05_048276 ch01.qxp 12/21/06 6:35 PM Page 5 1 The Best of New Mexico I will never forget when I was in second grade, standing on the dusty playground at Alvarado Elementary School in Albuquerque, pointing west toward the volcanoes. “We went beyond those volcanoes,” I bragged to my friend about what my family had done over the weekend. “No way,” my friend replied. Actually, a number of times I’d been much farther than the 10 miles between us and the volcanoes, and I now know that the strong impact of the journey’s distance had to do with culture rather than miles. In a half-day drive, we traveled to the Intertribal Indian Ceremonial in Gallup, where I ate blue, crepe-paper-thin piki bread and gazed up at people dressed in dreamy rich velvet, their limbs draped in turquoise. I saw painted warriors twirl in the dust and felt drum rhythm pulse in my heart. In short, we had traveled to another world, and that otherworldliness is characteristic of New Mexico. Never have I taken my strangely exotic home state for granted, nor has more tradi- tional culture let me. When I was a kid, we used to travel to Illinois to visit my grand- father, and when people there heard we were from New Mexico, they would often cock their heads and say things like “Do you have sidewalks there?” and “This bubble gum must be a real treat for you,” as though such inventions hadn’t yet arrived in my home state. Our state magazine even dedicates a full page each month to the variety of ways in which New Mexico is forgotten. The most notable was when a New Mexico resident called the Atlanta Olympic committee to reserve tickets and the salesperson insisted that the person contact their international sales office. So, it seems people either don’t know the state exists at all, or they believe it’s a foreign country south of the border. Ironically, those naive impressions hold some truth. New Mexico is definitely lost in some kind of time warp. Its history dates back far before Columbus set foot on the continent. The whole attitude here is often slower than that of the rest of the world. Like our neighbors down in Mexico, we use the word mañana—which doesn’t so much mean “tomorrow” as it does “not today.” When you set foot here, you may find yourself a bit lost within the otherworldli- ness. You mayCOPYRIGHTED be shocked at the way people so readily MATERIAL stop and converse with you, or you may find yourself in a landscape where there isn’t a single landmark from which to negotiate. In the chapters that follow, I give you some signposts to help you discover for your- self the many treasures of this otherworldly state. But first, here are my most cherished New Mexico experiences. 05_048276 ch01.qxp 12/21/06 6:35 PM Page 6 6 CHAPTER 1 . 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National Park ElEl PasoPaso TEXAS Mountain Ski Area MEXICOM E X I C O 05_048276 ch01.qxp 12/21/06 6:35 PM Page 7 THE BEST OF NEW MEXICO 7 UTAH COLORADO To Durango COLORADOCOLORADO e e e d d d n n an n a a u a r r ARIZONA J r an er G G S v G Ri Chama RatonRaton o o Aztec Ruins o i CapulinCapulin VolcanoVolcano Farmington National Monument R NationalNational MonumentMonument JICARILLA RedRed RiverRiver 64 APACHE RioRio GrandeGrande TaosTaos SkiSki ValleyValley RESERVATION GorgeGorge WheelerWheeler PeakPeak 64 NAVAJO TaosTaos PuebloPueblo ClaytonClayton 285 CimarronCimarron INDIAN TaosTaos OKLAHOMAOKLAHOMA 68 AngelAngel FireFire CanadianC Ohkay Owinge a RESERVATION PicurisPicuris PuebloPueblo n a d TEXASTEXAS Chaco Culture Española SipapuSipapu i a National Historic Park Pojoaque Pueblo n 402 NambeNambe 25 54 R River Los Alamos River PuebloPueblo SSkiki SSantaanta FFee i San Ildefonso Pueblo v e Bandelier National TesuqueTesuque PuebloPueblo FortFort UnionUnion r Jemez State Monument Monument NationalNational MonumentMonument Jemez Pueblo Cochiti SantaSanta FeFe San Felipe Pueblo Pueblo 84 PecosPecos LasLas VegasVegas Zia Pueblo Santo NationalNational Gallup Santa Ana Pueblo Domingo HistoricHistoric Coronado State Monument Pueblo ParkPark 84 54 El Morro Sandia Rio Rancho Pueblo PecosP River 40 To Flagstaff Zuñi Pueblo National Grants Laguna eco TucumcariTucumcari Sandia 285 s R AmarilloAmarillo Monument Pueblo iv BlueBlue 40 Peak er HoleHole RAMAH ALBUQUERQUE El Malpais 40 NAVAJO Acoma Isleta Pueblo SantaSanta RosaRosa RES. National Pueblo Monument Salinas National 27 Monument: Quarai 84 Salinas National Monument: Abo ALAMO FortFort SumnerSumner ClovisClovis Quemado 60 NAVAJO Mountainair FortFort SumnerSumner RES. 54 StateState MonumentMonument Salinas National Monument: Gran Quivera To Phoenix Very Large Array Socorro Radio Telescope 285 70 LubbockLubbock Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge e d n a LincolnLincoln StateState r SkiSki ApacheApache G MonumentMonument Gila Cliff Dwellings o i PecosP River 380 National Monument R e RuidosoRuidoso 70 RoswellRoswell c Truth or o s Consequences MESCALEROMESCALERO R i APACHEAPACHE v New Mexico Museum e of Space and History RESERVATIONRESERVATION r Alamogordo ArtesiaArtesia CloudcroftCloudcroft Silver City White Sands National Monument HobbsHobbs Fort Selden 285 State Monument To Tucson Lordsburg CarlsbadCarlsbad Deming Las Cruces CarlsbadCarlsbad CavernsCaverns To Mexico NationalNational ParkPark City GuadalupeGuadalupe Mtns.Mtns. NationalNational ParkPark El Paso TEXASTEXAS 0 40 Mi N M E X I C O 10 0 65 Km 05_048276 ch01.qxp 12/21/06 6:35 PM Page 8 8 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF NEW MEXICO 1 The Most Unforgettable New Mexico Experiences • New Mexican Enchiladas: There are Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon— few things more New Mexican than titled Tea: A Mirror of Soul. See p. 176. the enchilada. You can order red or • Albuquerque International Balloon green chile, or “Christmas”—half and Fiesta (& 800/733-9918): The half. Sauces are rich, seasoned with world’s largest balloon rally assembles ajo (garlic) and oregano. New Mexi- some 750 colorful balloons and can cuisine isn’t smothered in cheese includes races and contests. High- and sour cream, so the flavors of the lights are the mass ascension at sun- chiles, corn, and meats can really be rise and the special shapes rodeo, in savored. Enchiladas are often served which balloons in all sorts of whimsi- with frijoles (beans), posole (hominy), cal forms, from liquor bottles to and sopaipillas (fried bread). See “New cows, rise into the sky. See p. 87. Mexican Cuisine” in the appendix. • María Benitez Teatro Flamenco • High Road to Taos: This spectacular (Institute for Spanish Arts, Santa Fe; 80-mile route into the mountains & 888/435-2636): Flamenco danc- between Santa Fe and Taos takes you ing originated in Spain, strongly through red painted deserts, villages influenced by the Moors; it is a cul- bordered by apple and peach orchards, tural expression held sacred