Mike's Southwest Travels: Lucero Ranch

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Lucero Ranch

August 5, 2005

 

Location:  Eastern face of the Organ Mountains on White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

Who wouldn’t want to take a tour to a bunch of dilapidated old buildings surrounded by unexploded ordinance, with a strict military escort, and bunch of distant relatives you barely know?

Let's start off with a little history here.

Excerpted from:  http://www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/lakelucero/lucero.html
In 1897, Jose and Felipe Lucero, both sheriffs of Dona Ana county, obtained title to 160 acres on the south shore of the dry lake that would bear their name. The Lucero ranch eventually encompassed 20,000 acres (8,100 ha), with an estimated 2,000 head of cattle. The main ranch house was several miles south of Lake Lucero, on what is now the White Sands Missile Range.

The Luceros, along with many other ranchers in the basin, abandoned cattle raising during World War II, as much of the basin became a bombing range. In 1945 the White Sands Missile Range was created.

Bringing us to the present condition of the ranch.

Excerpted from:  http://www.nps.gov/whsa/stratplan/Strategic%20Plan%20WHSA.htm
Twelve of the 14 remaining structures, all within the White Sands NM Administrative Complex, will be maintained in good condition. One structure, the Lucero Ranch Line Camp, located in the remote western part of the monument along the trail to Lake Lucero, will be allowed to remain in poor condition. Inspections and minor maintenance of that site will continue in order to provide for the safety of visitors and employees that are periodically in that area.

 

So much for history.  I assume the buildings we visited were the ones in "poor" condition.  Anyway, as part of the agreement for the ranch to be turned over to the military, the family is allowed to visit every few years.  No doubt the military is now ruing this arrangement.  This time they had to provide escort for forty cars and a couple hundred people, including my truck and one of my cousins.  

   

My involvement with the ranch began when I visited here as a child.  I used to swim here when it was a water tank.  The wells actually looked like they were in good shape.  A little repair and... the ranch would still be a bunch of dilapidated buildings surrounded by unexploded ordinance.

Here's the old cellar.  I went down inside during the last family visit.  It was in a lot better shape back then; I wouldn't try it now.

    

Here's the main house, relatively intact.  The fellow in the red hat was giving us the tour.

   

   

Between bad upkeep and graffiti posted by various soldiers over the years, the inside of the house was like something out of the Blair Witch Project.    The house's only resident was a camera-shy bat, who did not appreciate all the fuss.  

   

Still, we all had a reasonably good time.

 

Here's a couple of rare view of the Organs from a normally restricted part of the base.
I wish I could post pictures of all the cool military hardware I saw, such as the  rows of tanks and when we were buzzed by a low-flying stealth fighter.  However, our military escort was there to ensure we didn't take pictures of that.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  But thankfully I was allowed to photograph all of this wonderful historical ...umm ...debris.