June 11, 2024 • 27 mins
Are you ready for a fun summer in New Mexico? Bunny has done all the research for you on what you should definitely NOT miss this summer around the Land of Enchantment. Check out this episode and the links to learn about how to fill your summer with local activites from June to September!
Links
Visit Las Cruces
White Sands Moonlight Hike
Visit Gallup
Visit Tucumcari
Connie Mack World Series
Silver City Events
Silver City Art Association
Red River 8750 Festival
Lensic 360 Events
Cumbres & Toltec
Sky Railway
Bunny’s website
I Love New Mexico Instagram
I Love New Mexico Facebook
Original Music by: Kene Terry
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bunny (00:00):
Hi there. I'm Bunny Terry , and you're listening to
the I Love New Mexico podcast.
Whether you're a native newMexican, who's lived here for
your entire life, or you'rejust considering a visit, this
episode is for you. Join us aswe share a lot of New Mexico
(00:21):
stories, talk about all thingsNew Mexico, and include topics
like what's magical here, whereyou ought to visit, what's
happening, and the things youabsolutely cannot miss in the
land of Enchantment. We'reexcited that you're here, and
we can't wait to show you whatan amazing place New Mexico is,
(00:41):
because let's face it, I loveNew Mexico Today on the I Love
New Mexico podcast. We aregoing to talk about a summer
event, bucket list for NewMexico. I had, I had so much
fun going through , um, various, um, towns and cities ,
(01:07):
calendar of events online tosee what might be going on. I,
I picked up the latest coupleof copies of New Mexico
Magazine, which by the way, ifyou are not a subscriber, we'll
provide a link in our shownotes to New Mexico Magazine.
But it's one of the best placesto get not only , um,
information on events, buthistory, art, food. Um, if
(01:29):
you're a fan of New Mexico, youought to be subscribing to New
Mexico Magazine. And what Ifound in my searches is that
there's a lot going on, andwhether you're in the northwest
corner of the state , um, inSan Juan County near up near
Farmington, or in the southernpart of the state in Las
Cruces, silver City, Alamogordo, um, in the Rio Grande Valley,
(01:54):
which is, you know, Santa Fe,Albuquerque, Berlin, those
places , um, or up in thenortheastern corny corner of
the state, Taos Red River,angel Fire , um, there is
something happening everysingle day in the state of New
Mexico. And so obviously I'mnot gonna be able to cover
(02:15):
everything, but I did pick upsome of the highlights and ,
um, I just hope this peaks yourcuriosity. If you're not coming
to New Mexico to visit thissummer , um, maybe you should
change your mind because thereis some cool stuff going on.
And I also found that there arelots of places that have events
that are ongoing. Um, one ofthe coolest things I found,
(02:38):
which makes me want to go thereon a weekday night is that
every Tuesday in Las Crucesfrom seven to nine , um,
they're doing, I'm sorry, fromseven to 10 on Tuesday
evenings, they have swinglessons , um, downtown on the
plaza. Um, every Tuesday nightthey have swing lessons from
(02:59):
seven to eight, and then theyhave swing dancing from eight
to 10. And I, I, those of youwho know me, know that I love
Las Cruces. I went to collegethere. And , um, the weather is
almost always perfect. It's afriendly town. The food is the
best in the, I I'm not gonnasay the best in the state, but
(03:23):
it's different. Um, it's , um,a kind of new Mexican food that
I'm always craving. Lots ofgreen chili, lots of green
chili with pork. And , andspeaking of food , um, on June
20th in Las Cruces from six tonine, they're hosting something
called The Taste of Las Cruces,which is a benefit. Is, that is
(03:47):
held at the convention centerthat helps raise money for
their local food bank. But thistaste of Las Cruces held on
June 20th from six to nine is ait there , it commemorates the
taste of Las Cruces, and it'sthe 16th annual event where
(04:11):
local eateries come together atthe conventions center for one
night in one location, and itbrings people and food
together. It's for a worthwhilecause. It's spearheaded by the
local Rotary Club . So ifyou're like me and you love the
food in the southern part ofNew Mexico, I think you're
gonna wanna check this out.
There is a website where youcan check out the event, and
(04:33):
we're gonna have a link to it,but it's also at Casa de
Peregrino , that'sC-A-S-A-D-E-P-E-R-E-G-R-I-N-O
s.org . And while you're in thesouth part of the state , um,
here's, here's another thingthat's always been on my bucket
list. I've never done it, butWhite Sands, the 234 square
(04:57):
miles of white gypsum sands,which those of you who know
White Sands know what aspectacular setting it is,
three nights this summer,they're going to have , um,
what they call , um, moonlighthikes. And they are , um,
(05:18):
offered once a month during afull moon event at White Sands.
And the , the website says,have you ever wanted to hike
the dunes under the moonlight?
This is your chance . So theMoonlight hikes at White Sands
are on June 22nd, July 20th,and August 20th. You have to
(05:39):
get tickets, tickets, ticketsare required for this program.
And we've put a link on the, inthe show notes, the, the
website for getting tickets forMoonlight hikes at White Sands
is recreation.gov, or you cancall 'em , the number is (877)
(06:01):
444-6777. That's a pretty easynumber to remember. You have to
pay some tour fees, but becausethere's a limited number of
tickets, this is a really,really it's a, a really , um,
exciting event. And there'slimited space, so you could
only purchase six tickets perreservation. There's not a wait
(06:24):
list . So I'm, I'm gonna tellyou the tickets for each event
, um, go on sale two monthsbefore it happens. So the
tickets for , um, July 20thwent on sale May 20th. The
tickets for August 20th aregonna go on sale June 20th. So
get online, get your tickets,and hike White Sands by the
(06:46):
moonlight. I mean, doesn't thatsound like the most amazing
thing to do? I also , um, inall of my searching once again
, um, stumbled upon the VisitGallup site, it's visit
gallup.com, and it reminded meof the podcast that we did last
year in April with Bob Lee, whoat the time was the executive
(07:10):
director of the GallupConvention Center. And one of
the things that he recommendthat he said was gonna be a
surprise to anybody who hadnever attended was the Gallup
Flea Market, which is heldevery Saturday in Gallup, New
Mexico. And with more than 500vendors as he told us, it's,
it's one of the largest NativeAmerican markets in the United
(07:31):
States. But every Saturday fromnine to five at three 40 North
ninth Street downtown, you canfind, according to Bob Lee and
their website now , um, allsorts of , um, artisanal goods,
handcrafted items , um, Navajorugs, Zuni , um, jewelry , um,
(07:54):
there's, there's just thiscrazy variety of keepsakes and
decor. And then there's food,which is also , um, also always
a treat. Get yourself a , um,fry bread , uh, Indian fry
bread , um, and which is frybread covered in chili and
(08:19):
onions and lettuce andtomatoes. Um, but , but because
Gallup is surrounded by theNavajo Nation, Zuni Pueblos and
Hopi Pueblo land , the marketdraws vendors and artists from
all of those surroundingcommunities. So don't forget,
if you're in the western partof the state on a weekend,
don't forget the Gallup fleamarket. The other thing that's
(08:42):
happening all the time, allevery Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday in Gallup aretraditional dances from a
variety of, of New Mexico areatribes. There are traditional
drum rattle and fluteinstruments, along with some
explanations regarding thecultural tra traditions that
(09:02):
surround the dances. So thedance , the, the dances kicked
off on June 4th, and they'rehappening, as I said, every
Tuesday, Wednesday, andThursday throughout the summer,
and they'll conclude on August29th, and they're held at, in
the evening at the McKinleyCounty Courthouse, which is at
2 0 7 West Hill Street. Andfinally, the other huge event
(09:27):
that's happening in Gallup thatwe talked about when I
interviewed Mr. Lee is thehundred and second Gallup
Intertribal ceremonial. It'sgonna take place on August 2nd
through the 11th. I'm tellingyou, you should get on their
website right now. Take a lookat it. This is one of the
largest tribal events in thenation, and you'll, thousands
(09:53):
of Native American indigenousparticipants are gonna come
together to share songs, powwowdances, art, food culture. And
this is all at Red Rock Park ,which is just outside of
Gallup. Um, you'll , there willalso be a ceremonial queen
pageant, an all open rodeo anda film festival showcasing
(10:15):
Native American indigenousstorytelling, and then some
social events like a wine galaon opening night and a 5K walk
and run. There'll be parades indowntown Gallup per showcasing
the variety of tribes that areparticipating in the event. And
this really I mean, Bob Lee dida better job of describing it
(10:37):
than I did, but I found itfascinating. Um, this is a
celebration that you just can'tmiss if you wanna have a really
genuine native experience andsee something that I don't
think you're gonna findanywhere else in the country
from Gallup, I, I took a look,I went all the way back acro
all the way across the StraiStreet, the state, excuse me,
(11:01):
to my neck of the woods where Igrew up, to Tuum Carey ,
because I thought there's gottabe something going on. And what
I found is that in Tuum Carey ,on the fourth Saturday of every
month at the historic RailroadDepot, they have what's called
down at the depot. So fourthSaturday. So that means , um,
(11:21):
the fourth Saturday in June,July and August, there'll be
live music, food vendors and amaker , what they call a
Maker's Market, and it's hostedby the Tuum Care Main Street ,
um, crew. You'll remember thatwe had them on the podcast last
October when we talked aboutthe tuum scary , um, haunted
(11:45):
tours that they were doingaround town. If you're not
gonna be in Gallup, and you'renot gonna be in Tuum Carey ,
but you're up in the FourCorners area, I'd suggest that
, um, the weekend of June 14ththrough the 16th, you go to the
San Juan River balloon rally,it's gonna be held on the
balloon, so I'm sorry, theBloomfield soccer fields on
(12:08):
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
And the mass ascension will beat 6:30 AM and on Saturday the
15th, there's, they're alsogonna have a balloon glow , um,
in Farmington. The one of thebiggest events in the state
that you don't know about, butis one of the, one of the great
(12:30):
sports traditions in New Mexicois the Connie m Royal Series,
which is gonna start on July26th. So since, so this is
touted as the finest amateurbaseball tournament in the
United States. And since 1965,Farmington has been the host of
the Connie Mac World Series. Ifyou ever go to Farmington,
(12:52):
you'll find that they built anentire complex devoted to this.
And if you talk to locals,they'll say, oh, yeah, you
know, we, what happens duringthe Connie M World Series is
that locals in Farmington,Aztec , and Bloomfield host the
teams that are coming to town.
So , um, like, you know, mycousin Sherry , who lives in
(13:14):
Aztec, she and her husband JimMcGee , have hosted several
Connie Mack World Series teamplayers who went on to play in
the majors. Um, wish I couldremember the names of those
guys now. But so, like I said,since 1965, Farmington has been
host of the Connie Mac WorldSeries and the Connie Mack
World Series . Teams arecomprised of players age 16 to
(13:39):
18 from around the UnitedStates, and the 12 best teams
will go, will compete for thechampionship, and pro scouts
show up, college officials showup. Um, this is one , this is
really a big deal. I livedthere once when this happened,
and I couldn't believe , um,everybody in the world descends
(14:00):
on Farmington for, for thatweek. And what happens is that
, um, pool play will start onJuly 26th and 27th after a
parade in Farmington. And thenthe opening ceremonies for
Bracket play start on the 28th.
There is a , um, link to theevent in our , um, podcast
(14:24):
notes, and I , I, you gotta putit on your calendar, this is
one of the funnest things inthe world. So I kept searching,
I kept looking around, and Ifound that I , I , you know, I
did some searching at the , myfavorite places to visit. And
Silver City came up because Ilove to go to Silver City. And
(14:44):
when I pulled up theircalendar, which is at
visitsilvercity.org, I foundthat there's live music in
Silver City almost every singlenight of the week. But I wanted
to bring one thing to yourattention. Um, go to the
calendar. If you're headed toSilver City at all this summer
(15:05):
, um, you'll, you'll be able tofind great music somewhere. But
on July 5th, they have the ,um, downtowns, silver City Art
Associations, art Galleries.
They have their First FridayArt Walk, and they have , um,
receptions, exhibitions,openings. And if you've ever
(15:27):
been to downtown Silver City,you know, it's historic and
it's full of eclectic gallery ,so you can check it
out@silvercityart.com. So, youknow, if you're looking for
something to do on , on theJuly 4th weekend, go to Silver
City, spend July 4th, and thenhang around on July 5th for the
(15:47):
Art Walk . I was so fascinatedby all the music offerings
around the state that I knew Ihad to go back to , um, red
River and figure out when theirsummer music festival is. I've
attended this before. It's goneby a lot of different names.
Um, it used to be , um, coolMountain Nights, hot, hot,
(16:11):
something else, because therewas a Chili Cookoff. Well, now
they call it the eighty sevenfifty Barbecue and Music
Festival, because Red River,which is up in the northeast
corner of the state, sits at anelevation of 8,750 feet. So
this is, and you gotta getonline and get tickets soon
(16:32):
because they're gonna sell out.
But this is August 15th to the17th, and it's three days of
music with Barbecue, red Chili,and Green Chili Cook-offs. And
the music lineup includes 23different artists, like my
favorite, one of my favorites,Ray Wiley Hubbard , um, Dale
Watson for , um, some of youfolks who remember , um, Dale
(16:55):
Watson, there's Mickey in theMotor Cars , the Tejas
Brothers, lots of hot countryand Americana guest, and the,
the festival kicks off with abarbecue dinner and a concert
set, Lakeside at Bitter CreekRanch. And then each night,
this is one of the coolestthings that happens. You,
you've been out in the sun allday, you've been , um, at
(17:18):
Brandenburg Park. Maybe you ,uh, have had, have had a Bloody
Mary morning at the mother load, but every single night
there's a concert at the MotherLoad Saloon and , um, and the
dance. So it's way, way, wayfun. Um, the website for this
event is the 80 87 50, andthose are the numbers, 8 7 5 0
(17:41):
festival.com. So you don'twanna miss that. Um, there's a
, I mean, look at the lineup.
You're gonna know somebodythat's gonna be there if music
is your thing. One of thesuggestions I have is the ,
that you check out , um,Lensic360 .org , that's
(18:02):
L-E-N-S-I C3 sixty.org . Um,this is a group that's based in
Santa Fe, but they haveconcerts and events across New
Mexico , um, in , and this is alittle past the summer, but on
September 13th and 14th,they're doing a Blossoms and
(18:24):
Bones , um, ghost Ranch MusicFestival up in Abiquiu. They've
got artists like , um, MavisStaples, Lucinda Williams,
Vance Joy . Um , this is a bigdeal, and you can get tickets,
Atlin, L-E-N-S-I-C 360, thenumber three six zero.org . So
(18:48):
, um, if you go to thatwebsite, you're gonna see that
there are music events allsummer long in New Mexico. One
of the, one of the ones I'mgonna miss is tomorrow , um,
I'm sorry , um, last Friday onJune 7th, James McMurtry was in
Santa Fe , um, Wednesday, June12th. Shiny Ribs is gonna be at
(19:10):
the mothership at Taos MesaBrewing. Um, there's all , all
sorts of stuff going on, likeFelix elo got those , is gonna
be at the mothership at TaosMesa on June 21st. Lyle Lovett
in his large band is gonna beat the Kiva Auditorium on June
22nd. Junior Brown, who is bythe way, a Santa Fe guy, he
(19:35):
actually went to high schoolwith my husband, junior Brown
and Bill Hearn are gonna playon the Santa Fe Plaza on June
27th. So don't fail. Regardlessof where you're going in New
Mexico, get Onlin threesixty.org and check out what,
what, where the music is whenyou're coming to visit. So now
(19:58):
that we've talked about eventsacross the state and about
music and different things thatyou can plan to do this summer,
I do wanna put one last pluginfor one of my favorite
activities that , um, isincredibly fun in New Mexico,
and that is writing , um, thetrain. And , um, there are two
(20:20):
different places that I knowof. If you know of more, I'd
love to hear about them. But ifyou are interested in getting
on a narrow gauge train , um,I'd suggest that you go to
Chama and Ride the Cuus andToltech CNY Railway. It's, it
is considered a nationalhistoric landmark. It's a 64
(20:41):
mile train train ride, and it'sconsidered it , well, it is ,
it's not considered, it is thelongest, the highest, and the
most authentic steam railroadin North America. And it
travels through these beautifulspaces. Some of the most
spectacular scenery you canfind in the Rocky Mountains. So
the train is actually owned byNew Mexico and Colorado because
(21:05):
it leaves chama it. Um, andI'm, I just, I didn't know this
when I read it before, but Isaw this on the website. It
crosses state borders 11 times,zigzags through canyons. When I
read it, we, when I wrote it,we when to the top of the pass
and we stopped and had lunch,and then I rode back. So I
(21:31):
didn't go all the way. Youcould , you leave Chama New
Mexico, and if you stay on thetrain all the way, you end up
in Antonino, Colorado. And youcan either spend the night in
Antonino , um, and catch a busback or the train back, or ,
um, you can just ride to thetop like I did , um, and come
back at the end of the day.
It's really scenic, it'sbeautiful. They do. Um, you're
(21:54):
gonna , you'll see everything.
You'll see deer and antelope,elk, eagles on occasion. Um,
I've seen on their Instagrampage that people have seen
bears and the Cuus and TollTech Railroad service started
on May 25th, will run throughOctober 19th. So it's six days
a week. They don't run onMondays, but there are seven
(22:17):
different training excursionsthat you can try and three
different classes of service. Iit , I gotta tell you, it's so
cool you go over a trestle thatis , um, I think, well, I
actually , I read this on thewebsite as well, 137 feet,
(22:37):
yeah, 137 feet, the CascadeTrestle. Um, this is like every
child's dream ride. Um, theyserve you lunch , you, there's
some service that , um, makesit worthwhile. I'll tell you,
when you ride the Cumber andToll Tech train , um, don't
dress up because, because it'sa steam engine, you get a
(23:00):
little bit of soot from thecoal, it's not bad, but you
ride with the windows down,it's , um, so, so the way to
get tickets is to go to cumbretoltech do.com , and that's
C-U-M-B-R-E-S-T-O-L-T-E c.com .
There will be a link to that inthe show notes so that you
(23:22):
don't miss anything. Andfinally, one of my favorite
train rides, and if you'refollowing me on Instagram, you
see me writing Sky Railway allthe time. Sky Railway
originates at the Santa Fetrain depot and goes , um, out
towards Lamie on a track thatwa that has been there since
(23:47):
the middle of the 19th century.
In fact, Billy the kid rodethat train, that rail coming
into town for a trial at onetime. Um, sky Railway is , um,
my husband calls it a boozecruise, but of course, it's
many things. It's, we've riddenthe Flamenco train. We've done
(24:07):
the Sunset Serenade, wherethere are two musicians, one in
each rail car , um, sometimesalso in the Akima train, which
is a very fancy 1934 , um, oh ,I can't think of the word. I
should have this in front ofme, but it's, it's a, you know,
(24:29):
it's a fancy train car from thethirties where presidents and
actors and , um, actresses rode, um, Judy Garland rode this
train , um, Walter Brenner,John Wayne. There are , there
are, there are all sorts ofclaims to fame, but now you can
ride it and you're, you'll getto see scenery that you're not
(24:51):
gonna see otherwise. They havea , um, one went a train that
goes at night. So you can astargazer train. Um, they have
a local lore train so you canlearn more of the history of
the area. And I have never beenon Sky Railway when I didn't
either meet new friends, makelong life lifelong friends, or
(25:15):
run into people that I knew. SoI'm recommending some train
travel for you this summer,either the Cober and Toll Tech
or Sky Railway. And if you haveany questions or if you have a
summer experience that you'vehad that you wanna share with
us, or if you have an eventcoming up that you want us to
talk about the next time we geta chance to let us know , we
(25:37):
are here to talk about mybucket list and your bucket
list, and I hope you have awonderful summer. Happy June.
Thanks to all of you for takingthe time to listen to the I
Love New Mexico podcast. Ifyou've enjoyed this episode,
please feel free to share itwith your friends on social
media or by texting ormessaging or emailing them a
(26:01):
copy of the podcast. If youhave a New Mexico story that
you'd like to share with us,don't hesitate to reach out.
Our email address is I love NewMexico blog@gmail.com , and we
are always, always looking forinteresting stories about New
Mexico. Subscribe, share, andwrite a review so that we can
(26:23):
continue to bring you thesestories about the Land of
Enchantment. Thank you so much.
I am back
Hi there. I'm Bunny Terry , and you're listening to
the I Love New Mexico podcast.
Whether you're a native newMexican, who's lived here for
your entire life, or you'rejust considering a visit, this
episode is for you. Join us aswe share a lot of New Mexico
(00:21):
stories, talk about all thingsNew Mexico, and include topics
like what's magical here, whereyou ought to visit, what's
happening, and the things youabsolutely cannot miss in the
land of Enchantment. We'reexcited that you're here, and
we can't wait to show you whatan amazing place New Mexico is,
(00:41):
because let's face it, I loveNew Mexico Today on the I Love
New Mexico podcast. We aregoing to talk about a summer
event, bucket list for NewMexico. I had, I had so much
fun going through , um, various, um, towns and cities ,
(01:07):
calendar of events online tosee what might be going on. I,
I picked up the latest coupleof copies of New Mexico
Magazine, which by the way, ifyou are not a subscriber, we'll
provide a link in our shownotes to New Mexico Magazine.
But it's one of the best placesto get not only , um,
information on events, buthistory, art, food. Um, if
(01:29):
you're a fan of New Mexico, youought to be subscribing to New
Mexico Magazine. And what Ifound in my searches is that
there's a lot going on, andwhether you're in the northwest
corner of the state , um, inSan Juan County near up near
Farmington, or in the southernpart of the state in Las
Cruces, silver City, Alamogordo, um, in the Rio Grande Valley,
(01:54):
which is, you know, Santa Fe,Albuquerque, Berlin, those
places , um, or up in thenortheastern corny corner of
the state, Taos Red River,angel Fire , um, there is
something happening everysingle day in the state of New
Mexico. And so obviously I'mnot gonna be able to cover
(02:15):
everything, but I did pick upsome of the highlights and ,
um, I just hope this peaks yourcuriosity. If you're not coming
to New Mexico to visit thissummer , um, maybe you should
change your mind because thereis some cool stuff going on.
And I also found that there arelots of places that have events
that are ongoing. Um, one ofthe coolest things I found,
(02:38):
which makes me want to go thereon a weekday night is that
every Tuesday in Las Crucesfrom seven to nine , um,
they're doing, I'm sorry, fromseven to 10 on Tuesday
evenings, they have swinglessons , um, downtown on the
plaza. Um, every Tuesday nightthey have swing lessons from
(02:59):
seven to eight, and then theyhave swing dancing from eight
to 10. And I, I, those of youwho know me, know that I love
Las Cruces. I went to collegethere. And , um, the weather is
almost always perfect. It's afriendly town. The food is the
best in the, I I'm not gonnasay the best in the state, but
(03:23):
it's different. Um, it's , um,a kind of new Mexican food that
I'm always craving. Lots ofgreen chili, lots of green
chili with pork. And , andspeaking of food , um, on June
20th in Las Cruces from six tonine, they're hosting something
called The Taste of Las Cruces,which is a benefit. Is, that is
(03:47):
held at the convention centerthat helps raise money for
their local food bank. But thistaste of Las Cruces held on
June 20th from six to nine is ait there , it commemorates the
taste of Las Cruces, and it'sthe 16th annual event where
(04:11):
local eateries come together atthe conventions center for one
night in one location, and itbrings people and food
together. It's for a worthwhilecause. It's spearheaded by the
local Rotary Club . So ifyou're like me and you love the
food in the southern part ofNew Mexico, I think you're
gonna wanna check this out.
There is a website where youcan check out the event, and
(04:33):
we're gonna have a link to it,but it's also at Casa de
Peregrino , that'sC-A-S-A-D-E-P-E-R-E-G-R-I-N-O
s.org . And while you're in thesouth part of the state , um,
here's, here's another thingthat's always been on my bucket
list. I've never done it, butWhite Sands, the 234 square
(04:57):
miles of white gypsum sands,which those of you who know
White Sands know what aspectacular setting it is,
three nights this summer,they're going to have , um,
what they call , um, moonlighthikes. And they are , um,
(05:18):
offered once a month during afull moon event at White Sands.
And the , the website says,have you ever wanted to hike
the dunes under the moonlight?
This is your chance . So theMoonlight hikes at White Sands
are on June 22nd, July 20th,and August 20th. You have to
(05:39):
get tickets, tickets, ticketsare required for this program.
And we've put a link on the, inthe show notes, the, the
website for getting tickets forMoonlight hikes at White Sands
is recreation.gov, or you cancall 'em , the number is (877)
(06:01):
444-6777. That's a pretty easynumber to remember. You have to
pay some tour fees, but becausethere's a limited number of
tickets, this is a really,really it's a, a really , um,
exciting event. And there'slimited space, so you could
only purchase six tickets perreservation. There's not a wait
(06:24):
list . So I'm, I'm gonna tellyou the tickets for each event
, um, go on sale two monthsbefore it happens. So the
tickets for , um, July 20thwent on sale May 20th. The
tickets for August 20th aregonna go on sale June 20th. So
get online, get your tickets,and hike White Sands by the
(06:46):
moonlight. I mean, doesn't thatsound like the most amazing
thing to do? I also , um, inall of my searching once again
, um, stumbled upon the VisitGallup site, it's visit
gallup.com, and it reminded meof the podcast that we did last
year in April with Bob Lee, whoat the time was the executive
(07:10):
director of the GallupConvention Center. And one of
the things that he recommendthat he said was gonna be a
surprise to anybody who hadnever attended was the Gallup
Flea Market, which is heldevery Saturday in Gallup, New
Mexico. And with more than 500vendors as he told us, it's,
it's one of the largest NativeAmerican markets in the United
(07:31):
States. But every Saturday fromnine to five at three 40 North
ninth Street downtown, you canfind, according to Bob Lee and
their website now , um, allsorts of , um, artisanal goods,
handcrafted items , um, Navajorugs, Zuni , um, jewelry , um,
(07:54):
there's, there's just thiscrazy variety of keepsakes and
decor. And then there's food,which is also , um, also always
a treat. Get yourself a , um,fry bread , uh, Indian fry
bread , um, and which is frybread covered in chili and
(08:19):
onions and lettuce andtomatoes. Um, but , but because
Gallup is surrounded by theNavajo Nation, Zuni Pueblos and
Hopi Pueblo land , the marketdraws vendors and artists from
all of those surroundingcommunities. So don't forget,
if you're in the western partof the state on a weekend,
don't forget the Gallup fleamarket. The other thing that's
(08:42):
happening all the time, allevery Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday in Gallup aretraditional dances from a
variety of, of New Mexico areatribes. There are traditional
drum rattle and fluteinstruments, along with some
explanations regarding thecultural tra traditions that
(09:02):
surround the dances. So thedance , the, the dances kicked
off on June 4th, and they'rehappening, as I said, every
Tuesday, Wednesday, andThursday throughout the summer,
and they'll conclude on August29th, and they're held at, in
the evening at the McKinleyCounty Courthouse, which is at
2 0 7 West Hill Street. Andfinally, the other huge event
(09:27):
that's happening in Gallup thatwe talked about when I
interviewed Mr. Lee is thehundred and second Gallup
Intertribal ceremonial. It'sgonna take place on August 2nd
through the 11th. I'm tellingyou, you should get on their
website right now. Take a lookat it. This is one of the
largest tribal events in thenation, and you'll, thousands
(09:53):
of Native American indigenousparticipants are gonna come
together to share songs, powwowdances, art, food culture. And
this is all at Red Rock Park ,which is just outside of
Gallup. Um, you'll , there willalso be a ceremonial queen
pageant, an all open rodeo anda film festival showcasing
(10:15):
Native American indigenousstorytelling, and then some
social events like a wine galaon opening night and a 5K walk
and run. There'll be parades indowntown Gallup per showcasing
the variety of tribes that areparticipating in the event. And
this really I mean, Bob Lee dida better job of describing it
(10:37):
than I did, but I found itfascinating. Um, this is a
celebration that you just can'tmiss if you wanna have a really
genuine native experience andsee something that I don't
think you're gonna findanywhere else in the country
from Gallup, I, I took a look,I went all the way back acro
all the way across the StraiStreet, the state, excuse me,
(11:01):
to my neck of the woods where Igrew up, to Tuum Carey ,
because I thought there's gottabe something going on. And what
I found is that in Tuum Carey ,on the fourth Saturday of every
month at the historic RailroadDepot, they have what's called
down at the depot. So fourthSaturday. So that means , um,
(11:21):
the fourth Saturday in June,July and August, there'll be
live music, food vendors and amaker , what they call a
Maker's Market, and it's hostedby the Tuum Care Main Street ,
um, crew. You'll remember thatwe had them on the podcast last
October when we talked aboutthe tuum scary , um, haunted
(11:45):
tours that they were doingaround town. If you're not
gonna be in Gallup, and you'renot gonna be in Tuum Carey ,
but you're up in the FourCorners area, I'd suggest that
, um, the weekend of June 14ththrough the 16th, you go to the
San Juan River balloon rally,it's gonna be held on the
balloon, so I'm sorry, theBloomfield soccer fields on
(12:08):
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
And the mass ascension will beat 6:30 AM and on Saturday the
15th, there's, they're alsogonna have a balloon glow , um,
in Farmington. The one of thebiggest events in the state
that you don't know about, butis one of the, one of the great
(12:30):
sports traditions in New Mexicois the Connie m Royal Series,
which is gonna start on July26th. So since, so this is
touted as the finest amateurbaseball tournament in the
United States. And since 1965,Farmington has been the host of
the Connie Mac World Series. Ifyou ever go to Farmington,
(12:52):
you'll find that they built anentire complex devoted to this.
And if you talk to locals,they'll say, oh, yeah, you
know, we, what happens duringthe Connie M World Series is
that locals in Farmington,Aztec , and Bloomfield host the
teams that are coming to town.
So , um, like, you know, mycousin Sherry , who lives in
(13:14):
Aztec, she and her husband JimMcGee , have hosted several
Connie Mack World Series teamplayers who went on to play in
the majors. Um, wish I couldremember the names of those
guys now. But so, like I said,since 1965, Farmington has been
host of the Connie Mac WorldSeries and the Connie Mack
World Series . Teams arecomprised of players age 16 to
(13:39):
18 from around the UnitedStates, and the 12 best teams
will go, will compete for thechampionship, and pro scouts
show up, college officials showup. Um, this is one , this is
really a big deal. I livedthere once when this happened,
and I couldn't believe , um,everybody in the world descends
(14:00):
on Farmington for, for thatweek. And what happens is that
, um, pool play will start onJuly 26th and 27th after a
parade in Farmington. And thenthe opening ceremonies for
Bracket play start on the 28th.
There is a , um, link to theevent in our , um, podcast
(14:24):
notes, and I , I, you gotta putit on your calendar, this is
one of the funnest things inthe world. So I kept searching,
I kept looking around, and Ifound that I , I , you know, I
did some searching at the , myfavorite places to visit. And
Silver City came up because Ilove to go to Silver City. And
(14:44):
when I pulled up theircalendar, which is at
visitsilvercity.org, I foundthat there's live music in
Silver City almost every singlenight of the week. But I wanted
to bring one thing to yourattention. Um, go to the
calendar. If you're headed toSilver City at all this summer
(15:05):
, um, you'll, you'll be able tofind great music somewhere. But
on July 5th, they have the ,um, downtowns, silver City Art
Associations, art Galleries.
They have their First FridayArt Walk, and they have , um,
receptions, exhibitions,openings. And if you've ever
(15:27):
been to downtown Silver City,you know, it's historic and
it's full of eclectic gallery ,so you can check it
out@silvercityart.com. So, youknow, if you're looking for
something to do on , on theJuly 4th weekend, go to Silver
City, spend July 4th, and thenhang around on July 5th for the
(15:47):
Art Walk . I was so fascinatedby all the music offerings
around the state that I knew Ihad to go back to , um, red
River and figure out when theirsummer music festival is. I've
attended this before. It's goneby a lot of different names.
Um, it used to be , um, coolMountain Nights, hot, hot,
(16:11):
something else, because therewas a Chili Cookoff. Well, now
they call it the eighty sevenfifty Barbecue and Music
Festival, because Red River,which is up in the northeast
corner of the state, sits at anelevation of 8,750 feet. So
this is, and you gotta getonline and get tickets soon
(16:32):
because they're gonna sell out.
But this is August 15th to the17th, and it's three days of
music with Barbecue, red Chili,and Green Chili Cook-offs. And
the music lineup includes 23different artists, like my
favorite, one of my favorites,Ray Wiley Hubbard , um, Dale
Watson for , um, some of youfolks who remember , um, Dale
(16:55):
Watson, there's Mickey in theMotor Cars , the Tejas
Brothers, lots of hot countryand Americana guest, and the,
the festival kicks off with abarbecue dinner and a concert
set, Lakeside at Bitter CreekRanch. And then each night,
this is one of the coolestthings that happens. You,
you've been out in the sun allday, you've been , um, at
(17:18):
Brandenburg Park. Maybe you ,uh, have had, have had a Bloody
Mary morning at the mother load, but every single night
there's a concert at the MotherLoad Saloon and , um, and the
dance. So it's way, way, wayfun. Um, the website for this
event is the 80 87 50, andthose are the numbers, 8 7 5 0
(17:41):
festival.com. So you don'twanna miss that. Um, there's a
, I mean, look at the lineup.
You're gonna know somebodythat's gonna be there if music
is your thing. One of thesuggestions I have is the ,
that you check out , um,Lensic360 .org , that's
(18:02):
L-E-N-S-I C3 sixty.org . Um,this is a group that's based in
Santa Fe, but they haveconcerts and events across New
Mexico , um, in , and this is alittle past the summer, but on
September 13th and 14th,they're doing a Blossoms and
(18:24):
Bones , um, ghost Ranch MusicFestival up in Abiquiu. They've
got artists like , um, MavisStaples, Lucinda Williams,
Vance Joy . Um , this is a bigdeal, and you can get tickets,
Atlin, L-E-N-S-I-C 360, thenumber three six zero.org . So
(18:48):
, um, if you go to thatwebsite, you're gonna see that
there are music events allsummer long in New Mexico. One
of the, one of the ones I'mgonna miss is tomorrow , um,
I'm sorry , um, last Friday onJune 7th, James McMurtry was in
Santa Fe , um, Wednesday, June12th. Shiny Ribs is gonna be at
(19:10):
the mothership at Taos MesaBrewing. Um, there's all , all
sorts of stuff going on, likeFelix elo got those , is gonna
be at the mothership at TaosMesa on June 21st. Lyle Lovett
in his large band is gonna beat the Kiva Auditorium on June
22nd. Junior Brown, who is bythe way, a Santa Fe guy, he
(19:35):
actually went to high schoolwith my husband, junior Brown
and Bill Hearn are gonna playon the Santa Fe Plaza on June
27th. So don't fail. Regardlessof where you're going in New
Mexico, get Onlin threesixty.org and check out what,
what, where the music is whenyou're coming to visit. So now
(19:58):
that we've talked about eventsacross the state and about
music and different things thatyou can plan to do this summer,
I do wanna put one last pluginfor one of my favorite
activities that , um, isincredibly fun in New Mexico,
and that is writing , um, thetrain. And , um, there are two
(20:20):
different places that I knowof. If you know of more, I'd
love to hear about them. But ifyou are interested in getting
on a narrow gauge train , um,I'd suggest that you go to
Chama and Ride the Cuus andToltech CNY Railway. It's, it
is considered a nationalhistoric landmark. It's a 64
(20:41):
mile train train ride, and it'sconsidered it , well, it is ,
it's not considered, it is thelongest, the highest, and the
most authentic steam railroadin North America. And it
travels through these beautifulspaces. Some of the most
spectacular scenery you canfind in the Rocky Mountains. So
the train is actually owned byNew Mexico and Colorado because
(21:05):
it leaves chama it. Um, andI'm, I just, I didn't know this
when I read it before, but Isaw this on the website. It
crosses state borders 11 times,zigzags through canyons. When I
read it, we, when I wrote it,we when to the top of the pass
and we stopped and had lunch,and then I rode back. So I
(21:31):
didn't go all the way. Youcould , you leave Chama New
Mexico, and if you stay on thetrain all the way, you end up
in Antonino, Colorado. And youcan either spend the night in
Antonino , um, and catch a busback or the train back, or ,
um, you can just ride to thetop like I did , um, and come
back at the end of the day.
It's really scenic, it'sbeautiful. They do. Um, you're
(21:54):
gonna , you'll see everything.
You'll see deer and antelope,elk, eagles on occasion. Um,
I've seen on their Instagrampage that people have seen
bears and the Cuus and TollTech Railroad service started
on May 25th, will run throughOctober 19th. So it's six days
a week. They don't run onMondays, but there are seven
(22:17):
different training excursionsthat you can try and three
different classes of service. Iit , I gotta tell you, it's so
cool you go over a trestle thatis , um, I think, well, I
actually , I read this on thewebsite as well, 137 feet,
(22:37):
yeah, 137 feet, the CascadeTrestle. Um, this is like every
child's dream ride. Um, theyserve you lunch , you, there's
some service that , um, makesit worthwhile. I'll tell you,
when you ride the Cumber andToll Tech train , um, don't
dress up because, because it'sa steam engine, you get a
(23:00):
little bit of soot from thecoal, it's not bad, but you
ride with the windows down,it's , um, so, so the way to
get tickets is to go to cumbretoltech do.com , and that's
C-U-M-B-R-E-S-T-O-L-T-E c.com .
There will be a link to that inthe show notes so that you
(23:22):
don't miss anything. Andfinally, one of my favorite
train rides, and if you'refollowing me on Instagram, you
see me writing Sky Railway allthe time. Sky Railway
originates at the Santa Fetrain depot and goes , um, out
towards Lamie on a track thatwa that has been there since
(23:47):
the middle of the 19th century.
In fact, Billy the kid rodethat train, that rail coming
into town for a trial at onetime. Um, sky Railway is , um,
my husband calls it a boozecruise, but of course, it's
many things. It's, we've riddenthe Flamenco train. We've done
(24:07):
the Sunset Serenade, wherethere are two musicians, one in
each rail car , um, sometimesalso in the Akima train, which
is a very fancy 1934 , um, oh ,I can't think of the word. I
should have this in front ofme, but it's, it's a, you know,
(24:29):
it's a fancy train car from thethirties where presidents and
actors and , um, actresses rode, um, Judy Garland rode this
train , um, Walter Brenner,John Wayne. There are , there
are, there are all sorts ofclaims to fame, but now you can
ride it and you're, you'll getto see scenery that you're not
(24:51):
gonna see otherwise. They havea , um, one went a train that
goes at night. So you can astargazer train. Um, they have
a local lore train so you canlearn more of the history of
the area. And I have never beenon Sky Railway when I didn't
either meet new friends, makelong life lifelong friends, or
(25:15):
run into people that I knew. SoI'm recommending some train
travel for you this summer,either the Cober and Toll Tech
or Sky Railway. And if you haveany questions or if you have a
summer experience that you'vehad that you wanna share with
us, or if you have an eventcoming up that you want us to
talk about the next time we geta chance to let us know , we
(25:37):
are here to talk about mybucket list and your bucket
list, and I hope you have awonderful summer. Happy June.
Thanks to all of you for takingthe time to listen to the I
Love New Mexico podcast. Ifyou've enjoyed this episode,
please feel free to share itwith your friends on social
media or by texting ormessaging or emailing them a
(26:01):
copy of the podcast. If youhave a New Mexico story that
you'd like to share with us,don't hesitate to reach out.
Our email address is I love NewMexico blog@gmail.com , and we
are always, always looking forinteresting stories about New
Mexico. Subscribe, share, andwrite a review so that we can
(26:23):
continue to bring you thesestories about the Land of
Enchantment. Thank you so much.
I am back
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