Shopping in Old Mesilla

The wind picked up this morning, as predicted, so we made plans to revisit the Old Town Square at Mesilla, NM, just a mile or so south of where we are parked.  This is the area where we had a fantastic dinner at Double Eagle restaurant a couple of nights ago.

The area around the square is comprised of old adobe buildings from the 1800's that have been "recycled and repurposed" over the years.  There are the usual selection of tourist T-shirt shops and such, but also has a variety of wonderful jewelry and specialty shops.

One of the shops was a gallery of Nambe'.  I did not recognize the name, but Donna did, and as we found out, they have a variety of museum quality designs in housewares, such as baking dishes, tableware, serving dishes and such.  The items are made from a metal alloy that was created during the Manhattan atomic project in the 40's.  The man who discovered the alloy bought the patent from  the government and began to market high quality items made from it.  For a snapshot, go to www.nambe.com and check it out.

The old courthouse is probably the most famous of the historic buildings on the plaza.

The building is currently a gift shop, but in 1881, it was a courthouse, and on April 13 of that year, Billy the kid was sentenced to hang.  He was then taken to the courthouse in Lincoln, but he escaped there.  He later (it is said) met his end at the hands of the sheriff of Dona Ana county, Pat Garrett.

On the way home, we stopped by Ristramnn Chili Co.  Now, I thought that the name was from the family that owned it, but it turns out that the Alexander family owns the land and can trace their roots back to 1848 on the same land. So the name?

The strings of chilis are called Ristras, and so the store owner is called the "Ristra Man".  Cool, huh?

And so, another sunset.  New Mexico variety this time.