Following our stop at Hope, New Mexico we continued on US 82 towards Las Cruces, New Mexico and our destination of White Sands National Park. Down the road as we wound our way up the mountain we came around a corner and saw a sign that pointed to this little roadside "Stand" which turned out to be another awesome stop. Not only did it have drinks, snacks, it had hand made crafts and jarred everything. It was pretty amazing and to cap all that off and hefty cash register receipt later i took a little stroll thinking I would find one or two animals to pet and man was I surprised when there literally is an entire domestic and exotic animal petting zoo onsite. It was so fun to find another really amazing find on this drive to Las Cruces, New Mexico. So again peeps, slow it down, take in the sites and don't be afraid to stop and explore.
The following is a little info on Runyan Ranch Petting Zoo and Stand. If you want more info checkout their Facebook page.
Tom Runyan’s grandfather, also named Tom, came to New Mexico in the 1870s during a cattle drive from the sprawling Y.O. Ranch in Texas. The house on the property was built in the 1880s by J.F. Hinkle, the sixth governor of New Mexico.
At an elevation of 5,400 feet, the ranch has nearly ideal weather — not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter.
Though Runyan Ranch is located in the middle of nowhere, it is ideally located in the middle of nowhere at the halfway point between the drive between Carlsbad Caverns and the White Sands National Monument.
The ranch is now owned by Tom and Pam Runyan.
"Everyone is your friend at rescue zoo; Despite its remote location, Runyan Ranches attracts visitors from around the world | Roswell Daily Record" https://www.rdrnews.com/2018/02/18/everyone-is-your-friend-at-rescue-zoo-despite-its-remote-location-runyan-ranches-attracts-visitors-from-around-the-world/.
Finding really interesting places like this literally in the middle of nowhere is to us what fulltime rv travel is all about. Don’t get me wrong we love a good destination point like a National Park, or Beach camping spot or fun attraction in a cool city, but finding little gems with everyday people are where its all. Also learning a little about Americana that otherwise we would never have heard or read about.
We will continue to enjoy our two lane backroad travels that’s for sure, we hope you will slow it down and take in the view because you never know what or who you mind find out there. As always safe travels, and enjoy your journey, we sure do.
