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Lana’sDesert HavenAvailability

The best room in the house has no roof

A covered patio running the length of the back of the house, a fire pit, a BBQ grill, raised planting beds, and a fenced lawn deep enough to throw a ball across — all of it in the shade of two mature trees.

A round fire pit on the back patio beside raised vegetable beds, with mature trees and a block wall behind.

The covered patio

Brick columns, a solid roof, two industrial-style ceiling fans and a run of string lights. There is an outdoor television mounted under the cover, seating on both sides, and an outdoor dining area with the BBQ grill beside it.

The practical value of a deep covered patio in southeastern New Mexico is hard to overstate. July averages a high of 94°F here, and a covered, fan-cooled, shaded slab is what makes the middle of the day usable at all. In the evening, when the temperature drops and the sky over the Pecos valley does what it does, that patio is where the day actually ends.

The month-by-month temperature table is worth a look before you book if you have a choice of dates — April, May, September and October are the sweet spots for this garden.

The covered back patio with an outdoor television, ceiling fans, string lights and seating, looking out to the lawn.
Patio seating in the shade of the covered porch, with brick columns and ceiling fans overhead and the lawn beyond.
The back of the house from under a shade tree: a long covered patio, raised metal planting beds, a wide lawn and a solid privacy fence.
Raised planting beds and potted plants along the patio at the back of the house.
Looking across the fenced back garden toward the house, with a long covered patio, raised planting beds and grass in full shade.
Raised beds, lawn, and shade. The garden is the reason the house is called a haven.

The garden

Wide lawn, watered and green, with two big shade trees over it and a solid privacy fence all the way round. Down one side there are raised metal planting beds with vegetables and flowers in them — strawberries in the photographs — and a bird feeder near the corner.

The fence is the detail that changes what a stay here is like. It means a dog can be off a lead in a strange town, and it means small children can be outside without one adult permanently on watch duty. Both of those get their own pages: traveling with a dog and staying here with a family.

Beyond the garden gate there is a graveled strip down the side of the house used for RV parking, and a covered kennel run against the wall.

The fire pit, and one thing to check first

There is a round metal fire pit on the patio, out on the concrete rather than on grass, with seating around it. It is on the listing as a named amenity along with the outdoor dining area and the BBQ grill.

The honest caveat: New Mexico puts seasonal fire restrictions in place, and in a dry spring those can extend to open flame in a residential yard. Before you plan an evening around it, check the current restrictions — the state publishes them through the New Mexico Forestry Division. It costs you a minute and saves an argument.