Tuesday Afternoon Local Excursions
Tuesday Afternoon we will be taking individuals who register on a tour of New Mexico State University’s Chili Pepper Institute. It is a “research-based, international nonprofit organization devoted to education, research, and archiving information related to Capsicum. They are dedicated to educating the world about the wonders of chile pepper!” We will tour their teaching/ research greenhouses and their storefront where you can purchase some hot sauce from the hottest chili pepper in the world! We will also visit with the Arthropod Museum which is housed in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science to learn some interesting things about collecting and the insects they have in the collection. Come join us on the tour!
Special Excursion – Thursday Evening
White Sands National Monument is a beautiful area of natural, rolling white sand dunes that is about an hour’s drive north of Las Cruces. Not actually sand, but gypsum crystals, White Sands National Monument is truly a unique and beautiful gem in the desert. White Sands is home to unique species of plant and animal life, including white color morphs of lizards (Aspidoscelis inornata, Sceloporus undulates, and Holbrookia maculata) found nowhere else. We plan on offering an optional excursion to White Sands on Thursday evening to enjoy playing/walking in the dunes, the sun as it sets across the horizon, and the rising of the full moon over the dunes. Sunset will be approximately 7:30 pm and the full moon will rise at 8:15 pm. We plan to leave the monument no later than 9:00 pm, and should arrive back at the dorm no later than 10:00 pm. This is a really wonderful experience and will be well worth the late night!
Saturday Excursions
We are planning several excursions for your enjoyment on Saturday. We will have two full day trips that will go in opposite directions, and one local half day trip that will end with lunch and shopping in Old Mesilla.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park: We will travel approximately 3 hours to the north and east to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Carlsbad Caverns has the largest chamber in the Western Hemisphere; the “Big Room” as it is called is almost 5,000 feet long. In 1898 a teenager named Jim White began to explore the cave and although for 10 years he had trouble even convincing folks that there was much to the cave, eventually a lucrative guano mining operation was run out of the cave. Come join us for a really fun day of exploration!
Buses will leave from Piñon Hall at 8:00 am. Lunch will be at your own expense. You will be able to store your luggage in the bus cargo area during the day’s activities. We will pass through El Paso on our return trip and will happily drop off anyone wishing to stay Saturday night at either the Airport Wyndham or Radisson next to the airport. We will then continue on to Piñon Hall and expect to return around dinner time.
Cave Creek Canyon: This excursion is an overnight trip to the American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station located in the Chiricahua Mountains in the southeastern corner of Arizona. Cave Creek Canyon is renowned for its colorful canyon walls, as well as its diverse plant and animal communities. It is particularly well known for its unique birds: 14 different species of hummingbirds, in addition to Elegant and Eared Trogons. Mammals frequently seen in the include Coatimundi. The plant community is a unique mix of species from the Sierra Madre of Northern Mexico and species from the Southwestern U.S. According to DesertUSA,
“While the entire range ranks as a natural wonderland, it is Cave Creek Canyon that stands out as the crown jewel, … Cave Creek Canyon offers so much, in fact, that the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation has operated the Southwestern Research Station for students, geologists, biologists and anthropologists in the North Fork for half a century.”
Participants on this field trip will be shuttled in vans from NMSU in Las Cruces to the Southwestern Research Station in Cave Creek Saturday morning, June 18th. We will return to NMSU in Las Cruces on Sunday by 2:00 pm. The research station will provide us with meals, lodging, and a conference room. We will also organize natural history tours from the research station. The lodging at the station is dormitory style with shared bathrooms. Alternatively, participants can choose to stay at the nearby Cave Creek Ranch that features cottages in grounds maintained for viewing wildlife, or at the Portal Peak Lodge that is a rustic motel with an adjacent diner. We will have a van available to shuttle from ranch or lodge to the research station. It is also possible to drive a your own rental car, join us at the research station Saturday afternoon though Sunday morning, and then transition into a personal vacation, possible with an more extended stay at the ranch, the lodge, or in Coronado National Forest campgrounds.
June temperatures in Cave Creek range from 60 (15 C) to 95 (35 C). Participants needed a water bottle, sunscreen, a hat, good walking/hiking shoes and, if possible, binoculars (we had binoculars from our teaching laboratory that we loaned to folks who needed them).
Farmer’s Market & Old Mesilla: Located on the Historic downtown mall in the center of Las Cruces, the Las Cruces Farmer’s & Crafts Market offers a variety of local farmers and artisans selling art, leather, gems, jewelry, local honey, jams, breads, ceramics, photography, herbs, bath & body, crafts, produce, and more! Enjoy shopping, browsing, and listening to local talent such as mariachis and young musicians during the cool of the morning, then continue on to lunch and shopping in the Historic Mesilla Plaza. A hat, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes are recommended, but drinks and food are available at both locations. Buses departed approximately 9 am and returned mid-afternoon.