Amazing Sites and Tastes and a Giant Pistachio?!?
Mexican Canyon Train Trestle is one of the last standing large trestles along the railroad route from Alamogordo (near White Sands National Park) to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Steam engines made the climb the up 4327 vertical feet between the 2 towns from 1899 to 1947.
The Lake Valley Historic Townsite is about 30 minutes from Hatch New Mexico. The mining town was established in 1878 when silver was discovered nearby. According to BLM volunteers the mine had the purest vein of Silver in the US. It is now abandoned, and the BLM has restored the schoolhouse and church. The self-guided walking tour showed us what life was like back in the 1800’s.
Hatch NM is a vibrant New Mexican town. The town is filled with lots of fun old kitschy statues and many different chili pepper shops as Hatch is the home of the famous “hatch chilis”. We ate some authentic Mexican cuisine at Molcajete’s, which was just in the back of a gift shop and hard to find, but it was fabulous (-ly HOT)! Finally, my green chili fix has been satisfied! Alan had his share of heat for sure!
A large crowd gathered around the main building at Pistachio World, home of the world’s largest pistachio and some very delicious pistachio ice cream. Inside held a store which contained the largest selection of Pistachio themed merchandise on any side of the Rio Grande! Outside you can take a picture next to the giant Pistachio and check out the pistachio orchard and vineyard. A stop at Pistachio World is worth a your time.
White Sands National Park is over 275 miles of wave-like dunes of Gypsum sand. The ever-changing, bright white, fine sand dunes seem never ending. We had an enchanting stroll deeper into the park and soon lost sight of the Truck and Camper. It’s easy to see how someone could lose their direction in this fantasy-like environment! Some people bring or rent a sled for sliding down the slopes like snow!
Odie and Cece spent some time wrestling and running while we hiked and enjoyed the evening sun.
