Mesilla vs Tombstone

Same Old, Same Old in a Same New City

I have been praising the United States for quite a while now (and with reason, this country has amazing nature and culture). But maybe it's time for a little critique?

Well, here it is: we feel that many of the cities in the States lack a unique character. Of course, I'm not talking about the New York Cities, Chicago's, Miami's, San Francisco's, etc of America but about the average "John Doe Cities" (or how would you call an average city?). They all look the same, have the same checkerboard layout and it feels like they all consist out of the same neighborhoods. You have the broad highway or interstate running into the city, lined with the same commercial developments (Walmart, Target, etc), restaurants (McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell, etc) and motels (Days Inn, Best Western, etc). Then, there's the business district with higher buildings often deserted during weekends. Maybe there's an art district (often not far from the business district) with some of the city's modern museums. And of course, the residential area with a suburban feel to it. The roads are often very big and it feels like there's no place for pedestrians. I understand that most of these cities are very young, so it makes sense they all have a logical, modern lay-out. And don't get me wrong, it's very convenient but I do miss the charm and coziness you can find in many European "John Doe Cities". I'm not saying our cities are more beautiful or more exciting but for some reason, they feel cozier and more inviting to visit with something unique to offer.

There are of course some older (100 years or more) "John Doe Cities" in the States, but their history is often so commercially exploited that they don't feel "real" any more. Such as Tombstone in Arizona, for example, with the nickname "The Town Too Tough To Die", an old mining camp which we visited on August 9th. They recreated the old West and made it into one big tourist attraction. It's very hard to believe that people actually live here - it feels more like Frontierland in Disneyworld.

But (there's always a but)... you can discover some hidden gems. We discovered Mesilla on our way to White Sands. Mesilla is just a small town near Las Cruces (Las Cruces being one of those same old same old John Doe Cities with the same old modern lay out and same old neigborhoods).  The very friendly and enthusiastic man at the visitor center convinced us to spend some time here. So we wandered around in the small village center (with adobe houses still built the old-fashioned way).

For lunch, we followed the advice of the visitor center guide and went to Chope's Bar & Cafe. The outside didn't look promising but we nevertheless had a delicious, authentic Mexican lunch.

We liked Mesilla a lot - one of the first smaller cities we visited with its own personality.  It felt like people actually lived to grow old there.

Oh well... it's probably just another weird European thing!