Glamour shots with Hair Nets at Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm

Our tour of Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farms in Alamagordo, N.M. required us to wear hair nets during part of the tour. We had so much FUN!
Check out the Historical League fashionistas:

Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm tour

Pistachio tasting, ice cream tasting and wine tasting .  .  . what's not to like?
Eagle Ranch Pistachio Farm in Alamagordo, N.M. was one of the last stops on our Historical League tour and we enjoyed it immensely.

Pistachio tree

Sorting pistachios

Margie Kesler and Dianne Cobb shopping in the warehouse

St. Joseph Apache Mission

Front entrance

We never expected to see such a beautiful cathedral in Mescalero, N. M. The Historical League tour took us to the St. Joseph Apache Mission built by Father Albert Braun, O.F.M., who first came to Mescalero as a young Franciscan friar in 1916. Father Braun worked on building the cathedral between 1916-1940. Yes . . . it took that long to build.

Father Braun, a chaplin in WWI, raised funds and asked for donated labor over 25 years to create this fabulous stone cathedral. The parishioners have spent the last 14 years restoring it. Built the way European castles are created with the lime putty mortar between the rocks, it requires repairs every 100 years.

Lindy Isacksen and Linda Fritsch listen
to tour guide

Crumbling mortar needing repair

Mescalero Apache Indian Cultural Center tour

Small but full of information, this museum told the story of the Mescalero Apache community. They plan to build a much larger facility to showcase their many artifacts.

Freddy Kassin, the great, great grandson of Cochise, told us the history of his tribe.

Puberty Dress

Assisting Nancy Evans, Norma Jean Coulter and
Dianne Linthicum is our guide Freddie Kassin
a great great grandson of Cochise.

Signage in the Cultural Center

Traditional Apache skirt

Inn of the Mountain Gods tour

Guide Jackie explains the significance of the decor

Amazing fountain at the entrance

With beautiful views of the mountains, lake, golf course and zip line, our guide, Jackie, told us about Inn of the Mountain Gods. A Mescalero Apache Hotel/Casino, we learned that the lake is stocked with spotted trout; the ski hill is very popular; elk, duck and brown bears often visit the golfers; and the walls of the hotel are filled with the works of Native American artists.

We gathered at the base of the beautifully detailed
lobby fountain to listen to the history of Inn of the
Mountain Gods. The fountain resembles a woven basket

Dinner at Inn of the Mountain Gods

Linda Fritsch, Sharron McKinney, Judy Blackwell
and Lindy Isacksen share stories about the trip.

Many of us enjoyed dinner at Wendell's restaurant at Inn of the Mountain Gods on Day 2 of our New Mexico tour.  We relaxed and reminisced about the history we had learned during the day.

Mary Parker shows off her new jewelry
purchased at Mitchell's Silver and Turquoise Shop in Ruidoso.

Fort Stanton 3 foot interior walls and 1850's rifle

President Elect Margaret Baker demonstrates
the thickness of the interior walls.

Made from materials in the area, we saw much use of natural rock on our Historical League tour of Fort Stanton, N.M. Notice the inside walls of the living quarters were three feet thick rock walls.

As a gun enthusiastic, Leslie Christiansen was VERY interested in Sargeant Pope's authentic rifle. By the look on his face, I'm not sure how he felt . . .