"Dog" and Farm Museum-November 27, 2011

For three days we thought about a "dog" we saw in Old Town Mesilla. We went back and got it today. Please see picture. So why did we do this? Everywhere we stay, people in coaches have lots of dogs. We always have to say we do not have one. Well, now we do. Meet Pepe Rocky Las Cruses Coseo-Hoffman de Mesilla. We'll call him Rocky for short. We do not have to house break him, take him for a walk or buy him food. He's solid as a rock. Isn't he cute? Now for our first stop this morning. We went to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. It was the story of farming and ranching in New Mexico for all of its history. The museum is on 47 acres. We walked all we could handle. It is very spread out so we got more than our fair share of exercise today. The story of how chiles were started here was the most interesting. Christopher Columbus thought he had found pimento when he saw these plants. Pimento is Spanish for pepper. Peppers and chiles are not the same. Confused? Don't worry. We didn't know the difference either. They serve everything with green chiles and they are delicious. I am not a pepper eater but I love the chiles. Great flavor and not hot. Oh, the museum. They demonstrated how the early Indians managed to irrigate their crops without wasting a drop of water. They were extremely intelligent with water. We were able to see their homes on the inside. They looked a bit like an igloo but covered with mud. The museum traced every group of people who moved in here and what they contributed to make New Mexico what it is today. Parts of New Mexico are very impoverished and depressing. Not here. This is a vibrant area. They raise some beautiful cotton. We have seen pecan trees, pistachio trees, alfalfa and dairy farming in addition to the cotton. Being married to a retired farmer helped me enjoy all of the antique farm equipment on display. We also saw a century plant in full bloom. We have not see that before. We drove past New Mexico State University and were very impressed with the beauty of the campus. It is growing, too, and construction was in process. It was a very interesting day. We ended it with a pizza from a local baker. We found out about him while we were in the middle of the candy aisle (at Wal Mart) listening to a man get on his soapbox about prices. Don't ask. The story is too long but it was wild while it was happening. This is long and I apologize for that. It was a busy day! And a fun day. We move on down the road tomorrow. I'll report where we landed tomorrow night.