Butterfield Station Travel Center & DQ

The Butterfield Station Travel Center is on Interstate 10 (Exit 62) about 20 miles west of Deming, New Mexico. Butterfield carries self-serve EXXON gasoline and features 24hr. pay at the pump service.  Looking for Diesel Fuel? We have that too!

Be sure to see the large display and variety of Victorian Dolls as well as the mind-boggling selection of merchandise, jewelry, T-Shirts, toys and mementos that we offer at all our Bowlin Stores. 

You can't leave here and head into the southern New Mexico desert without one of the wonderful treats from the Dairy Queen located at Butterfield Station. If you want to look around the area for a couple of days, stay in our RV park. You can use it as a base while touring the Deming and Silver City areas. 

Check out a ghost town or two; get a glimpse of how things were in the1800's by touring The Old Custom House, (designated as a National Historic Site) in Deming; or hike and fish in the huge Gila (pronounced hee la) National Forest.

New Handcrafted Horse Hair Pottery

 We have brand new styles of Horse Hair Pottery from our artist, Tom Vail, that are exclusively for Bowlin Travel Centers, Inc! Take a look at our new John Wayne piece featured here. This piece was just added to our pottery collection, and it already seems to be a hit! Mr. Vail goes through quite a process to make sure each piece he creates is unique and special (see pictures below). 

To create each beautiful piece, "slip "(liquid form of clay) is poured into the mold.  After allowing time to harden, Tom Vail removes the damp clay (which is now no longer in liquid form) from the mold.  Before baking the clay in the kiln, he makes it nice and smooth.  Upon removing the piece from the kiln, Mr. Vail immediately begins to apply horse hair.  The fine lines are created with the hair from the mane of the horse while the thick lines are created from the hair of the tail. Once all of the horse hair is applied, he allows the piece to cool.  After cooling, Tom Vail hand etches each piece.  If stones or turquoise are used to decorate the pottery, those are applied at this time.  Finally, the piece is varnished in order to protect it.  Every piece of horse hair pottery is original and made in New Mexico. 

Step 1: Pouring slip into mold

Step 2: Removing clay from mold

Step 3: Removing piece from the kiln

Step 4: Applying horse hair

Step 5: Etching

Step 6: Applying stones to piece

Step 7: Finished product

Old West Trading Post

 

The Old West Trading Post is located on Interstate 10 (Exit 127) about 15 miles west of Las Cruces in southern New Mexico. Come to this store to find a huge assortment of Mexican pottery, year-round fireworks and the tremendous selection of souvenirs and merchandise that is offered at all of our Bowlin stores. Exxon® fuel is available any time of the day with our 24hr. pay at the pump service. 

While you are in town, why not visit the Las Cruces Museum Of Natural History and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum? Or,  take a walking tour of Old Mesilla and see San Albino Church that was built in 1906 or visit the many other attractions and historical sites in the Mesilla Valley. 

New Items

New merchandise has arrived! Our 10 stores have been flooded with all of our new merchandise for 2012, but we have also uploaded many of these new items to our web store. 

If you're looking for an affordable yet special gift idea, you might want to take a look at our new heart charm bracelets. These come packaged in a nice gift box with a sentiment included on the box (as shown to the left).  To find these online, simply click on the sub-category Designer Jewelry. There you will find a nice assortment to choose from.

Maybe you are wanting to find something to hang on your walls. In addition to the many new crosses we have added, we have just uploaded decorative wooden signs with numerous sayings on them. Whether you are looking for something funny, inspirational, or even western, we've got quite a selection online.  To view our decorative wooden sign collection, simply click on the category Home Decor. You will find these under the sub-category Wall Art.

The warm weather has arrived-so the perfect addition to our stores are these trendy sun hats! You can find these online by clicking on our category Hats. There you will be able to choose from a variety of colors such as green, blue, pink, brown, white, or black (as featured here).  


These featured items give you a small glimpse into our new merchandise for 2012. To view even more, head to www.bowlinonline.com. Happy Shopping!

Akela Flats Trading Post

Bowlin's Akela Flats Trading Post is located on the north side of Interstate 10 (Exit 102) in southern New Mexico. It is about 20 miles east of Deming (the Duck Race Capital Of The World) and about 30 miles west of Las Cruces (home of New Mexico State University main campus). From the moment you step foot into our store, the enticing aroma of fresh, homemade cookies will cause you to want to pick up a dozen of the fresh baked goodness...or try some of our homemade fudge! While you are snacking on these delicious goodies, enjoy browsing through the tremendous selection of merchandise such as southwest souvenirs, Native American handcrafted jewelry, Minnetonka Moccasins, or even the huge selection of fireworks offered at this store!  Exxon® fuel is also available with 24hr pay at the pump service.

The next time you are headin' our way, stop on in Akela Flats where we can show you true Southwestern hospitality!

Handmade Inlay Jewelry

Step 1: Wax Molds

Step 2: Silver just out of the kiln

Step 3: Silversmith linking the silver                               

Step 4: Shaving and placing the stones in the silver moldings

Step 5: Polishing the piece

There is no other jewelry quite like Inlay.  First, the silver molds are created from wax moldings and melted silver.  After the silver has been hardened, it is linked by a silversmith.  Next, each stone is shaved down by hand to fit perfectly in the silver moldings.  Each color you see is a different stone, and these stones come from all over the world- Brazil, India, Afghanistan, China, and even right here in the United States.  Finally, the inlay piece is polished and is ready for you to wear!  Every inlay piece you will find in our store has been diligently and tirelessly handmade, using exact precision.  When you purchase one of these inlay pieces, know that no one else will have an inlay piece like yours, for no two are alike. Make sure to check the back...there you will find the initials of the Native American artist responsible for crafting your piece.
We do offer a 90-day warranty on all of our jewelry items.  Upon purchasing a piece of inlay, you will receive a certificate of authenticity with our warranty information attached. 

Bluewater Travel Center & Dairy Queen

Our newly renovated Bluewater Travel Center is located on Interstate 40 (Exit 72) about 10 miles west of Grants, New Mexico.This store has the huge selection of gifts, Native American jewelry, and  souvenir items that you will find at any of our 10 Bowlin Stores. But, here at Bluewater, you have to stop to see the tremendous display of fireworks that are for sale year-round! Whether you are simply looking for sparklers or a big BANG with the huge 500 Gram fireworks, you are sure to find all of these and more!

All that shopping can make you tired, hungry, and thirsty, so why not go rest your legs and feed that appetite with a nice, juicy burger, some ice cream, and an ice cold soda to wash it all down?! Attached to our Travel Center is our Dairy Queen which gives you the opportunity to get an Ultimate Burger with french fries, or even one of the other DQ Brazier items such as a Chocolate Dipped Cone, Dilly Bar, or even a Blizzard.

Pay at the pump EXXON® fuel is available to you 24 hours a day. If you are need Diesel, go ahead and fill 'er up here! 

Stay around this part of our great state and visit the area attractions such as El Malpais National Monument. If you time your trip correctly, you can travel west about 50 miles to Gallup, New Mexico and participate in the festivities at the annual Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. There are many other interesting and historical places to visit in this part of northern New Mexico and Arizona. 

So on your next trip through Interstate 40, plan to make Bluewater Travel Center your place to stop where we can serve you right!