Central New Mexico: Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte

Elephant Butte, Central New Mexico

I've been sharing some of the sights my husband and I saw on our New Mexico vacation at the beginning of April. We finished up with two nights in Truth or Consequences, a town known for its hot springs. Now generally called T or C, the town changed its name from Hot Springs in 1950, as part of a publicity stunt for the Truth or Consequences TV show. Learn more about the town and its history here.

There's not a ton to do in T or C, but the Geronimo Springs Museum is fun, so plan to spend a couple of hours browsing through the quirky collections. They include native pottery and tools, artifacts from the homesteading era, a life-size wax statue of Geronimo and other items of Apache history, and information about the TV show connection. My favorites are a gorgeous selection of minerals and a mastodon skull. You can also step in to the Hardcastle Cabin, a 1930s or 40s cabin from the Black Range Mountains, which was moved to the museum and reassembled.

A Fire Water Lodge Property

Although T or C is small, it has several good restaurants and many spa services. We like to stay at the Fire Water Lodge, where each room has its own tub fed by geothermal hot mineral water. Each room is different, and I'm not going to tell you our favorite because we don't need competition, but you can see the specifics for each room on their website. Fire Water is one of the more funky/less expensive lodges. You can also find high-end luxury lodging.

An easy activity is a walking tour through the Historic Hot Springs and Downtown District. This site also has information on the various spas, the makeup of the mineral water, and the history of the town. Veterans Memorial Park has a touching outdoor war memorial and a military museum.

At the monthly Second Saturday Art Hop, many businesses open their doors from 6-9 pm.

The Spaceport America Visitor Center is in town, with exhibits and a shop. Tours to the Spaceport (35 miles southeast of T or C) leave from the Visitor Center at 9 am, Thursday through Monday.

West Lakeshore Trail, southern end

Near T or C is Elephant Butte, a longtime favorite for boating and fishing, although the water level has been low for decades. You can walk in the sand around the lake, sit on the beach, fly a kite, toss in a fishing line, or enjoy water sports if you have the equipment. At the beginning of April, the water temperature was 56°, too cool for swimming although that's an option in summer. Bird watching and stargazing are also popular options. A day use pass is only $5. The park has nine campgrounds. Here's an online brochure for the Butte and surrounding towns.

Everyone yields to the rattlesnakes.

Elephant Butte has three short hiking trails, plus the 10 mile West Lakeshore Trail. It can be hiked in various sections. The trail is nice and wide, mostly gravel but with some sand. It offers panoramic views of the lake and surrounding mountains. Possible wildlife include deer, jackrabbits, and lizards. Generally the trail runs some distance from the shoreline, but spurs lead down to the water in several places.

Between the hot springs in T or C and the water sports at Elephant Butte, there's something for everyone year-round in these central New Mexico small towns.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes.  The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Southern New Mexico Touring: Dog Canyon Trail at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

Last week I talked about Camping and Touring at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Today I want to go into more detail about the Dog Canyon Trail at Oliver Lee.

The trail is 5.5 miles long, one way. It should be possible to arrange for a pickup at the forest road at the far end. The trail starts at over 4000 feet elevation and rises over 2000 feet (some sites claim over 3000 feet). Plus, there's some up and down along the way – first you hike up to a plateau, then down to the bottom of the canyon, and then back up again. And of course if you do it as a round-trip, you have to do everything in reverse.

The trail is well maintained. Initially it's single file through a series of steep switchbacks, rising about 1400 feet in the first couple of miles. The trail opens up a bit on the plateau for side-by-side walking through bushes and grasses, then narrows again as you go down into the valley. A shady spot under the trees makes for a good lunch stop – bits of orange peel and pistachio shells show that we were not the first to think this. The remains of a small cabin sit nearby. A seasonal stream runs through the canyon; in early April it had a little sluggish water.

From there, the path heads up, up, up again, rising 1000 feet in 8/10 of a mile. The narrow path has a fairly steep drop to one side. I never felt unsafe, but I would not recommend this for restless children or anyone who has difficulty with stability.

This section is called "The Eyebrow ” for some reason, though we thought a more dramatic name, such as the devil’s horn, would be more appropriate. I couldn't find the source of the name, but apparently this was the scene of an 1878 skirmish between the US Calvary and Apaches. When the soldiers were halfway up, the Apaches bombarded them with rocks and gunfire from above. Viewing the current scenery, it's no surprise that the Calvary backed off. (More history here.)

The hike is strenuous enough that it's recommended for spring and fall, as summer would be unpleasantly hot. Take plenty of water and use sunscreen – you'll be in the sun most of the time.

We "only" did about 9 miles of the 11 mile round-trip. With the elevation change, that was plenty. It took us seven hours, including lunch and rest stops. We also paused frequently to (ahem) admire the views. Bring a camera, because not only will you want to capture the scenery, but it makes a great excuse to pause for a minute and catch your breath.

The Dog Canyon Trail was quite a workout, but it was well worth it for the spectacular views. You hike through Chihuahuan Desert vegetation, with lots of yucca, agave, and creosote bushes. Rarely is there anything to block your long distance view down the canyon to the Tularosa Valley, with White Sands and mountains in the distance.

Don't neglect the close-up scenery either. When we hiked it, we saw little yellow flowers scattered beside the path, and yucca in bloom. We saw very little wildlife – one lizard, a hawk, a few random little birds, and ants. That no doubt changes by season and time of day, and you're advised to watch out for rattlesnakes.

In places the rocks hold fossilized marine mammals. They are not hard to spot if you pause and take a close look at the boulders near the path. My geologist husband was fascinated by the overall geology, which you can learn more about here from the New Mexico Beer of Geology. 

If we hike this again (and we probably will), we will likely either skip The Eyebrow section, or arrange for a pickup at the far end if possible. Otherwise the round-trip is a bit too strenuous to be really fun – part of the way back felt like a slog. Of course, your mileage may vary with your fitness level!

A map and some info from Explore NM.

All Trails has user reviews and a topo map.

Detailed trail information and a map.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. 

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Southern New Mexico Camping and Touring: Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

White Sands in the distance,
at the base of the mountains to the right.

Alamogordo, New Mexico, is probably best known for White Sands, which is definitely worth a visit. But that's not the only natural beauty in the area. Last fall, when my husband and I brought a friend from Australia to tour White Sands, we also stopped briefly at Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. There we hiked the first mile of the Dog Canyon Trail in a light drizzle. We liked it enough that my husband and I planned a two-night stop on our recent camping vacation.

Agave, at left, have spines along the leaves.Yucca, right, have leaves edged with "hairs."

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is set at the base of the dramatic Sacramento Mountains. The slopes and plateaus are largely covered with Chihuahuan Desert vegetation. That means lots of yucca and agave, along with creosote bushes and various grasses. The park and campground have incredible views, with rugged bluffs on one side and the flat plains of the Tularosa Valley on the other. White Sands shines like snow in the distance.

The visitor center has a museum with information on the history and landscape. Oliver Lee was a nineteenth-century rancher. His ranch house is preserved/rebuilt, but it's not always open and we didn't visit it. We did see the remains of an adobe and brick shelter built by "Frenchy" Rochas who homesteaded in the area. You can still see the remains of cement flumes he and Lee built for irrigation, and long stone walls Frenchy built to corral his livestock. American Indians were also active in the area over the centuries.

A short Riparian Nature Trail leads along a cool, shady stream, where we saw yellow columbine flowers and a hummingbird. The park also has a lovely little desert garden with a wide variety of labeled cacti and other native plants.

You can also find many fossils in the rocks, since this area was inland sea millions of years ago. We saw lots of fossil crinoids (marine animals sometimes called sea lilies) and clam/oyster-like mollusks.

Marine Fossils

The campground offers sites for RVs with water and electric, and tent sites that each have a picnic table, shelter, and nearby water pump. Avoid the tent sites that do not have shelters; as both sun and wind can be harsh. One "Comfort Station" had flush toilets, sinks, and showers, though the water was fairly cold.

If you are in the area and have an extra couple of hours, it's worth stopping by the park. If you have more time and strong legs, this is a great place to spend a day or more hiking. (Next week, I'll post about the strenuous but fabulous Dog Canyon Trail.) Spring and fall are likely to be the best seasons in terms of the weather. We had heavy winds one night that caused a lot of loud flapping from the tent, so definitely nail your stakes in well – and that was hard to do even with a 4-pound sledgehammer because the ground was so hard. Of course, you could simply stay at a hotel in Alamogordo, 12 miles away, where you'll also find some decent restaurants.

 

More info on the park from American Southwest.

Some details on the campground and vegetation from Explore NM.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock’s newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Carlsbad Caverns: A Caving Adventure in Southern New Mexico

I spotted this bit of wall that
looks like a face in profile.

My husband and I recently took a vacation – the first one we've done with only the two of us, not involving visiting family or friends, in the 7+ years we've been together. We camped for most of the trip, which required some investment in gear up front, but hopefully we'll continue to make use of that gear. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share some photos and notes on our adventure.

First up: Carlsbad Caverns

This National Park is definitely worth a visit. Right now the elevators are out, though they are supposed to be working again soon. That means you start a visit with a hike down the trail at the Natural Entrance. That might not sound bad, but the path is 1.25 miles long, and it's steep! (In one place on the webpage it calls it a 750-foot trail, but I think that must be the change in elevation.)

The Hall of the White Giant tour
required some special equipment
and a willingness to get muddy.

It's also interesting, with cool formations along the way. Those who can't make the whole trek could still see some neat stuff by going in part of the way, but if you don't get around well, you're better off waiting until the elevators are repaired. Oh, and no strollers are allowed! (Baby strollers, I mean, not people walking leisurely.) This could be pretty important if you have young kids along. We definitely heard some complaining of the "carry me" variety.

We made the trip down 1 1/2 times, because we started with a special tour of the Hall of the White Giant. That involved going halfway down the Natural Entrance walkway, and then turning off at a spot in the wall where there is absolutely no sign of a tunnel.

Eight of us, plus two rangers, did the tour, which lasts roughly 4 hours. It's considered the most strenuous tour, and involved some crawling and wriggling. We also went up a narrow ladder with metal rungs, and used ropes to get up and down a couple of steeper slopes. It should be doable for anyone of decent fitness, as long as you're not too large. Most of our group was in the small-to-average size range, including two young teenagers, and everyone did great.

The rock is smooth and slick, so a
knotted rope helps with this short climb.

The tour didn't actually show us anything more exciting than you'd see in the self-guided Big Room tour. In fact, the White Giant was a fairly modest pillar. It's really about the adventure of getting in and out. You get a slight sense of what cavers go through when exploring caves that haven't been totally adapted for tourists. My upcoming novel, The Skeleton Canyon Treasure, has some caving scenes, so this was especially helpful to me. They also have everyone turn off their headlamps for a minute, so you feel the quiet and silence of a natural cave. The park offers several other special tours as well. The guides were great.

After that tour, we went back to the surface level for lunch at the restaurant. There is a restaurant down in the cave, but we wanted to trade out some clothing and pick up a few things from our car (no backpacks were allowed on the tour). We had a decent lunch and enjoyed the short walk in the sunshine before heading back down to the Big Room, where we wandered for a couple of hours. The formations are spectacular. We also discovered one advantage to being there when the elevators are out of order: the cave wasn't crowded, and the back part of the figure 8 loop was practically empty! At times we had no one in sight in front or behind us on the winding path.

I didn't take any pictures in the Big Room, because I figured better pictures exist on the web, from professionals with topnotch equipment and more time. These pictures are from the Hall of the White Giant tour.

The park offers backcountry camping, and there's an RV Park with tent camping sites in White’s City, but we chose to stay at Brantley State Park. It was a well-run park, with restrooms and showers, and water and electricity at many sites. Unfortunately, it was an hour drive to the Caverns. Your entrance fee gives you access for three days, so had we been staying closer, we might have done our special tour and the regular tour on two different days. On the bright side, we had lovely evenings with nice sunsets over the lake – although it was cold enough on the first night that we stopped in Carlsbad the next day to buy extra blankets!

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock's newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Dinosaur Hunters in the New Mexico Desert

First published in the enchantment magazine by NMRECA.

Fossil Plants

Have you ever imagined traveling back in time and meeting a real, live dinosaur? It’s more possible than you might think – except for the “live” part.

Alan Erickson has been interested in paleontology – the study of fossils – since childhood, because, “I have always enjoyed digging for treasure.” He looked up scientific papers on New Mexico paleontology and visited an area where fossil bones had been found. “After a week of hunting I finally found a vertebra [back bone]. I called the museum and reported the find.” Eventually staffers from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS) came out to see it. It was a phytosaur, a pre-dinosaur that looked like a crocodile.

The museum staffers “brought me into the fold,” Alan says, and he began joining official museum digs. “I enjoy the exposure to new knowledge and places, and the comradery. Each dig is like a whole semester of school packed into a couple of days, but much better.”

On one museum dig, “I spotted a hillside and I just knew I’d find something there. I walked straight to the hill and I saw bones poking out of it.” The bones have not yet been studied in detail but may be a tyrannosaur.

He also continues to hunt on his own. “I love finding bones, but one of the coolest things I’ve found is a piece of sandstone with 10 or 15 different leaves or seeds in different colors. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

For others interested in dinosaur hunting, Alan advises, “It takes a long time to find this stuff. You have to learn how to see them.” If you do find something, “Check the GPS coordinates and call the museum. You’ll have more fun with the museum than without them.”

ammonites at the museum 

Field and Lab

Some volunteers work in the museum as well as in the field, almost turning their hobby into a full-time job. Paul Sealey is a museum research associate, an official but unpaid position. “I was one of the first volunteers here,” he says. “I’ve been collecting fossils for 45 years.”

Paul is best known for his discovery of the “Bisti Beast,” a new species of tyrannosaur. He knew right away he had something special. “There was part of a jaw with a tooth eroding out. Parts of the ribs and legs and femur were exposed too. It turned out to be a partial skeleton.” The skull is now on display at the Smithsonian, while the rest is still in the NMMNHS prep lab. Some of Paul’s other finds are on display in Albuquerque as well. The science comes first, “But it’s good that they are on display so the public can see it too.”

Paul’s specialty is ammonites, an extinct marine animal related to octopus and squid. “I’ve been all over the state. The most fun is always making a discovery, but that’s just the start. Then you have to curate them.” He cleans the fossils, makes labels, photographs them, and catalogs everything. He’s been working on a monograph about ammonites for years. He keeps finding new things, like one known from Texas that had not been found in New Mexico before. “It’s hard to stop.”

Going Pro

Amanda Cantrell took her hobby even farther. “When I met my fiancée, we started going on hikes and finding fossils. I got obsessed with it.” She volunteered at the museum, worked as an intern, and finally got hired as Geoscience Collections Manager. “I’m a librarian of fossils,” she says. Her fiancé is now the prep lab manager, and they’re both still passionate about fossils.

Amanda warns amateurs not to move or collect anything. It’s illegal to collect fossils of vertebrates (animals with a spine) on public lands. Besides, the find is most valuable if the scientists have a chance to study it in place. “Once you pick up a fossil, you take it out of context. It’s important if someone finds a [vertebrate] fossil, don’t touch it,” Amanda says. “Give us a GPS coordinate and call us or send a picture.” It is legal to collect certain fossils, but know the laws and “When in doubt, take pictures and GPS, and ask. There is a legal way to collect, and that’s through us.”

Amanda encourages interested people to join the New Mexico Friends of Paleontology. The museum hosts field trips 2 to 4 times a year, led by a professional paleontologist. Volunteers often find exciting fossils, from giant plants to dinosaur bones. “It’s often the only way they can find vertebrate fossils and touch them,” Amanda says.

On a Dig, photo by Alan Erickson 

A Cool Contribution

Denise Elvrum has been on several museum digs. “I have been interested in paleontology since I was a little girl. When the opportunity came up to go on real digs, I jumped at it. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”

On one dig, they found an aetosaur, a relative of the crocodile. “I was off scouting with a senior volunteer and we noticed a group of what looked like white rocks in a pattern in the dirt of a small arroyo. After testing it and deciding that it was in fact bone, we started very carefully removing dirt around the pieces. We keep digging, using small scoops and dental picks, and found a right hind-quarter of the critter. At that point our hearts were jumping around! We got the head paleontologist to come look at it and he was super excited; it was the best one of these things he’d ever seen, too.” 

The most complete aetosaur skeleton ever found anywhere, it is now on display at the museum. “I felt that by helping to uncover this creature, I was contributing something to paleontology in New Mexico and maybe to the greater world. It makes you feel special. I’ve gone to visit ‘my’ dino, and taken my picture with it. It’s really, really neat!”

Jurassic Park may be a fantasy, but dinosaur lovers can meet these beasts in the wild – with a little help from museum friends.

For More Information

The Bureau of Land Management has guidelines for collecting on public land. Vertebrate fossils, such as dinosaurs, mammals, reptiles, and fishes, may only be collected by trained researchers with a BLM permit. Trace fossils – footprints and coprolites (poop) – are also protected. Common invertebrate fossils, such as plants and wood, may be collected “for personal use in reasonable quantities, but may not be bartered or sold.” For more information, see this page.

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS) 

Read about The BistiBeast

Kris Bock with a fossil shell

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more.

Quick and Easy New Mexico-Style Recipes

New Mexico green chile, 

by Littlemisslibrarian, 

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I have a recipe and tips in this book: We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips. Check it out if you'd like to find some quick recipes and other timesaving tips, and meet some authors writing in a variety of genres.

Where to buy:
paperback
Kindle
Nook
Kobo
Google Play 
iTunes

I sent in my Quick Enchilada Casserole recipe for the book. Here are a few additional super-easy and quick (if not necessarily healthy) meals or snacks.

New Mexico Mac and Cheese

Mix roasted, chopped green chiles, or green chile sauce, into your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe. Or use your favorite salsa. Adjust the amount to your taste.

Chile Cheese Tater Tots

Cook tater tots according to directions. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped, roasted green chile. Bake until everything is hot and cheese is melted.

Chili Cheese Tater Tots (Sonic style)

This is one of the few  New Mexico dishes that use chili instead of chile.

Cook tater tots according to directions. Top with canned or homemade chili with meat and beans. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until everything is hot and cheese is melted.

I write novels of adventure and romance set in the Southwestern United States. The novels touch on local culture, including food. For my most recent romantic suspense, The Dead Man’s Treasure, I put together a recipe booklet of foods mentioned in the book, including this delightful breakfast classic. (See also my posts Red or Green: The New Mexico Chile, Homemade Green Chile Sauce, Breakfast Burrito, Huevos Rancheros, Enchilada Casserole, and New Mexico Green Chile Chicken Soup Recipe – use these links or simply click on the “Recipe” label down to the right.) See the DMT page of Kris Bock’s website for a printable version of all recipes from the book.

The Dead Man’s Treasure

Rebecca Westin is shocked to learn the grandfather she never knew has left her a bona fide buried treasure – but only if she can decipher a complex series of clues leading to it. The hunt would be challenging enough without interference from her half-siblings, who are determined to find the treasure first and keep it for themselves. Good thing Rebecca has recruited some help.

Sam is determined to show Rebecca that a desert adventure can be sexy and fun. But there’s a treacherous wildcard in the mix, a man willing to do anything to get that treasure – and revenge.

Action and romance combine in this lively Southwestern adventure, complete with riddles the reader is invited to solve to identify historical and cultural sites around New Mexico. See the DMT page of Kris Bock’s website for a printable list of the clues and recipes from the book.

The first book in the Southwest Treasure Hunters series is The Mad Monk’s Treasure. The Dead Man’s Treasure is book 2. Each novel stands alone and is complete, with no cliffhangers. This series mixes action and adventure with “closed door” romance. The stories explore the Southwest, especially New Mexico.

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Plan a Southwestern #Thanksgiving Dinner

Heritage Turkeys by Heritage Turkeys

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Did you know not all turkeys are the same? The early Native Americans first raised turkeys as livestock and bred different varieties. Until recently, many breeds existed, but now the industrial poultry business focuses on one cheap, fast-growing bird. “Heritage” breeds may not have the huge breast of the typical American grocery store turkey, but they can have deeper flavors.

Some heritage turkeys are on the brink of extinction. So how to save them? Eat them! Buying these turkeys encourages farmers to raise them. Learn more from this article from New Mexico Magazine. It also has a recipe for Heritage Turkey on a Spit with Red Chile-Sage Butter and Red Chile-Sage Dressing. Other New Mexican recipes on the page include Creamy Green Chile Spinach and Baked Cranberry-Red Chile Sauce.

Thanksgiving Oven by Joseph Zollo

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Find more dishes for a New Mexico-inspired Thanksgiving feast in this New Mexico Magazine article: Pumpkin Soup, Oven-Roasted, Red-Chile–Rubbed Turkey with Cornbread-Chorizo Dressing, Cornbread-Chorizo Dressing, Cranberry, Fig, and Pistachio Relish, and more.

This Pinterest page links to many “Thanksgiving in New Mexico Recipes,” such as New Mexican Hatch Chile Cranberry Sauce, Smoky Sweet Potato Tamales, Mashed Potatoes with Green Chile Queso Sauce Recipe, Green Chile Cornbread, and Green Chile Apple Pie.

Finally, this older article from Sunset magazine on “Thanksgiving in the West“ has prize-winning recipes with Southwestern flavors.

What are you planning for Thanksgiving dinner? Do you like to stick with family classics, or experiment?

Take some time to relax and read over the holidays! Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.

Spend #Thanksgiving in the Southwest

Fall foliage by Dori

Creative Commons License

People tend to think of the Northeast for “leaf peeper” tours to see the trees changing colors. But parts of the Southwest also offer lovely fall foliage. In New Mexico, the northern part of the state is a good bet. Visit the areas around Santa Fe, Taos, or Jemez Springs for some lovely fall colors. The Pueblo Bonito Bed and breakfast Inn has more detail on some of these areas, if you scroll down on this page. The National Forest Service offers a toll-free fall color hotline beginning in September at (800) 354-4595, or visit their webpage.

Thanksgiving also marks the opening of the ski season in Santa Fe and at many other ski resorts!

Santa Fe Activities

If you’re more interested in cultural events, Santa Fe offers a lot of options over Thanksgiving weekend:

Circus Luminous November 25-27: a mix of acrobatics, drama, and circus arts.

The Winter Indian Market November 26-27: over 200 artists, plus music, native dance, and performing arts.

Christmas tree lighting on the historic Plaza on November 27: music, caroling, hot chocolate, and a visit from Santa.

For more Santa Fe events in November, December and beyond, visit the Santa Fe What’s Happening website.

Arizona, Texas and More

Elizabeth Rose offers ideas for spending Thanksgiving in the Southwest in this travel article. Learn where to stay, what to eat, and what to do from Arizona to Texas to Colorado.

What kind of vacation traveler are you? Do you prefer to be active, relax, see the sights, or all of the above?

Take some time to relax and read this holiday season! Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings bring danger to a small New Mexico town. Whispers in the Dark features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. What We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who finds a murder victim in the woods. The Mad Monk’s Treasure follows the hunt for a long-lost treasure in the New Mexico desert. In The Dead Man’s Treasure, estranged relatives compete to reach a buried treasure by following a series of complex clues.

Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.

We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips

I have a recipe and possibly some tips in this book: We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips. Check it out if you'd like to find some quick recipes and other timesaving tips, and meet some authors writing in a variety of genres.

"You'll find easy, nutritious recipes for meat, poultry, pasta, soup, stew, chili, and vegetarian meals. All of the recipes require a minimum of prep time, freeing you up to read, exercise, garden, craft, write, spend more time with family, or whatever.

"Within the pages of We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors ShareTimesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips you'll be introduced to authors who write a wide range of fiction—everything from mystery to romance to speculative fiction to books for children, young adults, and new adults—and some who write nonfiction. Some of the authors write sweet; others write steamy. Some write cozy; others write tense thrillers." 

This blog post has more info on We'd Rather Be Writing: 88 Authors Share Timesaving Dinner Recipes and Other Tips.

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New Mexico Grilled Cheese Recipe

I write novels of adventure and romance set in the Southwestern United States. The novels touch on local culture, including food. For my most recent romantic suspense, The Dead Man’s Treasure, I put together a recipe booklet of foods mentioned in the book, including this delightful breakfast classic. (See also my posts Red or Green: The New Mexico Chile, Homemade Green Chile Sauce, Breakfast Burrito, Huevos Rancheros, Enchilada Casserole, and New Mexico Green Chile Chicken Soup Recipe – use these links or simply click on the “Recipe” label down to the right.)

This one is quick and easy, but very tasty! Adding refried beans and chile peppers to grilled cheese also makes this “comfort food” a bit healthier. The beans keep the filling creamy, so you don’t need as much cheese.

New Mexico Grilled Cheese

2 pieces of bread per person

About 1/4 cup refried beans per person

1 whole, roasted green chile per person, or chopped green chile to taste. If you can’t get green chiles, try poblanos, chopped jalapenos, or salsa.

1 piece of pre-sliced cheddar cheese per person

New Mexico green chile, by Littlemisslibrarian, 

Creative Commons License

1. Butter one side of each piece of bread, or spray with spray oil. Place half of the bread on a griddle buttered side down.
2. Spread refried beans on that piece of bread. Lay a whole, roasted green chile on top, or spread with chopped green chile. Cover with sliced cheddar cheese.
3. Top with the other piece of bread, buttered side up. Fry at low heat. Cover with a pot lid to help ensure that the refried beans get heated all the way through. (You can also spread the beans on one piece of bread and toast it in a toaster oven to get the beans heated through, and then add the second piece of bread and fry in the pan.)
4. When the bottom side is getting toasty brown, flip over the sandwich and heat the other side.

Kris Bock writes novels of suspense and romance involving outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. If you love Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, or Terry Odell, try Kris Bock’s stories of treasure hunting, archaeology and intrigue, and art theft in New Mexico. To learn more about her latest work, visit www.krisbock.com or her Amazon page, or sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter for announcements of new books, sales, and more