Every doorway, every intersection has a story. ~ Katherine Dunn
No, the city of Las Cruces isn’t flush with must-see landmarks like Rome, Paris, or New York.
There’s not a single famous statue standing in the harbor.
There’s no harbor.
But it does have plenty of private residences with doors and entryways designed with architectural details distinctive to New Mexico. They keep me entertained on these early morning walks and tell the history of the region.
My favorite doorways lead to courtyards.
I wonder about the beauty hidden inside and muse on the marriage of cultures I can see from the outside.
The rounded arch and soft contours of this modern home is a nod to Pueblo architecture. But the distressed and substantial-looking wooden door is like those seen in Extremadura, Spain, an area from which many early settlers in New Mexico hailed.
Lots of houses display posts with diagonal channels carved into them.
Spotting canales instead of gutters near the roof of this next home reminds me that we, too, now live in a home equipped with canales ~ spouts to direct rainwater away from the house.
And here’s the best thing about this doorway: It’s open, so you can look straight through and see the Organs, a portion of the awesomeness that drew me here.
Melodie – I love the photos, they draw me in and make me wonder what’s behind them. I can go off in my own little dream world for a minute and make up my own story about the doors. Thanks for sharing.
To know something I’ve done inspires dreams is golden, Jenny ~ thanks for this!
Jenny — I would love to hear your story about the doors —
Have I told you how much I love your pictures? These are gorgeous 🙂 For me, I’d include walking through some of the “hidden” farms in my suburbian city on my walking tour. It’s a bit of an oasis in the middle of groups of developed suburbs.
The “Hidden Farms Tour” . . . sounds intriguing. Having one in the suburbs reminds me of the corner house in my Bermuda neighborhood ~ where a neighbor grazed cattle!
What a way to start the day — you make breakfast fun and a great adventure. In my city, they built a walkway along the busiest street but it has held my thoughts, imagination and love of walking and podcasts close to it’s heart. To complete it from my home, a turnaround at my local juicing market and back is about 4 miles. I feel so good when I’m done.
Glad you mentioned that, Sherry . . . the morning walk is a perfect activity for listening to favorite online radio shows!