Spreading along the eastern banks of the Rio Grande, at the foot of the angular Organ Mountains, Las Cruces (pop. 74,267) is the commercial center of a prosperous agricultural and recreational region. Named for a concentration of pioneer grave markers, Las Cruces was first settled by Spanish missionaries but is now a thoroughly modern, American-looking place, with all the motels you could want, and a youthful vitality made possible by the presence of the large New Mexico State University campus. One place worth searching out is Nellie’s (505/524-9982), a Mexican restaurant famed for spicy salsas and delicious green-chile cheeseburgers, housed in a little brown box at 1226 W. Hadley Street, off Valley Boulevard on the northwest edge of downtown. For a unique place to stay, consider the Inn of the Arts ($75 and up; 505/526-3327), at 618 S. Alameda Boulevard, which offers B&B rooms in a 140-year-old Spanish Colonial home. One more rare treat: along I-10, the Las Cruces rest area is home to a giant-sized statue of the New Mexico state bird, the Roadrunner, crafted entirely from trash.
