December 23, 2022 - April 19, 2023

LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

Las Cruces is a city in New Mexico, on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. The interactive New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum features livestock and gardens. On the Rio Grande, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park has trails and birdlife. The Museum of Nature and Science includes desert animals and hands-on displays. In an old depot, the Railroad Museum has model trains and explores the local impact of railways. ― Google

After spending the summer of 2022 workamping in Iowa I decided a workamping job in a warmer climate for the winter. To make a long story short, I found a job doing income taxes for Jackson Hewitt in Las Cruces, NM. I had never been to Las Cruces and I had only done my own income taxes before my arrival in late December. I loved preparing tax returns for others, and enjoyed the people I worked with in the Jackson Hewitt office.

I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to explore the Las Cruces area, mainly because I worked six days a week and the local museums were closed on my day off. I enjoyed the views of the Organ Mountains each day and did a little exploring there and in the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park.

The weather was not as warm as I had anticipated, but then it was unseasonably cold in a lot of places this winter, and it was better than what I would have experienced in Iowa though it is all relative. Las Cruces did provide most everything to live comfortably with good shopping and nice restaurants. I did attend one New Mexico State University basketball game (but that’s a long story), and was able to attend one locally produced live theater production.

As I am writing this I plan on returning to Las Cruces next winter, as I said I enjoyed preparing income taxes, and I’m hoping for a more seasonable winter. I also plan on only working five days per week giving more opportunities to explore.