New Mexico - the land of enchantment

Rojo o Verde? Be prepared to answer this question when you are taking in the culinary flavors of the Land of Enchantment - New Mexico. The question asks the patron at a restaurant for choice of sauce - Red or Green - the red sauce is made from dried mature chili peppers and the green from less mature ones. Our recommendation - go for both! They both have distinct flavors and are totally worth it.

As of the time of this writing, we have been to New Mexico thrice (twice in December during the holidays and once in October for the Balloon Festival). In this post we will talk about our December trips which is a fine month for traveling to New Mexico - but also a cold one so make sure you dress warm! We usually start the trip by flying into Alburquerque (ABQ) and driving north-east to Santa Fe. If you have some time and like your history, we recommend the longer route of the Turquoise trail (NM 14) that takes you on a drive through the mining towns of Golden, Madrid, Cerrillos and others. If you find yourself in Santa Fe on Christmas eve, make sure you go on the Canyon Road Farolito Walk. Thousands of farolitos - brown sand-filled paper lanterns illuminated by votive candles - line the street and adobe walls as people gather in groups around luminarias (bon-fires) singing traditional Christmas carols into the cold night. Also highly recommended is a visit to the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

If you are in the mood for some great Indian food, we highly recommend Paper Dosa run by chef Paulraj Karuppasamy and his wife and business partner, Nellie Tischler. The chutneys (sauces) are outstanding and we had some amazing Lamb Keema (Minced Lamb) Dosa there. For those unfamiliar, dosas are delicious South Indian crepes made from fermented rice and lentil batter.

From Santa Fe, we usually head up further north to the town of Taos. Here we usually spend some time photographing the San Francisco de Asis Church, a national historic landmark and perhaps one of the most photographed and painted churches in the world including by the likes of Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe. In Taos, you can also witness the traditional ethnic dance, Los Matachines or Deer Dance, on Christmas Day within the Taos Pueblo but keep in mind that photography and videography is not allowed.

About two and a half hours drive down south is the small town of Moriarty located on Route 66. Here we loved to photograph the Lewis Antique Auto and Toy Museum. Archie Lewis, the owner, has a truly spectacular collection of vintage cars and trucks both inside and outside. Here's a sample of two pictures below:

Approximately 18 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico is the awe-inspiring Carlsbad Caverns National Park home to 119 caves and the world-famous Carlsbad Caverns. Visit the Carlsbad Caverns to see a spectacular array of spleothems (commonly known as 'cave decorations') including stalactites, satalagmites and columns. Spleothems form when groundwater containing Calcium bicarbonate solution seeps into the cave, and upon exposure to air releases carbon dioxide and deposits the calcite. Stalactites, Stalagmites, Columns ... uhh how do you remember which is which? Well, our guide had an easy answer. Stalactites have to hold on "tight/tite" to the ceiling and stalagmites "might/mite" one day reach them from the floor, and when they do they form columns :) That's not all, you also have formations called soda straws which are thin, hollow stalactites made of dripping water and draperies which, well, look like drapes. You get the picture! The spleothems in Carlsbad Caverns are beautiful and ornate and well worth a visit.

A must see is the White Sands National Monument located near the town of Alamogordo, site of the Trinity Nuclear test, the world's largest gypsum dunefield. The glistening white sands are a truly spectacular sight and well worth photographing when you drive around the 16-mile roundtrip Dunes Drive. One word of caution: try to minimize lens swapping as the winds there are strong and can damage your camera. We almost lost our camera to this during our first visit! Another exhilarating thing to do: try sand sledding on the dunes, great fun! Just get plastic sleds and cubes of wax from the Park gift shop and you are good to go. If you are into hiking, maybe go for one of the ranger-led nature hikes and who knows maybe you will come across a beautiful Soap Tree Yucca flower pod in the sand like the one below!

Last, but never the least, is our favorite location in New Mexico - The Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge - in Socorro, New Mexico. A large collection of wintering sandhill cranes and snow geese along with birds of prey like Bald Eagles and Hawks make this a spectacular destination for bird lovers and photographers. We suggest doing the guided auto-tours and visiting the visitor center there to learn more about the birds and their roosting and feeding areas. There are plenty of areas both within and outside the refuge to photograph the birds. During night, hundreds of sandhill cranes and snow geese settle on the water to protect themselves from predators and take-off en masse at the break of dawn to do whatever birds do during the day. Either time is great for photographing them in action. Here are two pictures from our visit there.

New Mexico has a way of staying with you — the smell of roasted chilis, the crunch of snow in Taos, the sound of cranes breaking the morning silence. We have been back three times now and something tells us we are not done yet! :)

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