May 10, 2009 Dansk tekst til venstre English text on the right Dagens baghave: Backyard of the Day: Old Mesilla, Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico Old Mesilla is located on Avenida de Mesilla just south of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, New Mexico   Vi tog fra City of Rocks i morges, fejrede søndagen med Første Baptistkirke i Deming, og nåede til Old Mesilla først på eftermiddagen. Sidste gang, vi var i Old Mesilla, var der stille og mennesketomt på plazaen og i de små forretninger, men i dag var det mors dag, og jeg skal love for, der var liv og glade dage. Og vrimmel. Hø-hø. We left City of Rocks this morning, celebrated Sunday worship with Deming First Baptist, and reached Old Mesilla in the early afternoon. Last time we were here the plaza and the little shops were quiet and almost abandoned, but today was Mother's Day, and there were crowds (bleh!) and lots of entertainment.

Mesilla blev grundlagt efter Guadalupe-Hidalgo traktaten i 1848, som endte krigen mellem USA og Mexico, hvor Rio Grande blev gjort til grænse mellem de to lande, og Mexico afstod Californien, Nevada og Utah, foruden dele af Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming og New Mexico til USA. I denne opdeling landede Mesilla oprindelig i ingenmands land, indtil Gadsdenaftalen i 1854, som blev underskrevet her på Mesillas plaza, og som gjorde byen og en del andre områder til en del af USA for en sum af 10 millioner dollars til Mexico. Mesilla was founded after the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, which ended the war between the US and Mexico, making the Rio Grande the border, and causing Mexico to cede California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico to the US. In this division Mesilla originally ended up in no-man's-land, until the Gadsden Purchase of 1854, which was signed here in Mesilla's plaza, and which made the town, along with other areas, part of the US in exchange for 10 million dollars for Mexico.         Chilier ~ Chilis

Overfor Mesillas plaza ligger den katolske Basilica de San Albino. Den nuværende kirke er bygget i 1906 på ruinerne af den oprindelige adobekirke, en af de ældste i området. Across from Mesilla's Plaza lies the Catholic Basilica de San Albino. This church was built in 1906 on the foundation of the original adobe church, one of the oldest in the area.     TILEGNET DE UFØDTE TIL KÆRLIGT MINDE OM DE USKYLDIGE OFRE FOR ABORT DEDICATED TO THE UNBORN IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF ABORTION     Gademusikanter ~ Street musicians

Denne bygning var i sin tid Mesillas regerings- og retsbygning. Byens værtshuse og dansehaller blev hjemsøgt af adskillige banditter, iblandt dem Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney alias "Billy the Kid", som i 1881 blev dødsdømt i denne bygning. Billy the Kid, født i New York til irske forældre i 1859, havde slået adskillige mænd ihjel i stridighederne mellem bønder og forretningsfolk i Lincoln Amt i 1870erne. Billy the Kid, som kæmpede på bøndernes side, blev dømt til hængning her i Mesilla og derefter transporteret tilbage til Lincoln Amt, hvor straffen skulle finde sted. Der lykkedes det ham at flygte, efter at have dræbt to politifolk. Knap tre måneder senere blev Billy the Kid skudt, 21 år gammel, af sheriffen, Pat Garrett, som havde fundet ham på en af Billys venners gård. Der går rygter om, at Billy the Kids spøgelse stadig huserer her i bygningen. This building was at one time Mesilla's capitol building and courthouse. The town's saloons and dance halls were frequented by several outlaws, among them Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney alias "Billy the Kid", who was sentenced to death in this building in 1881. Billy the Kid, born in New York to Irish parents in 1859, had killed several men in the Lincoln County War that raged between ranchers and merchants in that county in the 1870s. Billy the Kid, who fought with the ranchers, was sentenced to hang here in Mesilla, and was then transported back to Lincoln County for execution. There he managed to escape, after having killed two deputies. Just under three months later Billy the Kid was shot at the age of 21 by sheriff Pat Garrett, who had tracked him down at the ranch of one of his friends. Rumor has it that the ghost of Billy the Kid still roams around this building.

Vi spiste morsdagsmiddag på La Posta, en gammel restaurant, som vi elsker, og som har en lang historie i sig selv. We had Mother's Day dinner at La Posta, an old restaurant, which we love, and which has a long history of it's own.   La Posta er bygget i 1840erne som hvilested for rejsende. Det var stoppested for Butterfield Diligencen og blev i 1870erne lavet til hotel og restaurant. Hotellet var ejet af John og Augustina Davis, og Augustina drev forretningen til først i 1900-tallet. I 1939 åbnede Katy Griggs Camuñez den nuværende restaurant, og i dag drives La Posta de Mesilla videre af hendes slægtninge, som stadig bruger de gamle opskrifter. La Posta was built in the 1840s as a resting place for travelers. It was a stop on the Butterfield Stage Route and in the 1870s was made into a hotel and restaurant. The hotel was owned by John and Augustina Davis, and Augustina managed the business until the early 1900s. In 1939 Katy Griggs Camuñez opened the present-day restaurant, and today La Posta de Mesilla is run by relatives of her, who still use the old recipes.   Denne bygning er den oprindelige LA POSTA. For over halvandet århundrede har disse adobevægge modstået angreb fra vejrligt og mennesker; de har givet husly til sådanne personligheder som Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, General Douglas MacArthur og Pancho Villa. I dag sover Mesilla, men La Posta udbyder stadig sin traditionelle gæstfrihed til alle. This building is the original LA POSTA. For more than a century and a half, these adobe walls have withstood the attack of elements and man; they have sheltered such personalities as Billy the Kid, Kit Carson, General Douglas MacArthur, and Pancho Villa. Now Mesilla sleeps, but La Posta still offers its traditional hospitality to all.     Der er et stort papegøjebur i restaurantens foyer. There is a large parrot cage in the restaurant foyer.     Middagen stod på chile con queso og majstortillas, guacamole, enchiladas, tamales, chili con carne, taquitos og ris og brune bønner... Dinner was chile con queso and corn tortillas, guacamole, enchiladas, tamales, chili con carne, taquitos, and rice and frijoles...   ...og sopaipillas! Har jeg nævnt, hvor vild jeg er med sopaipillas? Næsten lige så vild, som jeg er med indiansk stegebrød, og det siger ikke så lidt! Vi fik en posefuld med, så vi havde noget at gumle på hele den laaaaange vej gennem Texas. ...and sopaipillas! Have I mentioned how much I love sopaipillas? Almost as much as I love Indian frybread, and that's saying something! We got a bag of them to go, so we had something to munch on all the looooong way through Texas.

Og bedst som man synes, det er så mexikansk altsammen, hænger der en Bjørn Wiinblad plakat på dametoilettet. Meget eklektisk. And just when you think it's all Mexican all over the place, there's a framed poster of the Danish artist Bjørn Wiinblad in the ladies' room. Very eclectic.             En time senere var vi i El Paso, og resten af dagen er gået med at komme så langt vi kan mod San Antonio. Der er laaaaang vej igennem Texas! An hour later we were in El Paso, and we've spent the rest of the day getting as far along toward San Antonio as we can. It's a looooong way through Texas!

Boondocking Information We're boondocking at a rest area on I-10 at Sonora, Texas. Facilities: Restrooms Picnic areas Dog walking area Free wi-fi More New Mexico Travel Information Here YESTERDAY TOMORROW