We have been RV Snowbirds for more than eight years. Our primary east-west route through west Texas and New Mexico can get tiresome along I-10.
One way we break it up is by stopping off somewhere along the way for a day or two or three. A very special destination, north of El Paso, is the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces.
The interactive museum is part of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and covers 47 acres. There are permanent and changing exhibits in the main building that contains more than 24,000 square feet of space.
RVing visitors will enjoy a variety of exhibitions that help tell the unique 4,000 year story of farming, ranching, and rural life in New Mexico.
To satisfy that ole cowpoke in you, stop by the ‘Slim Green: Master Saddle Maker’ exhibit in Museum’s Horse and Cattle Barn. This long-term exhibit celebrates the art of saddle making by recreating the workshop of the late, legendary Slim Green. There is a video of Green explaining saddle making, an interactive area for leather stamping, and panels that show the history and evolution of Western stock saddles. Two of Green’s saddles are displayed.
There is plenty of free parking for RVs and buses in the enormous museum parking lot.
To read a full article on the museum, click here to read more details in a post I filed on RVShortStops.
Photos: (Top) Livestock demonstrations. (Middle) Permanent exhibits. (Bottom) Legendary saddle maker Slim Green. (New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces)
