should do more research on your own. I would recommend www.yelp.com, www.chowhound.com and www.roadsideamerica.com for reviews and recommendations

some of the things you list are basically the same thing (wyler tramway and franklin mountains state park)

In the list the only one I would skip would be Chamizal National Memorial and White Sands Missile Range Museium. Old Mesilla is tiny and can be seen in an hour or less.

I have done a ton of research on my own and the list are things I'm thinking of. It's always nice to hear what people think who live or have been there.

It's a bit of a drive from El Paso to the Very Large Array, at least three hours if not longer. We went there last May and spent about an hour taking the self-guided tour.

Lee Ann

I highly recommend the VLA. And, since you will be in Soccorro, you might also consider a visit to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge 15 miles southeast of town. Depending on the time of your visit, there's an opportunity to see sandhill cranes and a wide array of other birds that winter there. There is a trip report with photo links on the forum. Soccorro also has a brew pub with decent beer on the square and some good art galleries.

Yep, got the brewpub on our list. :}

Is Silver City area worth all the extra driving and possibly losing some time in and around Las Cruces?

Sorry, jedivader, we haven't been to that part of New Mexico yet, but I hear Silver City is nice.

Lee Ann