New Mexico Magazine

Pinyon jays like to announce themselves with a chuckling kind of call, sung out while they fly overhead or settle into chatty flocks, often perched in the branches of the pine tree with which they share a name. In the Southwest, the medium-size, dusk

The nostalgia and sense of history of Route 66 (“Fresh Kicks,” March) is like visiting a mythical location. HELENE BOUILLON New Jersey Let’s do the woo-woo (“Star Maps,” January/February). I’m Aries and I love rock art, aka petroglyphs, like what I w

Less than five miles into the nation’s first designated wilderness area, I scan the muddy banks of New Mexico’s last free-flowing river for animal tracks, wondering who else is here. Low sunlight casts shadows into a deer’s heart-shaped hoofprint. Sc

WALKING INTO LA GUELAGUETZA feels like entering an oasis. Bright Mexican papel picado banners fill the dining room like a rainbow of flowers climbing over a pergola. While the rest of the space is utilitarian and functional, with comfortable booths t

Shop Hotsy Totsy Haus at 10301 Comanche Road NE, in Albuquerque, or online at hotsytotsyhaus.com. When Los Angeles native Christi Leonardi moved to New Mexico seven years ago, she found the perfect climate for crafting her delicate handmade bath bomb

Deborah Jackson Taffa was a teenage rebel. During high school in Farmington, she embraced her Indigenous identity, which set her apart in an era that emphasized a certain kind of kitschy conformity. “It was the late 1980s,” she says. “The Reagan era.

Check out all April has in store! Go to nmmag.us/events for more. The towering pecan trees in southern New Mexico have grown near the Río Grande for more than 100 years. Many are attributed to Fabián García, the first director of the New Mexico State

Having a variety of usable trails is essential for experiencing the solitude that Aldo Leopold enjoyed, says Melissa Green, trails project coordinator of Gila Back Country Horsemen. “Keeping people going to different places is big so the wilderness s

AMONG THE BEST-LOVED POETS OF the 20th century, Langston Hughes stands tall. No shortage of poetry lovers around the globe can recite his “I, Too, Sing America,” but relatively few New Mexicans have heard the curious story of his spiritual connection

A statue of Lucien B. Maxwell—seated, rifle across his legs—keeps watch over the northwest corner of Cimarrón Park. One of the largest contiguous landowners in United States history, Maxwell once possessed more than 1.7 million acres in northeast New

Backcountry travelers can pick any spot and set up camp, although some of the more scenic sites are popular for a reason. When the water starts to feel warm as you walk along the Middle Fork of the Gila River a couple miles upstream from the junction

Maybe it’s our dry climate or maybe it’s our appreciation for fine craftsmanship, but New Mexico is a gold mine for antiques shopping. Support local businesses, do something good for the environment, and travel back in time—and throughout the state—w

KATHLEEN DAVENPORT and her husband-to-be got tied in knots when they tried to procure a marriage license in northern Florida. After handing over their driver’s licenses—hers from Florida and his from New Mexico—the clerk asked for the latter’s passpo

Mole is often made over three days. On the first day, the focus is on gathering ingredients. The second day is for cooking and letting the flavors meld together overnight. On the third day, it is heated and served. This recipe is adapted from a list

Inside Grounded, a mural of a young woman wearing a brightly flowered hat greets you with a distant gaze, her long braids curling around cacti. Positioned over an inviting green couch, the intriguing work by artist Christin Apodaca invites you to get

On June 3, 1924, the Gila Wilderness became the first-of-its-kind wilderness area—a federally designated place with no roads, no cabins, no vehicles. Or, as Aldo Leopold—the Forest Service employee whose experience with the wonders of the Gila shaped

“YOU HAVE A GHOST ATTACHED TO YOU,” Marisa Santos tells me matter-of-factly. We’re standing in what she calls her “healing casita,” nestled into a quiet neighborhood in Albuquerque’s South Valley, examining an egg she’s cracked into a glass of water.

“This whole mountain valley wasn’t some wilderness nobody visited,” says Dana Dick, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument’s lead interpretive park ranger. “It was home to people. There’s evidence of people living here for at least 2,000 years.” A tr

WITH 90 MINUTES UNTIL SHOWTIME, parking is already scarce at the Curry County Events Center. I hurry toward the front gates, passing out-of-towners as they help their children down from dusty pickups and young couples dressed in pearl snaps and cowbo

AFTER THE BIRTH OF THEIR SON, YABIITO YEHOSHZHO, IN 2021, Zachariah and Mary Ben became frustrated with the lack of fresh baby food at area grocery stores. So Zachariah, a sixth-generation Diné farmer, and his wife, Mary, a first-generation Hungarian

When Amanda Tucker was 16, she and her mother visited Santa Fe and stayed at the Western-themed Silver Saddle Motel. Located on Cerrillos Road and part of the original Route 66 before the highway’s 1937 realignment bypassed the City Different, the pr

COMPOSER RAVEN CHACON TRACES coordinates in the air above the dining table of his Albuquerque bungalow. He triangulates the house his father built in Corrales in the early 1970s; the Navajo Nation of northeastern Arizona, where his pregnant mother mo

As you cruise down Albuquerque’s Central Avenue, the remnants of Route 66’s once-thriving motel culture often fade into the background—boarded windows, weed-covered entryways, a dark neon sign in an empty parking lot. Just west of Old Town, however,

Waking up in The Mystic’s 1950s-themed room is a trip. The bedside radio clock, kitschy cowboy tabletop lamp, and other throwback decor could make a drowsy guest at the Santa Fe roadside motel believe in time travel—in this case, to the heyday of Ame

The motto at Sabo (Sage Botanical) is simple but vibrant: “Cactus. Comforts. Fresh Starts.” Opened in July 2023 by owner Candace Leigh, the Santa Fe plant and gift boutique specializes in plants that thrive in the desert and require little care. Stri

The bright neon lights. The friendly, personable service. The individually unique rooms with authentic 1940s and 1950s decor. The Blue Swallow Motel, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, has left a lasting impression

During the holiday season, Albuquerque’s V. ORGANICK ordered a gift for her husband from Amazon. The item’s two-day Prime shipping originated in Louisiana, then went next door to Mississippi. After a few days, Organick tracked the package again. It w

Roadrunner Lodge. If you’re traveling with dogs, this 1960s-focused motel (whose historic sign reads “Give the Interstate the Bird”) provides a secured dog run and a variety of treats for purchase in the lobby from Baxter’s Whine and Licker Store, in

Less than a mile from The Mystic lies El Rey Court, a landmark white adobe building with softly contoured walls. The place has been a mainstay since it opened in 1936 as a 12-room motor inn on the original Route 66. Through the decades, the popular m