We left Las Cruces on Saturday, February 15. We only had to drive three house that day, so we took our time. We made a stop Deming, New Mexico and went to the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum. It is in an old fire house. Really big and impressive collection of historic artifacts, minerals, pottery and more. It took a long time but I think we looked at most things.

I then drove to the Happy Camper Clubhouse. It is in a trailer park and may have started as a food truck. I researched it and knew they had an impressive number of beers on tap and some interesting things on the menu. I got a hazy IPA and Karla got a coconut margarita. We started with green chile cheese curds that were really delicious. I got a Cuban sandwich and Karla got the Philly.

After lunch we drove back to downtown Deming and found a place to park. We walked around a little and went into the Deming Art Center. They had a nice exhibit by a local artist. There were some nice small paintings that were $5 or $10. I would have bought one but they were already sold. Karla bought some tiles that she wants to bring home and find a place at our cabin.

From there we went to Tirrito Farms. I asked about the tour I had reserved but they said it was not happening. So we went to the bar for some beers. They make their beer and I was impressed with their hazy IPA and hazy session IPA. We had some time to kill before we could check in so I got the cards from the truck and we played a few hands of gin.

Once it was after 4:00 we went to the Beer Dome. We unloaded a few things and sat outside and had some drinks. The chairs were in the shade and sunset was behind us. It was a little cool so we didn’t stay out too long. We went inside, had another beer and played a couple more hands of gin.

We could hear the band so we walked over to the main building. The band was playing outside and it was cool so we tried to find a spot by a heater. A couple left and said we could sit in their spot by the fire table. A server came around and Karla ordered a wine and I requested a beer. Karla got her wine in a few minutes but it took 25 minutes to get my beer. It was a barrel aged porter and it was really good.

After a few minutes it was time for our dinner reservation. We went inside, but they did not have a table ready for us. We waited a few minutes and then they got us a table by the kitchen door. Service was also a little slow. But it was Saturday night and they were really busy. I wish we would have had the VIP treatment, but we did not. We started with some cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped dates that were really good. We had some pizza with Prosciutto, ricotta, arugula and hot honey. It was pretty good. We didn’t finish all the crust but ate all the toppings. I finished with a Rauchbier. Also good.

We went to their store and we got some chocolate and beer to go. Back to the Beer dome. We drank some more and played some more cards.

Sunday we slept in a little. The beer dome was cool but it let in a lot of light. I peeked out the window to see a little sunrise. Got ready and packed up. We had three or four hours of driving in front of us. We wanted get some breakfast so we went to a little Mexican place in Wilcox called La Unica Restaurant & Tortilleria. It was not busy and we may have been the only customers. We took a table and the tables had elaborate horse head carved legs. I hit my knees on them more than once. We decided on breakfast burritos. The menu said choice of tortillas and beans on rice on the side. When we got our burritos, there was no beans and rice. The waitress said the menu was a misprint. The burritos were pretty good and filled us up. When we were done we sat for a few minutes. Karla had to get up and ask for the check.

It was still early so I looked for something to do. I suggested another regional museum. It was on the way so we went to the Amerind Museum. We started on the art gallery side. The main level had some nice paintings in a big gallery that looked like it was set up for a presentation. Also a cool, old grandfather clock. We went upstairs for three more galleries. The first was about an indigenous group and their struggle to get water. Mostly reading but some interesting digital prints. Then a full gallery for America Meredith. I really liked her work and the statements they made. Some of them could have been in the parody exhibit we saw in Las Cruces. The last gallery were some photographs by an indigenous person. Some great photos. Then over to the history side of the museum. They had some nice stuff and a gallery dedicated to Paquimé, a pre-Columbian town in Mexico. They had some new pottery for sale. Very nice but expensive.

I wanted to make one more stop before heading to Phoenix. We stopped at Dragoon Brewing in Tucson. It was a quick trip off the highway and we had not been there. They had a couple interesting IPAs so I got a short pour. Karla got a big pour of the stout. I got another short pour.

We drove to Phoenix and found our next Airbnb. We grabbed a couple things and went inside to check it out. We were stunned at the amount of stuff that was there. There was not much room for our clothes in the bedrooms or food in the kitchen. But it was paid for, and we needed a place to stay, so I brought everything in and we did the best we could.

Once we were settled, we heated up some leftovers and watched the Gopher basketball game from the day before. The Gophers beat USC!