ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
As we neared Las Cruces, the Mesilla valley came into view. Here is where the famous Hatch chiles are grown. No journey along I-25 in this area would be complete without a stopover at the "chile capital of the world." The Hatch chiles are prized for their flavor and heat, a pronouncement that many New... Continue Reading →
The wind and rain clouds were rolling in over Las Cruces as we arrived in the late afternoon. Though we'd already canceled camp sites on this trip because of weather, we decided to pitch camp anyway and hope for the best. After dinner, we headed straight to our next camping site at Leasburg Dam State Park,... Continue Reading →
It was fortuitous that the grandest balloon festival in the world would be staged while we were touring the Southwest, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I made sure that we would be in Albuquerque when it happened, which required my juggling our itinerary somewhat to accommodate the event. We always wanted to experience it, so... Continue Reading →
The Las Conchas Fire of 2011 was the largest in New Mexico history. It eventually burned 150,000 acres and threatened Los Alamos, home of the Los Alamos National Lab. We in the West have become accustomed, almost inured to hearing about forest fires like this. Every year, their ranges, frequencies and intensities seem to grow, a... Continue Reading →
Most non-parishioners come to Loretto Chapel to marvel at the spiral staircase. A fascinating legend surrounds its construction. Originally, when the chapel was built in 1872, there was no stairway to the choir loft. The nuns prayed to St. Joseph to intercede. At the end of nine days, a carpenter appeared at the church who... Continue Reading →
There is no indication as you're driving northeast along Highway 68 to Taos that the Rio Grande River will reveal itself in the middle of one of Earth's biggest geologic rifts. About halfway out of Espanola, the river at this time of year was lazy. Several rafters were making their way down river near Rio... Continue Reading →
To get to Santa Fe, rather than returning the way we arrived in Taos along the Rio Grande, we drove an alternate route, called the High Road, which winds through small towns in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. All the towns are at least 7,500 ft in elevation (with Truchas at an amazing 8,000 ft),... Continue Reading →
When the Catholic Church under the Spaniards tried to Christianize pueblo peoples in the seventeenth century, one of the biggest revolters were the Taos. Resistance to religious imposition lasted for many years, resulting in the killing of priests and destruction of St. Jerome church on two separate occasions, until over a period of time, St.... Continue Reading →
In 2009, we avoided it because of its remoteness and the difficulty of getting there on unpaved roads. This time, we reversed course and decided to visit Chaco Culture National Historic Park (a mouthful, but it used to be called Chaco Canyon National Monument). This is the mother lode of all ancient Puebloan ruins, having... Continue Reading →
Of all the places in the Southwest, known for its extraordinary rock formations, that can claim the title of the weirdest and most fantastical, it would have to go to a part of New Mexico virtually inaccessible by car—the vast wildernesses of Bisti and De-Na-Zin. Visitors most likely to make the effort are adventurers, the curious and the intrepid... Continue Reading →
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