I wanted to post some of the views from the lookout today. You can see Ruidoso and Capitan in the background. I have been posting alot from the surrounding mountains lately, this is because we try and escape the desert HEAT on the weekends. We are lucky to be so close and able to do this. Makes you think you are on vacation because it is so vastly different.
Old Linen postcard of Monjeau Lookout from 1948. Today, to escape the heat, we took a drive up to Ruidoso to visit it. Monjeau looks the same, except the trees have grown up and you cannot get the same photo. By the time I could see the building, I was too close to get a shot of the enitre lookout.
It is a view that rivals any I have seen in Colorado, Virginia and Montana. It takes about 2 hours to get there from Alamogordo, but is WELL worth the drive. The best part is that it was 69 degrees up there and 100 in Alamo. What a relief!
Spectacular from every direction!
Every Saturday morning in the summer we have the farmers market. There is also one at the fairgrounds in Alamogordo. This one in Tularosa has been here for about 5 years now. It is a bit early in the season still, but there is plenty of produce already available. Mostly tomatos, peaches, zucchini, mint, arugula, carizo, lavender, and garlic. I am anxiously awaiting melons darn it! It is a nice way to start the day and I walked away with a large bunch of lavender to keep in my car. With the heat the way it is, it will be better than any store bought air freshener!
The Pink Adobe.... This building is on White Sands Blvd and is one of the most interesting buildings I see. It is a shame it is in such wretched condition and it seems with the addition of the orange barrels that they are planning on tearing it down. I have always heard that it was a brothel in the old days. When I was growing up it was various businesses and apartments. It has some gorgeous wood beams and accents in the inside. I hope if they tear it down that they salvage them, you cannot get wood like that anymore. 
This is a separate building, but part of the complex. You can see several traditional southwestern elements here. First, the blue windows then to the right above the window you can see the vigas, and the curvy wall which is very common in adobes. Some of the older adobe home I have been into have walls a solid 2 feet thick, sure helps keep it cool in our desert heat!
This is the rear of the large front building. I think it is lovely with the curves and the balconies. It would make a beautiful painting.
Closer view in the courtyard area, also a traditional feature, note the leftover sign from a past business. Kinda funny considering the building's past.
Irrigation! It actually came in the daylight. It makes it lush and the fruit is out of this world! I had the best peach I have ever had in my life-white and so juicy it poured out as I took each bite. It is a fight with the beetles to get to the fruit first...
You can see the fig trees off to the left behind the peach tree. They will be ripe in a month. I LOVE summer!!!
Thanks to my sister for the great yard and fruit!!
We went to White Sands last night for the full moon. They are open late in the summer months to celebrate the full moons. If you have never seen a full moon light up the snow white dunes for miles it is a trip worth making! Last night they had a program of traditional Southwest and Celtic music featuring Connie Dover and Skip Gorman. They sang some old cattle songs and some even older Celtic music. It was beautiful under the stars as the huge yellow moon rose and the haunting melodies wafted around us on the dunes. My camera is not one that gets shots in the dark easily... so these are leading up to the evening. I feel blessed to live where I get to experience evenings like this one.
A different variation on the traditional gate, this one being iron, but the same idea!
This one isnt a gate, just an accent, but I am including it anyway.... Often times the window sills and around them are painted also, extra protection.
This one is quite faded, but you can see the faint blue that is left.
