Night in Los Cruces or Truth or Consequences
 

I love New Mexcio but wonder if anyone prefers Los Cruces to staying overnight in Truth or Consequences? We are driving from Tucson back to Albuquerque before flying home... Elephant Butte is beautiful -near Truth or Consequences but wonder if there is anything really great about Los Cruces that we should stay there instead...My husband and I love outdoors, and are less into chain hotels... Any thoughts on where to spend the night or other travel tips are highly appreciated!

Are you simply looking for a place to stop, eat dinner and sleep? Or, are you wanting to do some exploring?

I would opt for staying in the Mesilla area of Las Cruces. There are a few B&B's if you don't want chains.

I'd eat in Old Mesilla - "La Posta de Mesilla" has been around for a long time and gets great reviews.

Elephant Butte is ok if you are interested in water sports, but otherwise, meh, not so much.

Las Cruces has quite a bit to offer. It struck me as up-and-coming the last time we were there. I don't know about Truth or Consequences, but White Sands National Monument is an intriguing place.

HTtY

For several years I was virtually commuting between SE Arizona & Denver, on the route you refer to, I-10 to I-25 through Albuquerque. In order to relieve the boredom of the part of NM that you're asking about I found an alternate route that I loved.

East on I-10 to Deming.
Turn onto route 26 toward Hatch.
After about 30 (?) miles, a left onto route 27. You'll drive through a rolling landscape and at the intersection of 27 & 152 is the tiny town of Hillsboro, NM. I stayed there and while it's been years, I think it was at the Enchanted Villa http://www.newmexico.org/listing/?lid=21445.
I also see some Airbnb options now http://tinyurl.com/jrsyvs5.

To rejoin the interstate, continue east on 152, past Ted Turner's Ladder Ranch and meet I-10 just south of TorC. I loved that drive.

Thank you all for the awesome responses! I'm so excited about this trip. I have only been to the Gila Wilderness and Southern New Mexico one time before- Yes, we want to explore, and we like unique and off the beaten path. Again I really appreciate the responses!

What time of year will this trip take place?

Thank you -we are flying to Albuquerque on Sept. 5th-going to Gallup-Sedona-Tempe-Tucson then back up to Albuquerque by Sept. 19th. Any must see place/suggestions highly welcome-

Last December, we took a bit of a road trip and went to the VLA and also went through Pie Town.

You might configure a way to do that --

http://www.vla.nrao.edu/

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2014/0...-pie-town.html

The prime reason for the trip was to go to Bosque del Apache which in winter is home to thousands of sand hill cranes that winter there - https://www.fws.gov/refuge/bosque_del_apache/

MmePerdu, Thanks for spelling out your favorite route through New Mexico. I have copied it and saved it for our next trip to the area. HTtY

HTtY, if you have the time, the other direction, west on 152 from Hillsboro, will get you to Silver City. I lived for 25 years in Bisbee, AZ and there was a segment of the population that didn't seem to be able to make up their mind which was better and there was a kind of trickle migration back & forth. I visit once on my way back to Bisbee from Denver and decided Bisbee was the better place to live. But Silver City is fun for a few hours. Also north of there are some hot springs, Gila Hot Springs I believe is the place, which I didn't visit but are a popular diversion.

We always take the Hatch cutoff from Deming, a shorter drive cutring down on the miles driven to Denver.. Truth or Consequences has a good restaurant, Los Arcos.

LAEbe, Hatch fancies itself the chili pepper capital of the universe and while you'll be a bit late for the festival, if you choose to drive past the turn-off to Hillsboro and go on to Hatch, I'm sure there will still be plenty of chili-everything for sale. https://www.google.com/#q=hatch+chile+season&tbm=nws

Thank you, thank you for the great responses. I'm copying them all, and will have to decide which route. For sure I want to go to Bosque del Apache. I've been to Silver City and Gila Wilderness but love that area. I'll check out Bisbee, and Hatch sounds cool, and info about Pie. Wish we had more time to explore. Again really appreciate the responses...

If anyone recommends staying at an airbnb for 1 night instead of motel please let me know...