All Things New Mexico, part 2

Rio Grande River, welcome sign, road

Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez, former New Mexico State Historian, said New Mexico History is worth remembering.  New Mexico is a state very rich in culture, but many people don't find it a place to visit (or even know that it is a state, as noted before).  


Take a scenic drive along Historic Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles and you will go right through New Mexico. We have bat caves, white sands, stalactites, aliens (the UFO kind), green chile, ristras, Native American art (jewelry, rugs, pottery), hot air balloons, Shiprocks, Billy the Kid and much more. 


A stop in Carlsbad will give you some major underground exploration at Carlsbad Caverns.  Here you can go approximately 79 stories into the cave and see stalactites and stalagmites.  At dusk, for about half of the year, 1000s of bats can be seen flying out of the cave (that's more then Austin has).


 In Roswell, there are Alien museums and paraphernalia every where you turn.  It is said that a farmer saw evidence of a UFO in his fields and sightings of dead creatures.  It became known as the Roswell UFO Incident but very much was covered up by the military.  There has been books and movies about what "really" happened.  They even went on to make a fictional television series of it, that aired on the WB.    


One of the most defining characteristics of New Mexico is the dominance of the New Mexican chile (grown mainly in Hatch)—in red and green varieties.  The New Mexico chile, especially when harvested as green chile, is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food compared to neighboring styles.  Chile is New Mexico's largest agricultural crop.  Within New Mexico, green chile is a popular ingredient in everything from enchiladas and burritos to cheeseburgers, french fries, bagels, and pizzas, and is added to the standard menu of many national American food chains.  When you become used to eating green chile, it is hard to live in a place like Chicago that doesn't even have hot jalapeños.   

We even have celebrity sightings.  Val Kilmore owns a ranch outside of Taos, that is rumored to become a Bed and Breakfast.  Julia Roberts also owns a ranch near Taos.  Demi Moore was born in Roswell, Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque and grew up in Ruidoso and Freddie Prinze Jr lived and went to school in Albuquerque.  If you have watched USA's In Plain Sight, it is filmed on location in and around Albuquerque.  


How could one not be proud to be a New Mexican?  LOL.


Pictures from previous post: 
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
New Mexico State University Aggies (where I went to school, but UNM has a bigger presence)
Green chile 
Navajo rug
Ristra
Roswell alien postcard
White Sands 
Isotopes baseball team
The Whole Enchilada Fiesta (a real enchilada)