Today was one of those days I wish I had had my camera with me.  The sunrise had a real nice fire look to it and would have made for a great shot.  This trusty camera phone snap will have to do.

On the way back from the White Sands EPMINIS rally, I stopped to take a few pics of some old buildings in Old Organ on the outskirts of Las Cruces, along Highway 70:

The first set of buildings look to be part of some old motor lodge.  It had an attached restaurant that invited visitors with its selection of Sandwiches, Lunches, Beer and Dinners.

The old sign is still visible from the highway though I had a hard time making out what it said:

It most likely was Organ Mountain Lodge, with the O and R having fallen off long ago.  It was pretty overgrown and thick with weeds, locusts and large grasshoppers.

Every building has been broken into and has been subject to the elements for quite some time.  After walking around the property I headed over to a old gas station across the street.  It had pretty much the same story going on as the lodge, boarded up long ago and currently being used as storage.

 We were pretty burnt from the full day at whitesands so we hit the road.

More pics are here: Old Organ

Sunday was rally day for the EPMINIS and the day’s rally was set for White Sands New Mexico.  After 3 three days of rain it was nice to get out and enjoy the break from the bleakness.

The group met at the Starbucks at Redd Road and after a quick trip update, we were on the way.

There was quite a turnout from the El Paso crowd as well as some MINI motorists from New Mexico.  After a brief stop and Micky D’s on Highway 70 in Las Cruises Cruces it was a high speed burn out to the monument.  There had been reports that because of the rain we wouldn’t  be able to drive in far but the weather had turned in our favor and the road in was open.

There was some sledding:

and sliding:

Via marisoldiaz79 @ Instagram

There was plenty of great photo opportunities and the MINIs all lined up are always quite a show. After a couple of hours it was time to motor.

On our way back, we had a bit of a MINI excursion on our own. We stopped at a few old buildings on the outskirts of Las Cruces and I wandered around for some pics:

Here’s a full flickr set of the days activities: EPMINIS @ White Sands

Also check out the EPMINIS page for a feed of pics from other members of the group: EPMINIS

“I am personally accountable for providing prompt, accurate, friendly, and cost-effective service to our customers”

That phrase, originally meant to be a reminder to some faceless phone bank worker while making and taking phone calls 8 hours a day, could also be interpreted as the phones motto.  When plugged in, this phone will work as instructed. Dialing and ringing, over and over. No need for updates, apps or GPS coordinates. A simple cost-effective way to talk from point A to point B.

It has a real “ring-tone” to boot.

Saturday proved to be great day to get out for a drive.  We tagged along with a group of MINI minions from EpMinis for a drive down Highway 28 to Las Cruces.  Along the way we stopped at Johnny Lolita’s in La Union for some excellent coffee and drinks.

Once we were good and caffeinated we motored down 28 through the pecan groves into Las Cruces to check out the annual British Car Days show downtown.  The event was on Saturday which coincided with the big street market so there was quite a gathering.  Parking was going to be a pain but we lucked out, an event organizer allowed us to park on the side street next to the show. Score!

There were a tone of neato rides ranging from MGBs, Jaguars and of course some classic Minis

After taking it all in we were off to lunch at Farley’s.  The weather held the entire run and everybody had a good time.  You can view some of my favorites from the show here on my Flickr feed:

Las Cruces British Car Days