Over 6,000 participating rocketeers from across the globe travel to Las Cruces every year to match their rocketry building skills in the Spaceport America Cup, the world's largest intercollegiate rocket engineering conference and competition. Steve Taylor, the Spaceport America Cup president, beamed with excitement when he called in to talk about this year's event. June 17-22 is when the rockets are slated to blast off from the Spaceport America vertical launch area.

The manager of Picacho Peak Brewery, David Rodriguez, shares what makes Picacho Peak Brewery unique from the other craft breweries located in the Las Cruces area. Not only do the beers, spirits, and wines separate them from the others, but it offers lawn games, is the most dog friendly, and has the largest beer. garden in the state, he said.

Where does one go to watch live NCAA Division I level sports when visiting the Southern New Mexico area? Las Cruces! The City of Crosses houses New Mexico State University, and the school is where Adam Young directs its sporting broadcast department. He sat down at the Visit Las Cruces podcast studio to talk about NMSU's football, basketball, baseball and the other university sports programs that draws locals and visitors to come and check out the collegiate competition here.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 27, to attend this year's ¡Mira! held in Downtown Las Cruces. Downtown Main Street and the plaza will be turned into a blocks long celebration of local art, music, vendors, entertainment, cars shows, food trucks and much more that highlights the unique culture of Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico.

It's coming on 10 years since the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument was established, so Patrick Nolan, executive director of the Friends of the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks and Carrie Hamlin, director of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce sat down to highlight the positive impact of the national monument. They also called attention to the 10-year anniversary celebration of the OMDP national monument happening on May 18 at the Las Cruces Convention Center.

Pecans and beer go hand-in-hand at the Pecan Grill & Brewery as was told by Alyssa Salcido, owner of the dining and drinking establishment located on the southwest corner of Lohman Avenue and Telshor Boulevard in the Mesilla Valley Mall parking lot. She sat down at Visit Las Cruces to enlighten all of the podcast listeners of the locally unique cuisine -- all made from scratch -- and the different styles of beer available in the dining room, patio and taproom.

When visiting Las Cruces and the surrounding area, its local grown and produced wine and beers can be flavored safely and comfortably when a bus takes you on a tour of the local wineries and craft breweries. Stephanie Hawkins, who runs Mesilla Valley Wine and Brew Tour, stopped by Visit Las Cruces to tell us how to enjoy these drinks without worrying on who's behind the wheel by signing up for a guided tour to the best local wineries and breweries Las Cruces and the area offers.

Very few things complement each other in Southern New Mexico as well as crafted beer and green chile cheese burgers. And one of the best, if not the best, place serving the two southwest staples is Spotted Dog Brewery. Founder of the local brewery, Jerry Grandle, stopped by Visit Las Cruces to talk about the family-owned and operated business located in Mesilla and its styles of beers and eats to everyone who stops in.

The Hermit of La Cueva is not a myth, but a real person who lived in La Cueva at the rock formations located in Dripping Springs east of Las Cruces. Author Dave Thomas and musician Dan Crow stopped by Visit Las Cruces to talk about The Hermit and a festival honoring him that will take place February 24 and 25 at the Rio Grande Theatre, including a U.S. premiere documentary film on the The Hermit. Listen to this podcast to find out more information about the upcoming festival and how to get tickets.

Part three with local Las Cruces author David Thomas reveals for the first time the man who snitched on Billy the Kid to Sheriff Pat Garrett who was then able to capture and kill the infamous Southern New Mexico outlaw. Thomas' book on Garrett captures the legacy and history of the former lawman and in this podcast gives listeners information on what and where to go to visit historical Pat Garrett sites in Las Cruces and the surrounding area.

The trials and tribulations of Billy the Kid is a topic of discussion in part two of the conversations with Las Cruces author Dave Thomas. The author's research casts doubt in the conviction of Billy the Kid, whose exploits and life in the Las Cruces area are stories of legend. One of the discussion points is where people can visit areas of interest and happenings in the Kid's Las Cruces adventures.

The history of movies and how they intertwined with historical figures is the topic of discussion when Las Cruces author David G. Thomas stopped by the Visit Las Cruces office. A couple points of discussion were that the first drive-ins were built in downtown Las Cruces and the first Billy the Kid movie premiered in the Rio Grande Theatre, which was fittingly due to his influence in the Las Cruces area, another talking point in this podcast.

Award-winning local author and "food consultant" Kelley Coffeen stopped by Visit Las Cruces to talk about her cookbook, "The Big Book of Hatch Chile." With food a big part of the holidays, one can prepare any number of appetizers, entrees, desserts, and even cocktails, using the Southern New Mexican agricultural staple of Hatch chile that'll add a kick of spicy flavor by following the numerous recipes she's developed.

Christmas is just around the corner, as well as The Little Shop on Main, which is located on the southwest corner of Main Street and Las Cruces Avenue in Downtown Las Cruces. And The Little Shop is the perfect place to find a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift, be it a piece of handcrafted jewelry or even a piece of furniture made from the hands of a local artisian. The inventory is constantly evolving and changing and calls for more than one visit.

Where can one go to get a caffeine fix in Las Cruces? Grounded Cafe in Downtown Las Cruces! In addition to one getting a power kick from a cup of locally brewed coffee, you can damper your hunger pangs with their menu specialty, pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. And you can complement your pizza with a beer or wine, too, as Grounded owners Tony and Sandra Espiritu sit down to discuss their family-owned business located in the heart of Downtown Las Cruces.

New Mexico -- with Las Cruces included -- has become a vibrant scene to produce and shoot feature films as movie director Justin Hunt, who was a student at New Mexico State University, discusses. He directed, wrote and produced his latest work, "The Post" that was filmed in New Mexico and has been released in movie theaters across the county and will be opening in Las Cruces theaters this Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.

The classic legend of La Llorona, known as the wailing woman, is explained by Rosalia Pacheco who has acted out the tale of the mother who cries out for her children. There are a few variations of why she mourns and how it originated, with the most agreed upon reason being a cautionary warning of the consequences of one's actions.

The Mesilla Valley Maze, located at 3855 W. Picacho Ave., has opened for another fall season. Anna Lyles, who helped start the corn maze in 1999, tells how it started and how it's grown  to 30-acres of family fun offering hay rides, a pumpkin patch and flower field, giant slides, a playground, picnic areas, and of course, the corn maze.

With the Whole Enchilada Invitational slowpitch softball tournament just around the corner, event director Bert Frederick and local league director James Jackson, sit down and talk about how the tournament has grown from its humble beginnings 40 years ago to becoming now the largest, single-weekend softball tournament in the nation.

Fort Selden, located in Radium Springs a few miles north of Las Cruces, has impacted the Mesilla Valley even before it became established as a post-Civil War U.S. Army fort. Alexandra McKinney, instructional coordinator with the New Mexico Historic Sites, highlights its history and influence to the Southern New Mexico area including why it was built along El Camino Real.