Rest Easy, Dennis Hopper
TOWARD THE CENTER of a small cemetery in Ranchos de Taos, among rocks and desert scrub, a weathered wooden cross marks the grave of Dennis Hopper. Bandanas, motorcycle patches, and beads flutter from…
Read More
Category: History
Walk Chaco’s Ancient Trails
THE TRAIL TO TSIN KLETSIN meanders through sagebrush, sandstone, and desert washes before climbing up to the Ancestral Puebloan great house. The South Mesa structure seems to stand alone, far removed…
Read More
Ancient Astronomy at Chaco Canyon
WHILE THE SKY still just hints at dawn, people line up at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park Visitor Center, waiting for the gates to open on what, for many, will be a once-in-a-lifetime view…
Read More
The Story Behind The Black Shawl
THE RICH BLUES and heavenly golds of New Mexico’s landscape were beloved by 20th-century figurative painters. They paid less attention to the region’s mystical purples, found in uncanny valleys…
Read More
These Historic Theaters are the Reel Deal
CAVERN THEATRE Carlsbad OPENED: 1951 SEATS: 665 After an $8.4 million remodel, the Art Deco–style theater blends modern amenities, like hearing-assistance headsets, with historic touches, like the…
Read More
Voices of Chaco: Cheyenne Antonio
C HEYENNE ANTONIO works as an energy organizer for nonprofit Diné C.A.R.E. (Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment). Her family is from Pueblo Pintado, about a dozen miles east of Chaco. Her job…
Read More
Ancient Roads of Chaco Canyon
ROADS SPIDERWEB ACROSS the landscape surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park, often constructed in remarkably straight lines that are maintained over cliffs and canyon rims. Unlike “roads”…
Read More
Historic Theaters Light Up Main Streets
OUT ON BULLARD STREET, the Silco Theater’s Art Deco marquee casts a pale neon wash across Silver City’s mostly darkened downtown. Just inside, checkerboard floors catch the low light as I slip into…
Read More
Following the Footsteps at White Sands
WE APPROACH WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK from Las Cruces on I-70, climbing up and over the jagged Organ Mountains. The desert is stark out here, beautiful but ominous. After passing military installation…
Read More
Explore the Reach of Chaco Culture
FOR ANCESTRAL PUEBLOAN PEOPLE, Chaco Canyon may have been a central place, but the culture spread across the present-day boundaries of four states. Hundreds of additional communities share Chaco’s…
Read More