The Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is a small jewel of a wilderness restoration area found on the southwest border of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Before its foundation in 1975, locals called it the “Old Refuge,” and enjoyed the 305 acres for its hiking, fishing (the Rio Grande is adjacent), and bird-watching. Passionate advocates for preserving this section of the high-altitude Chihuahuan Desert (3900 feet) have continued to maintain the local ecology, defending it against invasive species like the beautiful but water-stealing salt cedar trees.
Pictured here are sites from the park: you see a “screwbean mesquite” on the lower right, a “wheel cactus” on the lower left, and a view of the empty Rio Grande in December in the foreground of the mountains to the east of Las Cruces.
Source(s): Sources: Wikipedia and the educational center at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park.
