Friday – April 24, 2015
Lester Jackson Park Campground
Pie Town, New Mexico
We departed Aquirre Spring Campground, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, at 9:15 a.m. We arrived at the Lester Jackson Park Campground, a county park campground in Pie Town, New Mexico at 4:45 p.m.
Looking East on U.S. Highway 60
Looking West on U.S. Highway 60
Yes indeed… there is a real town called Pie Town, population 153, located on the Continental Divide of New Mexico, at an elevation of 7800 feet. This is always one of the fun parts of our travels: discovering unique places, such as Pie Town. We learned about Pie Town while watching a segment on CBS News Sunday Morning that was broadcast on November 30, 2014. At the time of the broadcast, we were spending the winter in Yuma, Arizona. Since we were planning to visit Las Cruces, New Mexico on our route home to Illinois in April 2015, we added Pie Town to our route.
Many families have been baking pies in Pie Town since the 1920’s. In 1995 the Knapp family, while traveling through New Mexico, happened upon Pie Town. They stopped at the local pie shop to get a piece of pie. Much to their dismay, the shop was closed with a sign on the door that read: "There used to be pie in Pie Town, but there ain't no more — FOR SALE."
Wendi Knapp and her mother had a rich tradition in pie making from their days of baking all kinds of pies at the Cozy Corner Café in Rochelle, Illinois. On November 11, 1995, the For Sale sign was gone and three generations of the Knapp family (Wendi, Kathy, Mary – mother, daughter, granddaughter) started baking pies in Pie Town. This was the genesis of the pie shop: Pie-O-Neer. It is located near Mile Marker 56 on U.S. Highway 60.
Hours of operation: Friday, Saturday and Sunday – 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Campground: Lester Jackson Park
Camping Fee: Free
Campsite: Just pick a campsite – 75 acres to choose from!
Total miles traveled today: 251
Route Traveled:
West on U.S. Highway 70
North on Interstate 25
West on U.S. Highway 60 to Pie Town
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
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