chile peppers

I have seen a few shows on tv lately talking about New Mexico. It makes me wish that I had done some things different.
There was this one show. I can't even remember the name of it, but it was something like Throw down with Bobby Flay. I hope that I didn't get his name wrong & I will change it later if I did. Anyway, it was the first time that I had watched it & apparently he is a chef. A good chef. He goes to cities where someone is known for their masterpiece dish & he tries to make the dish better. Well, he went to New Mexico to this small town where this man makes the best chile burgers. All I know is that I am bummed that I didn't ever eat there. My husband said that we drove through there. I wish that I could go back & try one of his burgers! Anyway, when I was in New Mexico, I did get addicted to those chiles. I didn't know anything about them, or to make them- nothing really, so I didn't. If I could go back, I would buy loads of them & learn how to cook them in every way & freeze them for future meals, jar them, whatever...
There was this green chile chicken soup that I loved near T or C. I really need to go on a vacation there, because I feel like I have been gone so long, that it almost seems like a distant dream. I turned the channel the night I watched Bobby Flay & there was another show where the host was in another city there. I'm not sure what it is with me & that state. Maybe it was because the food was good, maybe because the people were nice, the peace, it wasn't overcrowded & fun to drive there, they had a little of a lot,the history, the chiles..

In the Silver City area

Areas around Silver City

One of the scenery pictures. Derek carrying me over water, while hiking to find some hotsprings. Climbing down from the dwellings.

Silver City

I had a great time eating in Silver City & looking in the museums. The downtown district was fun. The Gila National Forest is close & I found it interesting that Geronimo was born at the headwaters of the Gila river & there is a monument for him at the Gila Cliff Dwellings visitor center. The Gila Cliff dwellings are amazing! I'm scared of heights & stayed gripped to the door yelling "slow down" the entire time that we were in the car. When we were not in the car, was worth every second to me. It was beautiful & fun. The hiking was some of the best. They have pretty lakes in the area as well. The Catwalk wasn't far & that was GREAT. I want to go again! It was just so beautiful. Back to the Gila Nat. forest- we also hiked other areas of that 3 million acre forest. They have natural hotsprings that we hiked to & relaxed in. We also went to some ghost towns in the area & to City of rocks state park. We arrived at the City of Rocks park in the evening & we hurried through it before it got dark. It was really beautiful at that time. I loved the weather & we got some nice pictures of the sunset with the rocks. That's another place that I wanted to go back to. We had our dog Bruce out there with us & it was good exercise for him. I know that at the Catwalk, he wasn't allowed on the trails but they did have a place for him at the visitor center area. He just stayed there & it was checked on often.
Many places that we went in NM, were stories of how Billy the Kid was here & there... He did get around. We went to Lincoln County which I will blog about at a later date. I believe we were in Mesilla where there was a jail that he was in there & maybe it was Ruidoso where he hid out at the water wheel but Silver City is where he did live with his mother (aunt) Who knows? He did live there & attended elementary school there.
When we went to the catwalk, we went to Glenwood-They have a nice hatchery & in the area is Mogollon which is a town that thrived from the gold & silver & then it became a ghost town but now has some residents. The entire area is great for birding, hiking, fishing or just taking some great photos.

I had written in the Grants NM section about how I thought that Acoma Sky City was nearby, it was. Here is a photo of a sign that tells a little about it. El Morro is about 40 miles or so from Grants, off of NM53. These are a few pics. at El Morro. Inscription Rock was great & there were many more than what I am showing a photo of. I had a great time at all of these places.

Land of Fire & Ice

Grants, NM

The Bandera Crater- Land of Fire & Ice. 1-888-icecaves.
We just refer to this trip as our trip to Indian country. Just the area that these icecaves were in was facinating! There was the El Malpais national monument. We went to El Morro as well. I could be wrong but I believe Acoma Sky city wasn't too far from these places either.
Right now, I will stick to the crater & ice caves. The crater is approximately 1,200 feet across & 800 feet deep. Around 10,000 years. If you have never seen an erupted volcano- this is a good one to visit & the great thing is that the ice caves are there as well. It's an easy hike to see both & a nice trading post for souvineers, info, etc. Inside of the ice cave, the temperature never rises above 31 degrees F.
I visited in the summer & it was interesting to see the lava with snow all over it. It was a fun & interesting short hike. I had my dog Bruce with me- he enjoyed it as well!

Pics. in Hatch

Hatch NM

This was a very small town but interesting to drive through. The stores all have the Chile peppers hanging all over. They are made into artwork pretty much, large, small, baskets, wreaths, etc. Quite pretty. The people were nice as well.
Hatch is the green chile capital of the world. While eating chile peppers, don't drink water to cool your mouth- drink beer, milk, eat guacamole- these help.

This is Smokey the Bears gravesite in Capitan NM. Cute town.

Capitan

This was a town that we went to because it was close to other towns that we were visiting. It was small & Smokey the Bears hometown. We wouldn't have travelled so far just to go to Capitan but it was a cute town. While we were there, we went to the museum and to Smokeys grave site. It was nice.

Ruidoso

me falling in ruidoso

Ruidoso

I went to this town a few different times and the last time that I went, I stayed for a week. It has been years, I don't have my scrapbook or photos around but just based on memory- I did enjoy this town. I'm not a winter person but decided that I would try snow skiing. It was horrible for me. I will post pics. later of me on the ground & afraid to get up. To make a long story short, it was my first time. I thought that I looked cute in my new snow clothes but I am not use to that weather anymore.
My husband didn't suggest that I take lessons, watch anyone, nothing... We get on the ski lift. Ice was forming on my face, it has never been so cold, I felt like we were on it for sooo long. When the time came for me to get off, I wasn't sure how, so I sat there. They backed it up I believe and told me to get off so I dove for the ground because I figured that I would fall anyway. I crawled out of the way, stood up and started sliding- very scary. I fell and was afraid to get up again because I was sure that I would break my leg if I fell on it a 2nd time. I crawled over to a spot by a tree and started thinking of the guys that at the time were missing on mt. Hood. I waited for my family to come rescue me. They didn't. I was sure that I would perish out there if I didn't make a move, so I crawled back up to the ski lift & ask them if they could take me down. They said no. I couldn't believe they were telling me no!! I sat on the rock for awhile longer about to cry, when I decided that since I couldn't ski down the slope, I would just have to take the skis off and walk it. I walked around the corner and there was the bottom. I guess I was on the baby learners slope. It sure didn't feel like that going up the ski lift. I can't imagine what would have happened to my face if I had gone higher. I will never ski again & there is no one on this planet that could invite me where I would accept.
I felt frozen despite my heavy cute clothes, so I go to the lounge area anticipating my hot chocolate. (That's what they do in the movies) They told me they didn't have any! I just wanted to leave because I already had my picture of me standing on the skis for that one moment I stood up. For anyone that likes skiing, they would probably love the place. Idk. We did go to a winter wonderland in Ruidoso and slid down the mountains on the tubes. That was more my style & I had a good time there!
I remember a buffett at a casino that I liked with a beautiful view. I could be off with this but I think it was the Inn of the mountain Gods there. That was fun.
The town had some cute shops and nice people. We stayed in a great condo that week but the time when we went before, we stayed at a campground that only had one restroom. I mean, not one that fits 10 people but one like in a house that fits one person at a time. Someone would go in there to shower, put on makeup, whatever & we would wait for sooo long. I'll have to add the name of the place later but other than that, it was nice. We had a cabin there by a river.

Truth or Consequences

I won't say this was my favorite place but it was a place that I went to often. It was close & felt like a grand getaway according to what mood I was in.
We would go there when we were on a strict budget sometimes because what we could do was stay at the Charles Motel. It was an older bldg. but in the style of a suite with a full kitchen. There was a lot of room for the $ but practical more than luxurious. There's a grocery store across the street where grocery items are very well priced. I would cook there to save money on those budgeted vacations. With limited money, we would take pictures at lake caballo & my favorite Elephant Butte. There are plenty of places to hike in the mountains & down the street from Elephant Butte. We would find fossils, petrified wood, plenty of interesting things.
We would take our inline skates (since we couldn't skate) and practice in parking lots around town since they didn't know us. They have the mineral baths at the Charles Motel that came with the room! We would sit in those and sometimes on the roof of the bldg. They have a huge mineral water whirlpool up there. We'd sit under the stars. I loved trips to T or C because we could keep very busy with limited money.
We went there times when we did have money as well. We loved to stay at the Sierra Grand hotel. I absolutely loved their shampoos which they offered for sale. The hotel was pricier than Charles but offered a very healthy breakfast, the mineral water baths but in these beautiful settings. You could choose smaller tubs or the largest being a pool with a waterfall. Gorgeous!! There are some cute shops downtown. Well, the town is small so basically across the street. They usually had something going on, on the weekends. They have one antique shop that I thought the prices were reasonable & I enjoyed going there each visit.
I will have to come back later to write the name of the restaurant but there was this one that I loved to go to. I believe it was steak & seafood mainly there. They had this green chili chicken soup that was outstanding.

This town is not very crowded & that could be another reason that it seemed like such a great getaway for me. Being from the south, I wasn't use to the mineral water pools, so I tried to take advantage and found that this town had them everywhere. There were places to go where you could sit in them outside in private or with others. I stuck to the hotels mineral pools but there were plenty more.

While I am on Truth or Consequences- I must talk more about Elephant Butte lake. It is my favorite lake ever. It was beautiful to me & NM largest lake. the only lake that I will swim in because it was clear. They have pavillions all over for grilling, plenty of restrooms, many areas to pull into for privacy. I will add pictures of Truth or Consequences & Elephant Butte lake tomorrow before going on to another city. I definitely plan to go back for a long visit as soon as I get the chance.

Travelling in NM

I am a southern girl. When I found out that we were going to be living in El Paso Tx, I was excited but I was telling people that I thought it was too bad that we would be so close to such a boring state. (NM) Now, here I sit writing a blog about the place. I LOVED it there!! I will be posting pics. in the future, telling my opinion on each city that I went to. I covered the entire state except for Taos unfortuneately. I will go back one day!! My favorite places might not be everyones favorite but I loved them all.