Turns out, you can’t always judge a store by its highway billboards. The faded, outdated signs for Del Sol in Tularosa, New Mexico, start popping up just past Alamogordo, home of the world’s largest pistachio nut (fun fact!). They come faster and faster and before you know it, you’re on top of a small mom-and-pop shop with an easy-to-miss driveway. Mexican serapes hang outside; inside, you’ll find them by the stack in every color and pattern imaginable, along with beautiful handwoven Zapotec rugs, Peruvian and Ecuadorian folk art, stoneware pottery, medicine wheels, and cases of turquoise jewelry. Prices are certainly lower than you’ll find in Santa Fe, and while some of the merchandise is total schlock, it’s worth stopping in if you have even a passing interest in textiles. The store has been kicking around since the seventies and also has sister shops in Old Mesilla and Tucson.

200 St. Francis Dr., Tularosa, NM; 575-585-4581.
2322 Calle Principal, Mesilla, NM; 575-524-1418.
329 E. 6th St., Tucson, AZ; 520-620-1311.

McGinn’s PistachioLand