Patty, have you ever taken time to walk around the ancient village of Old Mesilla when in the Las Cruces area? I make sure to have my camera in hand when I stop there, usually to eat (La Posta), then I always make time to stroll a bit. It's on a smaller scale than Old Town in Albuquerque. The Interwebs suggest that all of the agricultural land around town is growing pecan trees. I spent a lot of time working with US/Mexico topics when I was at the university library (a special web site was built that I added images to) - the Gadsden Purchase is a big part of Texas/Mexico history and that little town was smack in the middle of it. Also the US Civil War, if you can visualise that.
Thunderstorms here today, but I'm getting ready for company in a bit. The ex is coming over to help cut up the salmon in preparation for brining then smoking. Our daughter has participated in this work so knows the salmon she receives every year is a big deal (plus, 4 pounds of sockeye comes in at about $90 these days). Smoking it tomorrow, and the weather is supposed to cooperate (the smoker gets set on a couple of bricks a few feet away from the side door nearest the electrical outlet).
A conversation with an old friend last night (the kind of call that ends after 90 minutes but could have kept going) gave me some gluten-free baking tips. And while I've been using Bob's Red Mill products, she pointed me to King Arthur Flour. They have a handy blog about choosing the right flour. She said there is one that is great for using for gravy the same way you use regular flour. (She's allergic to corn so can't use cornstarch and said gravy with arrowroot is dreadful). Also, America's Test Kitchen has a lot of their gluten free tested recipes in a large cookbook (that arrived on the porch this morning, thank you Amazon!)
Better get moving. Safe travels, Charmion! Dorothy, I hope the family visit will or is going well. Sandra, others on the other side of the planet, don't get a sunburn during your patio celebrations (I always assume there will be lots of grilling for the holiday when it's full summer.)