A Morning at Dripping Springs Natural Area
June 2021
A Scenic Three-Mile Loop in The Organs
Despite wanting to sleep in, I was wide awake by 7:00 AM. After the long travel day yesterday, we kept things local and headed to the Dripping Springs Natural Area in the Organ Mountains. Located just 15 minutes from Las Cruces, it was the perfect spot for a scenic, three-mile round-trip hike. The trail climbed gently through the high desert, with the ragged Organ needles in the background. In this unique microclimate, the vegetation shifted beautifully from desert bushes to green trees.
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At the end of the trail, set against the canyon walls, we found the weathered remnants of the Dripping Springs Resort (originally known as “Van Patten’s Mountain Camp”) and the Boyds’ Tuberculosis Sanatorium. There, we read about the bitter legal battle between Eugene Van Patten, who built the original resort in the 1870s, and Dr. Nathan Boyd, who leased part of the land for his sanatorium. Boyd refused to pay rent to Van Patten, leading to thirteen years of grueling litigation. The court battles eventually forced Van Patten into bankruptcy, and he was compelled to sell his life’s work, his beloved mountain retreat, to his rival, Dr. Boyd, for just one dollar.
This sad story felt eerily familiar. These aggressive “death by a thousand lawsuits” tactics mirror a technique the former most powerful person in the land used to financially drain those with whom he had legal disputes, to kill lawsuits, or to grab real estate for pennies on the dollar.