Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks National Monument

When Mr. Adventure and I started talking about our trip to southern New Mexico, we knew we wanted to visit White Sands National Monument, but weren’t sure what else might be a good destination. So I reached out to folks on Twitter in the Las Cruces area, and @GreenChileAdict responded in a big way, offering advice and recommendations from a local’s perspective. Now the problem wasn’t finding stuff to see, but choosing from a tempting array. Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument quickly rose to the top of the list.

Across the Tularosa Basin to a stellar breakfast

Driving 50 miles from Alamogordo across the Tularosa Basin, we could see the needle-like Organ Mountains (some early explorers thought the peaks looked like the pipes of an organ) slowly getting bigger as we approached. Before hiking, though, I needed coffee and breakfast.

I often consult TripAdvisor when traveling, in hopes of finding cheap, good places to eat, and the app came through in a big way. In the hamlet of Organ, New Mexico, a mile from the turnoff into the national monument, the ramshackle Moongate Café didn’t look promising. A couple of windows were cracked, with cardboard covering the fractures. The shades were shut against the desert sun. The cafe sign was barely legible. There were no cars in the dusty lot. We parked and looked at each other. “Let’s give it a shot,” I said, thinking of the positive reviews.

Good call, because we ate one of the best meals we’d ever had. Huevos rancheros for Mr. Adventure (“Christmas chile, please”), huevos Mexicana for me (“green chile, please”). At about $8 each, these were among the most expensive items on the menu. The coffee was delicious, the couple who owned the place were lovely, and we felt like we’d discovered a hidden treasure. We left feeling full of energy and excited about the adventure to come.

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument

President Barack Obama created the 496,000-acre national monument in 2014, responding to widespread public support from area residents who recognized its potential to boost tourism and economic development while preserving important Chihuahuan Desert environments, archaeology, history, and geology. Four separate areas protect the Organ Mountains, Doña Ana Mountains, Desert Peaks, and Potrillo Mountains.

The monument’s visitor center nestles at the foot of the Organ Mountains, and that was our first stop. Thanks to @GreenChileAdict, we knew we wanted to hike to Dripping Springs Natural Area, site of the remains of an old resort and tuberculosis treatment center. What else could we see? The ranger recommended the La Cueva Trail, which leads to a rock shelter. Archaeological studies showed the cave was used from about 5000 BC, first by peoples of the Archaic period and later by the Jornada Mogollon, and researchers have unearthed more than 100,000 artifacts, especially animal bones.

Beyond its archaeological significance, La Cueva is also known as the home of El Ermitano, an Italian emigrant named Giovanni Maria Agostini who lived there from 1867-1869, healing sick people with herbs he harvested from the surrounding landscape. In spring 1869, Agostini was found lying facedown on his crucifix with a knife in his back. He’s buried in the Mesilla Cemetery. The case was never solved.

What’s around this corner?

We’d planned to head back on the same trail, but the trail continued past the cave and around the rock outcropping. Mr. Adventure and I find it hard to resist the lure of “what’s around the next bend?” and we kept hiking. The BLM ranger had warned that high winds meant hiking the Crawford trail to Dripping Springs might be difficult, but our curiosity kept us going. We passed a trail leading into Fillmore Canyon, a former mine site, and enjoyed gorgeous views of the Organ Mountains as we sidelined across the base of the range.

Dripping Springs Natural Area

We turned at the junction with the Dripping Springs trail and followed an easy grade into Ice Canyon, where the remnants of a ranch, resort, and tuberculosis sanitarium are scattered below the steep spires of the Organs. The resort dates to the 1870s, when Colonel Eugene van Patten built a hotel and concert hall for visitors seeking cool relief from the desert heat. Springs seep from the steep canyon walls, hence the area’s name and its main attraction. Old walls and buildings from the resort still stand, some appearing to be built right into the sides of the canyon.

Van Patten sold the resort in 1917 to a neighbor, Dr. Nathan Boyd, who transformed it into a tuberculosis sanitarium partially to treat his wife, who suffered from the infectious disease. The dry desert air was thought to help tuberculosis patients breathe easier, and Boyd added more buildings to accommodate them. He sold to another local doctor, who continued to run the sanatorium into the 1930s. Eventually the buildings fell into disrepair, and a local historical preservation effort failed to save them. Today visitors can clamber around the remains of numerous structures, many of which are in remarkably good shape thanks to the dry climate.

Let’s call it a morning

The sun was high in the sky, and we’d been on the trail all morning. Despite increasing winds, Mr. Adventure wanted to get to White Sands that afternoon. We headed back to the visitor center, then drove into the Mesilla Valley for a quick look around Las Cruces and a cold drink. In what was becoming a theme for the trip, I wished aloud we’d had more time to explore the monument, including Picacho Peak in the Desert Mountains section and nearby Prehistoric Trackways National Monument in the Robledo Mountains. Next time.