Old West – Fairacres, NM
Fairacres
http://www.city-data.com/city/Fairacres-New-Mexico.html
Straumann Farms in Fairacres, NM
State: New Mexico
County: Dona Ana County
Close cities: Las Cruces, NM, Hatch, NM, Rincon, NM, Radium Springs, NM, San
Miguel, NM, University Park, NM, Mesilla Park, NM, Dona Ana, NM, La Mesa, NM,
Mesilla, NM,
Fairacres Population (census data)
Total 6,078
Male 3,424 (56.3%)
Female 2,654 (43.7%)
Cost of Living Index: 87.6
(US Avg is 100)
Fairacres Elevation: 3,897 feet above sea level
Land Area: 612.3 square miles
Median Household Income: $52,084
Nearby Locations
Las
Cruces – 5 miles http://www.las-cruces.org
Nestled in the
fertile Mesilla Valley between the majestic Organ Mountains and the meandering
Rio Grande, Las Cruces, New Mexico is quickly becoming a popular southwestern
destination. An ideal location at the
crossroads of Interstate 10 and 25 brings visitors into contact with 72 holes
of spectacular year-round golf, unique special events, and historic attractions
such as Old Mesilla - not to mention world-class Mexican food! Las Cruces also
blends a unique variety of attractions, culture, historical sites, and superb
year-round weather with 350 days of sunshine per year!!
In addition, Las Cruces, has received several awards including rankings from
Money magazine as one of the “best college towns to retire”, and from AARP as
one of their “dream towns” to retire. Las Cruces has also been ranked by Forbes
as one of the best small metro areas for business and careers.
Truth
or Consequences – 79 miles http://www.ci.truth-or-consequences.nm.us
http://www.truthorconsequencesnm.net
Just off Interstate-25, midway between the thriving metropolitan cities of El Paso and Albuquerque, is one of the most publicized and unique health resorts in the United States. Originally named “Hot Springs” and now called “Truth or Consequences”, this city has received more national publicity via television and radio than any city of its size in the United States. The town’s name was changed from “Hot Springs” to “Truth or Consequences” on March 31, 1950, after Ralph Edwards, the host of the popular game show “Truth or Consequences,” called for any town in America to do so in celebration of the show’s ten year anniversary. The City of Truth or Consequences is nestled along the banks of the Rio Grande River, and is minutes from the Gila National Forest. They also have exclusive rights to the only area in the state that teems with activity with the largest lake in the southwestern region, Elephant Butte Lake.
Hatch – 44 miles http://www.hatchchilefest.com/index.php
Located off Interstate 25,
between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences, the Village of Hatch has
experienced steady but moderate growth. In 2007, the town population registered
a little over 1,600 people. The Village of Hatch also serves seven
unincorporated communities with a combined population of 5,000 people. Born from an extension of the Santa Fe
Railroad Company in 1880, Hatch, New Mexico, began as an adobe post office and
a railroad flag station. Named after General Edward Hatch, Commander of the
Southwest military, the town grew until a flood in 1921 destroyed many of the
adobe buildings, which were constructed of earth and wood. The village rebuilt and continues to prosper
as an agricultural community to this day. The advent of the nearby Spaceport
America, the nation’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, promises an
exciting new chapter in the history of Hatch.
Alamogordo – 71 miles http://www.alamogordo.com
Alamogordo, county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, is the micropolitan center of the Tularosa Basin. The city is the commercial and governmental center for the county. Alamogordo is a thriving center of 35,000+ residents. The city’s mild climate and pristine scenery offer its people an ambiance that enriches their quality of life. The Tularosa Basin is surrounded by the majestic Organ, San Andres, and Sacramento Mountain ranges.
Area Attractions
Gila
National Forest www.stateparks.com/gila
In the abundance of the Gila
National Forest, in southwest New Mexico, nature provides a rich diversity of
life. From the high spruce-fir reaches of an eleven thousand foot peak in the
Mogollon Mountains where golden eagles play with the wind, down to the
semi-arid four-thousand-two-hundred-foot elevation, vibrant with antelope and
Chihuahuan and Upper Sonoran desert cacti, there are six distinct “plant
communities.”
With three million three hundred thousand acres, the Gila contains more
publicly owned land than any other national forest outside of Alaska. Within
the Gila Forest is the largest wilderness in the southwest, the Gila
Wilderness. This superb example of pristine mountains, forests, range land and
protected desert is the first-ever designated wilderness area in the world. In
1924, Congress authorized the U.S. Forest Service to establish the wilderness,
largely due to the persistent lobbying efforts of Aldo Leopold, a former Forest
Service employee who devoted most of his adult life to preserving our nation’s
wild places for future generations to enjoy.
The San Francisco, Gila, and
Mimbres Rivers, the Catwalk, Pueblo Park Campground, Gila Cliff Dwellings,
Mogollon Baldy, Castle Rock, Eagle Peak Mountain, Emory Pass, and the Burro
Mountains are among the many islands of beauty on the Gila. Other areas of
interest include Cooney’s Tomb, El Caso Lookout Tower, Beaverhead, Reed’s Peak,
Frisco Hot Springs and Cherry Creek.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National
Monument offers a glimpse into the homes and lives of the Mogollon people who
lived in this area over 700 years ago.
Catwalk
National Recreation Trail http://www.americaswonderlands.com/Gila.htm
The
Catwalk follows the path of the pipeline built in the 1890s to deliver water to
the mining town of Graham. Workmen who had to enter the canyon by crawling atop
the narrow pipeline named the route the “Catwalk.” In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps
rebuilt the Catwalk as a recreation area for the Gila National Forest.
The Forest Service built the metal walkway in the 1960s. Parts of the trail
have been rebuilt several times since then due to the flooding of Whitewater
Creek. The canyon was used as a hideout
by both Geronimo and Butch Cassidy.
Elephant
Butte Lake http://www.elephantbuttelake.net/index.php
Elephant Butte Reservoir, created by a dam constructed in 1916 across the Rio Grande, is 40 miles long with more than 200 miles of shoreline. Although constructed to provide for irrigation and flood control, the lake is New Mexico’s premier water recreation facility. Elephant Butte Lake State Park first opened in 1965. Warm waters, abundant camping, picnicking, boating facilities and easy access off I-25 at Truth or Consequences, attract visitors from all over. A wide variety of water sports are available at the lake, with fishing being one of the most popular. The mild climate of the area makes this park a popular year-round destination.
White
Sand National Monument http://www.nps.gov/whsa
At the northern end of the
Chihuahua Desert lies a mountain-ringed valley known as the Tularosa Basin.
Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders
— the glistening white sands of New Mexico. White Sands is New Mexico’s number
one National Monument attraction. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum cover
nearly 300 square miles of desert. The dunes are ever changing, growing,
cresting, then slumping, but always advancing - slowly, relentlessly, the sand
covers all. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of the
world’s largest gypsum dune field, along with the plants and animals that have
successfully adapted to this harsh environment. The Monument is located on U.
S. Highway 70, fifteen miles west of Alamogordo.
Organ
Mountains http://www.desertusa.com/mag06/dec/organmtns.html
The Organ Mountains, a small
and rugged 9000-foot high, 32 million-year-old range in south-central New
Mexico, just east of Las Cruces, have long drawn the adventurous into the rocky
folds and crevices of their steep granitic and rhyolite slopes. They hold the
evidence of their attraction for humans in secluded caves, Indian rock art,
abandoned mines and crumbling ruins. They speak of prehistoric hunters and
farmers, Apache raiders, treasure hunters, miners, gunfighters,
revolutionaries, Union and Confederate troops, hermits, early ranchers, early
tourists and even tubercular patients.
The Organs offer two main recreational areas, Aguirre Springs and Dripping
Springs/La Cueva.