So what is chili with an E?
New Mexico's favorite food item is spelled c-h-i-l-e and in 1983, Senator Pete Dominici made it official by putting it in the Congressional Record. He addressed the United States Senate, declaring that even though the word was chili in the dictionary, New Mexicans refuse to spell it the way the rest of America does. He stood before the full Senate and with the backing of his New Mexican constituents left no doubt that the dictionary is wrong! After he praised the virtues of New Mexico chile he went on to tell his colleagues, as hospitable as we are to all visitors, we have chile that is mild enough to make a baby coo in delight, or hot enough to make even the strongest constitution perspire in a sensual experience of both pleasure and pain. He ended by saying, "I could go on and on about the wonders of the red and green chile, but in reality, all I wanted to do was inform Congress on the correct way to spell the word."
(A Chile Pepper institute publication, New Mexico State University)
As the weather cools down, the Village of Hatch heats up! The Hatch Chile Festival is an annual event which is always on the Labor Day week-end.
The festival attracts 30,000 visitors from all over the United States, including the Food Network, to this small farming community known as the chile capital of the world. The Village of Hatch is 40 miles northwest of Las Cruces New Mexico with a population of about 1,673. We spent the morning in the village with all the friendly residents (there wasn't a man, woman or child that didn't have a smile for you) and shop owners, asking questions and learning our way around and finding out where was the best place for a breakfast burrito! We were told of two restaurants, the first one said that they were not serving breakfast, so we moved on to the next one.
At the Valley Cafe, Becky told us that they were not serving breakfast either but since they weren't really busy at the time she would ask the cook (her mother). She came back and said they would accommodate us. It was awesome! By the time we were served our burrito the place was hopping and since it was lunch time I don't think there was a person there that didn't have a big burger with hatch chiles in front of them!
Our goal was to get out of Carefree for a few days to leave the too warm sticky humid weather behind. Las Cruces is only five hours away with temperatures in the low 90's for a high and the low 60's for the low with no monsoon weather and no humidity! It was close, refreshing and fun.
Our favorite thing was a hike we did at Dripping Springs/Cox Ranch located about 17 miles out of town in the Dripping Springs Natural Area.
Dripping Springs was built by Colonel Eugene Van Patten in the 1870s. A native of New York, he came to Mesilla by invitation from his uncle, John Butterfield, who operated the Butterfield Stage Lines. Dripping Springs Resort was originally called "Van Patten's Mountain Camp." It had 16 rooms, a large dining room and a concert hall. It was popular around the turn of the century--Pat Garret and Pancho Villa stayed there. In 1917 Van Patten went bankrupt and Dripping Springs was sold to Dr. Nathan Boyd. By the time that Boyd had acquired Van Pattens Resort his wife had contracted tuberculosis, so Boyd converted Dripping Springs into a sanatorium.
In 1946 citizens attempted to raised the money--$4,000--to purchase it for historic preservation but their efforts failed and the resort was scavenged for building materials by unknown persons. Today, the remains of the Dripping Springs Resort lie scattered along the canyon.
The hike was only three miles round trip but the scenery in and out was just gorgeous.
The Chihuahuan desert meets the Organ Mountains at Dripping Springs where we find the foothills covered with ocotillos with their green branches made almost neon by the sun, the desert scrub, pine-juniper and oak woodlands and other trees that must be ancient, the horizon, blue sky, white clouds and, in the distance, the city.
On the way we found a few friends and the camera was ready! In one area from the distance it looked like graffiti but if you look very close you can see that it is an old century plant that has broken off and looks like an eye.
Is this all that is left after the flower spike falls off? Is it true that the plant flowers after a century and then it dies? The Century Plants bloom only once, the blooming spike is so large ( like a giant stalk of asparagus) and grows so fast it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. The plant is called the "century plant" because of this "once a century" bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years). It was also an important plant to the indigenous people, being used for medicines, fiber, needles and food.
There is so much to see and to look for while you are hiking in that you don't notice that you are climbing up to 6,000 feet from the 4.000 feet of Las Cruces.
The adult female of the Yellow Warbler is mostly bright yellow overall with olive tones on its back and crown, and a plain bright yellow face. North America has more than 50 species of warblers but few are brilliant in color and easy to spot like the Yellow Warbler. In summer the buttery yellow males sing their sweet whistled song from willows, thickets and roadsides across most of North America.
Female Collared Lizard
The Collared Lizard is found in the Great Basin Desert from Southeast Oregon and Southwest Idaho down through Nevada and Utah, the Mojave Desert of Nevada, Arizona and California, and the Sonoran Desert of Western Arizona and Southeast California mainly north of the Gila River.
(Copyright 2012)
