THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL The vital pack mule caravan route connected Santa Fe to Los Angeles throughout the 1830s and ’40s. Following established Native footpaths, the roughly 2,700-mile trail runs along…
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ACOMA PUEBLO ALONG ROUTE 66 Acoma Pueblo was settled atop a 367-foot sandstone mesa nearly a millennia before nearby Route 66 came through. A 90-minute guided tour from the Sky City Cultural Center…
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A DEER STROLLS BY as we finish dinner on a metal picnic table outside a log-sided cabin at Coyote Creek State Park, in Guadalupita. The deer’s massive ears swivel toward us even as it keeps browsing…
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EL RANCHO HOTEL, GALLUP Opened in 1937, the recently renovated hotel once played home to Hollywood legends (their names are on the doors) when out of the glare of movie cameras. The glitterati may…
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AS I WALK INTO High Rollin’ Coffee, in Cloudcroft, a sticker on the register greets me like a gentle nudge to the hippocampus: “On Mountain Time.” I peruse the menu board of grain bowls, toasts…
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DRIVING INTO HATCH smells like I remembered. Smoky and sweet, hot and earthy, roasting green chile in the air. Dropping down into the valley from the north in late July, I find the fields are tidy and…
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CRESTA TERRELL HAS A REQUEST. The proprietor of the Old Kelly Store does not want this story to begin with a description of the road to Mogollón, as so many tend to. Instead, let’s reflect on what a…
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ON THE HIGH ROAD to Taos, the landscape keeps changing. Back in Santa Fe, the earth felt hot and dry. But as I approach Nambé on NM 76, the scenic byway’s unofficial starting point, sandy ground…
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PAUL SEMONES flicks on the handheld microphone that pipes his voice through the speakers of his 15-seat van and points to an unassuming midcentury house. The Roswell UFO Tour guide tells us it’s the…
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CLUB GAS, RUIDOSO Thursday is Enchilada Night at Club Gas, the Ruidoso Chevron station that houses a popular to-go counter and a lounge with a full bar. “There’s a line out the door,” says owner…
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