Wow! In Las Cruces!

We started our day in Las Cruces by having a late cup of coffee and discussing the chores that we needed to do today. Those plans lasted about 3 minutes and we took off for breakfast at Chalas Woodfire Grill on Avenida de Mesilla near the old square. As you know this area is one of the oldest in the state, having been established in 1848 by a group of citizens that were unhappy being in the United States and moved just south of the US/Mexican border. Attacks by Apache Indians caused the United States to establish Fort Fillmore in the Mesilla Valley in 1851, effectively making the area part of the US. Both Mexico and the US claimed the fertile valley until the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 resolved the dispute.

During the Civil War, Mesilla served as the capitol of the Confederate State of Arizona until it was recaptured by the California Column and returned to the Union for the remainder of the war.

Chalas is rather nondescript on the outside, but the interior decor is pleasant and tasteful.

We ordered Huevos Rancheros with "Christmas sauce", which is a combination of mild green and spicy red sauces. Donna pronounced it delicious. I decided to try the Chorizo and eggs since the Chorizo is made in house and is virtually fat-free. It was very good, but almost too much to eat! The biscuit in the upper left is a Galleta, or mexican biscuit. A bit flatter than what we're accustomed to, but served toasted in butter!

The Galleta was served with a selection of home-made preserves. We particularly liked the Green Chili!

I'm including a pic of the dinner menu to illustrate that Chalas doesn't have a huge selection, but they do a great job on their specialties.

Clouds moved in this afternoon, and thunderstorms began to build over the San Francisco mountains.

At one point, after we went to the grocery store, got some coffee, and came home, the clouds began to resemble the Mammatus clouds that presage a tornado, or at least high winds. At this point the temp was comfortable and the wind was light, so we pulled up some chairs, sat down, and enjoyed our coffee while watching the lightning and listening to the thunder.

After five minutes of this wonderful little pageant, the wind came up and within two minutes was blowing 45 mph (according to the local news), and the rain began to fall. We ran inside and turned on the TV and watched the local weather reports. Hail, high winds, and heavy rain was the norm for the Mesilla Valley from El Paso to Las Cruces. As I write this, about 6:30 pm MDT, the news is reporting more cells approaching from the southwest, and are making predictions of more and heavier storms tomorrow. The phrase "very, very, nervous" keeps being tossed around. And we're supposed to go to Tucson tomorrow…..We'll see how that works.