Native Plants

Thursday we went in search of the illusive ocotillo. Our drive took us up the old highway north right along the Rio Grande. We passed miles of irrigated fields of cotton and chili peppers and corn. Also we saw hundred of acres of pecan trees. Some of the orchards had about 2 inches of water standing under the trees and the Rio Grande was running swiftly with irrigation water released from Elephant Butte reservoir.

We drove north to Hatch, home of the annual New Mexico Chili Festival on Labor Day week-end then we crossed the river back to the East Mesa and I25 south. This was again desert land. We scanned the roadside for ocotillo as we drove back to Las Cruces. Finally I spotted a specimen on our side of the highway. I harvested 4 cuttings that I plan to try rooting. The man at the nursery here said they would root easily with the help of rooting hormone.

There was a small ocotillo plant on the roadside also but the soil around the roots was hard as a rock so I couldn't dig it up.



Here are the cuttings and a pot of Sotol that I purchased on sale just down the street from our motel.











Our Bedroom









Office









Living area










Kitchen/Bar









Dressing area









The TV is on top of the dresser.





Our room is near the back door parking lot so each day the VBS workers leave all their supplies in our room rather than toting the heavy items farther down the hall or up the stairs. The elevator was far down the hall by the front entrance.