Desert Exposure - December 2017 by OPC News, LLC

exposure Arts & Leisure in Southern New Mexico

Fear and Heroism in Mexico City Page 18

Mimbres Culture Heritage Page 20

Stepping out to Paisano Café Page 31

DECEMBER 2017 Volume 22 • Number 12

2 • DECEMBER 2017

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Annual Giving Fund

Participation Matters. Gift Size Does Not.

A new home? We just found ours!

Wishing you happy Western Holidays

Reaching its 125th anniversary this year, Western New Mexico University has a distinguished history as an institution that provides a great education to a population that often does not come from the ranks of the rich and famous. • One out of two of our students comes from families that have never attended college. • One out of two of our students is not of the traditional age and is trying to get an education while raising a family and working for the betterment of their children.

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• Our students often do not have the financial Two leading names in real estate have come together to create exceptional real estate experiences means to go to WNMU, or have to drop out for buyers and sellers. Known for being a forward-thinking, high-tech real estate agency with agents because of a lack of funds to continue. embodying the qualities of integrity, honesty, extra effort, and knowledge, Silver City now has the Sign-up for our cultural e-newsletter featuring upcoming We want to change that. marketing power of a brand that has been part of the American home for over 90 years. 2018 season of events, lectures, performances, or visual art Now is the time to give. exhibits happening on Real the WNMU campus. Better Homes and Gardens Estate Silver City is changing the business of real estate. Imagine the impact on student’s future. If you’re looking to buy a home, sell your property, or even if you are an agent looking to join us, we Online Event Calendar invite you to drop by our office, visit us online at bettersilvercity.com or call us at 575-538-0404.Donate Today online at wnmu.edu/culture foundation.wnmu.edu Cultural Affairs Better Homes and Gardens is a registered trademark of Meredith corporation 575-538-6469 licensed to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. ®

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This corner lot with views toward the Kneeling Nun, has some creative site development and dirt work already done for you. Well thought out drainage and ponds to compliment a few prepared building sites. The views to the east and great southern exposure make this a desirable property for your new home. Just below street level and the ridge, offers a nice relief from the long summer sun rays. Desirable location at an affordable price.

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Charming home in the heart of Silver City! Open floor plan with wonderful light. Updated kitchen. Cozy den features fireplace and bay window. Spacious COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDING ON master bedroom. New shower in master bath. Beautiful landscaping. Nice area BUSY HIGHWAY 90/HUDSON ST. MOVE-IN for entertaining under the ramada. Fully READY! Near the historic downtown & fenced backyard with alley access, city offices, this 1,200 sq.ft. bldg. has a herb garden, two storage buildings and large reception area, three private offices, room for RV parking. Large laundry with kitchen area, and 3/4 bath. Parking area additional storage room. All appliances convey on the side & front. Take a look!

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MLS# 34868 • $488,000 Some prime horse property just off Mangus Creek, tucked away at a dead end right up against the Gila National Forest. This 15.36 acre property shares a USFS boundary on the west and south boundary . . . . don’t miss an opportunity to own this equestrian dream property. You’ll be delighted with the horse barn with tack room,extremely large shop, hay storage barn, irrigated pasture, Gila/ San Francisco water rights, with electric already existing and pipe fencing already done for you. Just bring your horses, cows or 4H animals and move them right in. What a dream piece of land to build on. Also see MLS #’s 34745 and 34821. Schedule your showing today.

MLS# 34673 • $40,000 Quaint vintage bungalow on quiet street in North Hurley. Large lot with lots of backyard space, carport and storage. NEW evaporative cooler installed in Summer ‘17.

MLS# 34720 • $250,000 5 UNIT COMMERCIAL BUILDING IN THE HEART OF THE ARTS DISTRICT IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN. This iconic brick & adobe property houses a coffee shop, 2 galleries, an art studio & a weaving shop. 4 of the spaces have private backyards, 2BD/1BA ADOBE HOME IN QUAINT and all spaces have a 1/2 bath. SAN LORENZO. RECENTLY RE-PAINTED Scheduled monthly income is $2,200 INSIDE & OUT, & NEW CARPETING IN THE & all spaces are occupied.Come take a BEDROOMS. Sun room, some bamboo look at one of the most photographed flooring, wood stove. 0.23 acre lot, buildings in Silver City! storage shed, private well + septic.

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DESERT DIARY

Jenny Carver has been creating Santas out of clay for 30 years now and selling them out of her home for 27 of those years. This year her clay creations, which also include monks, angels, Mrs. Santas and nativity scenes, will be on display during the Holiday Bazaar at the Las Cruces Convention Center, a fundraising event for La Casa Inc., a domestic violence shelter Dec. 1 - 3. But if you miss the bazaar, you can always visit Carver’s house at 201 Princeton Drive in Las Cruces from noon to 7 p.m. daily, Dec. 15-24 for her open house, with an official opening reception starting at 5 p.m. on Dec. 14. She can be reached at 575-680-6746 for information about her creations. All Carver’s Santas have stories of their own. Pancho Claus, on the cover of this month’s Desert Exposure, “walks the streets of New Mexico during the holidays,” she said. “You will find a fat jolly man in a poncho and a sombrero.”

Busy World

Shopping can be a problem

eerichard shares a little truth, a factoid and a letter from his grandma.

Just ducky Question: Why do little baby ducks walk softly? Answer: Because they can’t walk hardly. Inventors of the Automobile Air Conditioner The four Goldberg brothers, Lowell, Norman, Hiram, and Maxwell, invented and developed the first automobile air-conditioner. On July 17, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 97 F degrees. The four brothers walked into

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DIARY

continued on page 6

Postcards From the Edge Desert Exposure Travels

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old man Henry Ford’s office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter. Henry was curious and invited them into his office. But they refused and instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car. They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 F degrees inside, turned on the air conditioner, and cooled the car off almost immediately. The old man got very excited

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Martha Blacklock upcycles her Desert Exposure (after enjoying the content) while frying corn tortilla chips in her temporary Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico kitchen. Local cooks swear by the classic newsprint flavor!

If you have guests from out of town who are having a blast and reading Desert Exposure, shoot them with your camera and send us the photo with a little information. Or, if you are traveling, don’t forget to share, do the selfie thing with yourself holding a copy of Desert Exposure and email it to diary@desertexposure.com or stick it in the mail to: Desert Exposure, 1740-A Calle de Mercado, Las Cruces, NM 88005.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 5

Contents 4 POSTCARD FROM THE EDGE • Desert Exposure Travels Upcycling Desert Exposure to give it a longer life

Area arts venues listed 18 TUMBLEWEEDS • Fear and Heroism Solidarity in the face of tragedy by Morgan Smith

4 DESERT DIARY • Back on Top Contributors share humor notes

20 HISTORIC PREASURE • Mimbres Culture Heritage Visiting the past at Mattocks site by Marilyn Markel

7 EDITOR’S SISTER’S NOTEBOOK • Someone Else Who picks up the ball when it’s dropped? by Jen Gruger

22 PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK • A Tale of the Tannenbaum Christmas trees, Christmas miracles by Richard Coltharp

7 GUEST COLMUN • Fair Chance Residents should have input by Howie Morales 8 LETTERS • Let’s Change the World Concerned readers address important issues

23 HEALING OUTSELVES AND OUR WORLD •Our Local Star A tale of the sun and solstice by Athena Wolf

9 LOVE OF THE DANCE • Flamenco! From Spain to New Mexico at the Silver City Museum

14 ARTS EXPOSURE • Arts Scene Latest area arts happenings

16 ON STAGE • ‘Photograph 51’ Audition notice in Las Cruces 17 ARTS EXPOSURE • Gallery Guide

31 TABLE TALK • Stepping out to Paisano Café Delicious repast by Mike Cook

ger

33 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS • Events Guide December delights and a little beyond 37 STARRY DOME • Phoenix, the Phoenix Distant stars still waiting to rise by Bert Stevens 39 LIVING ON WHEELS • Too Right, Mate! RVing in Jolly Old England by Sheila Sowder

EDITOR

Ryan Galloway

COLUMNISTS

1740-A Calle de Mercado Las Cruces, NM 88005 575-524-8061 www.desertexposure.com

Pam Rossi 575-635-6614 pam@lascrucesbulletin.com

ADVERTISING SALES Silver City Ilene Wignall 575-313-0002 jiwignall@comcast.net

DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR

Teresa Tolonen 575-680-1841 teresa@lascrucesbulletin.com

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Stacey Neal, Ryan Galloway

Locally Raised

32 TULAROSA TALES • Luminarias Little bags of light by Jennifer Gru-

Fr. Gabriel Rochelle, Marjorie Lilly, Sheila Sowder, Scott Thomson, Bert Stevens, Jim Duchene

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29 RED OR GREEN • Dining Guide Restaurants in southwest New Mexico

WEB DESIGNER

Elva K. Österreich 575-680-1978 editor@desertexposure.com

Retail

28 HIGH PLACES • Hiking like a Scientist A user-friendly wildflower app by Gabriele Teich

PUBLISHER

Richard Coltharp 575-524-8061 editor@desertexposure.com

Grooming

27 WINGING IT • One Grackle, Two Grackle Christmas Bird Count in Ruidoso by Yvonne Lanelli

15 ON STAGE • ‘Crimes of the Heart’ Humor, drama at Black Box by Mike Cook

16 ARTS EXPOSURE • Remembering Reality Deming art, activity brings back Braceros

Training

26 BODY, MIND SPIRIT • Grant County Events Weekly happenings in Grant County

15 ARTS EXPOSURE • Calling all Artists Opportunities for contributors

16 ARTS EXPOSURE • Colorful Trails Studio exploration in Las Cruces

Daycare

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25 TALKING HORSES • ‘Tis the Season Still plenty to be grateful for by Scott Thomson

11 RANCHING LEGACY • Agriculture Recognized Exhibit celebrates Farm & Livestock Bureau

13 RAISING DAD • Taking Medication Controlling the pills by Jim and Henry Duchene

Boarding

24 CYCLES OF LIFE • Giving Thanks Celebrating cycling pioneers by Fr. Gabriel Rochelle

9 OFF THE SHELF • Literary Mountain Porter writes about Tortugas traditions

12 BORDERLINES • Double Sided Living with the dark and the light by Marjorie Lilly

Mis Amigos Pet Care Center

Desert Exposure is published monthly and distributed free of charge at choice establishments throughout Southern New Mexico. Mail subscriptions are $54 plus tax for 12 issues. Single copies by mail $4. All contents © 2017 OPC News, LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. All rights to material by outside contributors revert to the author. Views expressed in articles, advertisements, graphics and/or photos appearing in Desert Exposure do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or advertisers. Desert Exposure is not responsible for unsolicited submissions of articles or artwork. Submissions by mail must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for reply or return. It will be assumed that all submissions, including email letters, are intended for publication. All submissions, including letters to the editor, may be edited for length, style and content.

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6 • DECEMBER 2017 The following is a simple substitution cipher; one letter stands for another. Solution is by trial and error. Solution will appear in next month’s Desert Exposure. Send full solution, or just the Secret Words, to nmsrdave@swcp.com, and be recognized! TIPS:www.nmsr.org/secretword.htm and www.nmsr.org/cypher-how2.jpg

Clue: W = V, V = K

#18

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"H HVJAHCB HE IJC HCEUDYNIB EPB FDNCA DCBO ED EPB OIHBCIB DX GKJCEO - JCY AHWB EPBV ODVBEPHCA ED YD YNUHCA J MUBJS." - AJMUHBKB EBHIP, DC EPB CBZ VBTHID ZHKYXKDZBUO JGG. Use the answer key below to track your clues, and reveal Secret Words! A

Previous Solution: "TO HELP BUTTERFLY POPULATIONS RECOVER, THE GILA RIVER FARM IN CLIFF [HAS] PLANTED MILKWEEDS ALONG THE MONARCH'S MIGRATING ROUTES." - PATRICE MUTCHNICK Secret Words*:”WORTHY CLUB SAVE KING”

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continued from page 4 and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but they wanted the recognition by having a label, “The Goldberg Air-Conditioner,” on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed. There was no way that old man Ford was going to put the Goldberg’s name on two million Fords. They haggled back and forth for about two hours and finally agreed on $4 million and that just their first names would be shown. And so to this day, auto air conditioners show “Lo, Norm, Hi, and Max” on the controls.

Dear Granddaughter

Desert Willow Stable

Frank & Judith Kenney

DIARY

volunteers local cultural heritage music therapy spiritual support

The other day I was in our local Christian Book store and saw a bumper sticker: “Honk If You Love the Lord.” So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper. Boy, am I glad I did; what an uplifting experience that followed. I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, and I didn’t notice that the light had changed. It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn’t honked, I’d never have noticed. And I found that lots of people love Jesus! While I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, “For the love of God! Go! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, GO!” What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus! Everyone started honking! I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those loving people. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love! There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach. I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air. I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant. He said it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something. Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii, so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck

sign right back. My grandson burst out laughing. Why even he was enjoying this religious experience!! A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me. I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed. So, grinning, I waved at all my brothers and sisters, and drove on through the intersection. I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared. SO I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away. Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!! Will write again soon, Love, Grandma

Give peas a chance The Packrat Out Back overheard some interesting chatter at the grocery store recently. A very cranky old woman was arrested for shoplifting at a grocery store. She gave everyone a hard time, from the store manager to the security guard to the arresting officer who took her away. She complained and criticized everything and everyone throughout the process. When she appeared before the judge, the judge asked her what she had stolen from the store. The lady defiantly replied, “Just a stupid can of peaches.” The judge then asked why she had done it. She replied, “I was hungry and forgot to bring any cash to the store.” The judge asked how many peaches were in the can. She replied in a nasty tone, “Nine! But why do you care about that?” The judge answered patiently, “Well, ma’am, because I’m going to give you nine days in jail -- one day for each peach.” As the judge was about to drop his gavel, the lady’s long-suffering husband raised his hand slowly and asked if he might speak. The judge said, “Yes sir, what do you have to add?” The husband said meekly, “Your Honor, she also stole a can of peas. “

January Deadlines

Mon., December 11, noon: Space reservation and ad copy due

Tues., December 12, noon: All stories and notices for the editorial section

I F Y O U H AV E A N Y Q U E S T I O N S , P L E A S E C O N T A C T: EDITOR Elva K. Österreich 575-680-1978 editor@desertexposure.com

DISTRIBUTION Teresa Tolonen 575-680-1841 teresa@lascrucesbulletin.com

SALES COORDINATOR SILVER CITY SALES MANAGER Pam Rossi Ilene Wignall 575-635-6614 575-313-0002 pam@lascrucesbulletin.com jiwignall@comcast.net

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 7

EDITOR’S SISTER’S NOTEBOOK • JEN GRUGER

Are You Someone Else? Editor’s note: I proudly share my Notebook space today with my sister, who, although she was born nine years after me, has always been the one with the smarts, practical gumption and wisdom — my big sister. EKO

he first thing I want to do is thank every volunteer who has ever volunteered for anything I was a part of. As president and co-founder of the Tularosa Arts and History Council, a year-old, non-profit organization, I am immensely proud of all the events and services we have been able to provide our community in that short time. Not one of us is paid to do what we do and we all have a host of other commitments as well. As trite as it sounds, I can only say “We couldn’t have done it without you.” Thank you. The next thing I want to do is call up each person who read the emails, scanned over the newsletters, scrolled past the Facebook posts and glanced at the posters where “Volunteers Needed!” was repeated incessantly and ask them, “Where were YOU?”

I would call, not with judgement, but with curiosity. I really want to know — what is the thing that makes people show up? What turns us from “They don’t mean me, they mean Someone Else” to “What can I do to help?” Let me be clear — I get that the culture of volunteerism has changed. Gone are the days where volunteering was simply a part of being a citizen in your community. Current generations are fraught with the “what’s in it for me?” syndrome and they won’t do anything unless they are rewarded in some way. That said, here is my “ahha!” theory: I think those of us who have benefited the most from the presence of volunteers are at the highest risk of suffering from the “They don’t mean me, they mean Someone Else” syndrome. I’ll use my brief experience as a member of the management team at the Tularosa Senior Center as one example. One of the most humbling things I witnessed there was how critical to the success of the daily operations the volunteer staff were. I can only hope

they know they are included in the group of people I referenced in the first paragraph. People, who are also consumers of senior services, show up every day to execute one small, but critical, piece of the daily routine for years and years and without a single complaint. From driving meals to the homebound, to hostess, to serving up trays and washing them afterward — they came every day and came with a smile. Then, a volunteer would need a day off to visit with family or spend a day dealing with doctor’s appointments. I would put a sign up or make an announcement at lunch and — crickets — sometimes not a one would offer help. It’s not that they didn’t plan to come to the center anyway. It’s not that the job they would be filling in for was difficult or required a lot of instruction. It was because they knew Someone Else would take care of it. That is the problem. We all believe in Someone Else. So, then I had to turn inside and ask myself, what made me show up? I did not grow up in a volunteer-driven environment. I totally fell in the category

of “They don’t mean me, they mean Someone Else.” Then, I moved to Tularosa. I moved to Tularosa and I got worried. I am worried about Tularosa. I am worried about its future and I am even more worried about its past. I have heard that amazing things happened here. I’ve heard from those who have lived here all their lives, “We used to [fill in the blank] every year. The community just got together, and we just made it happen.” Inevitably, that is followed up by, “Now, nothing. No one seems to care anymore.” Well, I care! I want to do those things. I want to make those things happen, but I can’t do it by myself. I need help. So, I ask for it and the same seven to 10 people show up that helped me last time I wanted to do something. Where is everybody? They’re letting Someone Else do it. Turns out, it’s not just me either. Colleagues and acquaintances are also seeing a downturn in the volunteer spirit in their organizations as well. Everything from corporate-sponsored fundraising events for

meaningful, life-saving initiatives to church bazaars are scrounging for help and finding they have to get scrappy in a way they just simply shouldn’t. Because we’re all letting Someone Else do it. In the process of writing this editorial rant, I stumbled across some pretty useful websites and other resources and I have a fresh face and a hopeful attitude going into our next big project. (See the story in this issue on the luminaria tradition in Tularosa.) I am also more sensitive to the “What’s in it for me” component. Volunteers need to feel appreciated and should be rewarded for their effort. I’m excited about the future. Find something you care about. There are a million reasons to volunteer. You’ll find your own but at the heart of it, please remember, YOU are that Someone Else. Jennifer Gruger is the president of the Tularosa Arts and History Council and a past director of the Tularosa Senior Center.

GUEST COLUMN • STATE SEN. HOWIE MORALES

Residents should have input on F-16 plans

esidents of southwest New Mexico are just now finding out that big changes to their quality of life are being planned by the United States Air Force. Thousands of new training flights by supersonic F-16 fighter jets may soon be on the way over Silver City and other populated parts of Grant and Catron Counties, and also the pristine Gila and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness areas, if Holloman Air Force Base has its way on a proposed major expansion of its training airspace. The problem is, residents have had no say in the decision, nor did they even receive any prior notice of these far-reaching changes, even though federal law requires it. NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act, has been the law of the land since 1970. The act declares that it is the country’s national policy to “encour-

age productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment.” It establishes a comprehensive method to assess potential risks, and promote informed decision-making, by the federal government when its actions may cause harm. NEPA requires that detailed information of its potential actions is communicated in advance to local government agency leaders and the general public, and that they are afforded the opportunity to give input. Scoping meetings are initial and formative meetings to discuss what information about the proposed F-16 training flights is available, and what is still needed. As part of the preparation of an environmental impact study of the project, NEPA requires that the Air Force conduct an early, open process for determining what issues will need to be addressed. This did not happen in southwest New Mexico.

Now residents are being presented with a done deal. Like many residents, I am concerned about the health and the crash risks of an extremely beefed up F-16 training mission over our local skies, and the cognitive impairment of area children from sonic booms and frequent loud jet noise. It would be ear-splitting and bone-rattling. Also there is possible financial hardship for thousands of people in southwest New Mexico, including the lowering of home values. There are many potential hazards, and many unanswered questions about the Air Force’s new plans for Grant and Catron counties. What are the noise levels? What are the down-draft issues? For every one hundred training exercises, how many jets will experience fuel spillage or leaking? We need more information about all of that. Sometimes F-16 fighter jets

ditch their fuel tanks when they get into trouble, weighing 160 kilos between them. What would happen if one of them were to come down on a residential area? We have to think of these issues. The economy of Silver City and the surrounding areas is heavily dependent on people visiting the Gila from all over the world. The nation’s first wilderness area, and the largest in the state, attracts visitors who want to experience its quiet places, see its archeological sites, float its rivers, see its wolves, fish its streams, and hunt its elk, deer, turkey, and other wildlife. New Mexicans are just as devoted to enjoying the forest for hunting, fishing, camping, horseback riding, and hiking. All of these activities require a quiet forest and would be disastrously impacted by low-elevation military flights and the dropping of thousands of flares and chaff,

which can seriously disrupt wildlife in addition to the activities of humans. This is especially troubling given the pervasive risk of forest fires. All of us in southwest New Mexico love our country, and support our military and a strong national defense. But the introduction of thousands of thundering jet flights year-round over our region will harshly affect our lives and livelihoods. Can the Air Force really identify no alternative airspace for its new F-16 training mission? Our communities need a full environmental-impact review of the proposed F-16 training plan. In its decision to locate potential new airspace for its expansion, the Air Force skipped the key ‘scoping’ part of the NEPA process, at least for Silver City and southwest New Mexico. Residents’ substantial concerns have not been heard. This is unacceptable.

8 • DECEMBER 2017

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Letters to the Editor Editor: Last month I emailed you some info regarding two separate Military Proposals to fly thousands of sorties and spray magnesium flares and chaff. We have succeeded in getting the comment period extended to Oct. 30 for the Proposal of R-5111 C/D which is the area east of Elephant Butte Lake. If you do NOT want the Military to spray magnesium flares which (have been known to) start wildfires or chaff, please take a moment to email and r e w. g o m o l a k @ u s . a f . m i l and inform him that you do not want this proposal to be passed. Regarding the Second Proposal of CATO, RESERVE and MORENCI MOA (west of I-25 and right over the Gila) the initial comment period has ended but another T or C presentation is planned, and we must be prepared to present comments then. These two proposals are being presented by two different entities within the Military and must be responded to appropriately. Last week I attended a City Council Meeting in T or C and gave a prepared statement. A man also gave a statement and there were other people who did not get to speak who were vehemently against both proposals. The Council agreed (after asking some questions) to accept the military proposal(s). Deborah Martin Truth or Consequences Editor, I am writing you to express my concerns about keeping the recreational use marijua-

na illegal in the state of New Mexico. This choice is keeping New Mexico from financially growing. I am a New Mexico State University Student who has studied and researched a bit into the topics of recreational use of marijuana in surrounding states, particularly Colorado. Did you know Colorado used the legalization of marijuana to bring more income to the state, they currently make an average of over $160 million dollars’ worth of tax revenue off of cannabis in the year of 2016. It is no secret that New Mexico is one the of poorest states in the United States, the 5th to be exact. We are also the second in poverty (20.4 percent) and third in unemployment (6.6 percent). With the legalization of recreational use of marijuana, we could actually help our people by providing more jobs and taxing marijuana like tobacco making a financial gain. Of course, there are myths about marijuana that people still believe such as marijuana kills people, marijuana causes more car accidents/traffic fatalities and marijuana is worse than alcohol and tobacco. All of these are false, there have been no cases of overdosing on marijuana, according to Colorado and Washington state traffic incidents records there have been no increase of traffic related incidents from marijuana. Also alcohol yearly kills an average of 88,000, cigarettes kill an average of 480,000 citizens yearly in the US as well. Emily Portillo New Mexico State University student, Las Cruces

Letters

e would like to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts. We welcome letters to the editor including your opinions and feedback regarding news, events and issues published here. Traditional letters to the editor offer an opportunity to start a new discussion, share your opinions or provide information you believe is of interest to other readers. Desert Exposure reserves the right to review, edit or refuse letters to the editor. Include your full name, city, state and phone number. Only your name and city will appear in print but we need to be able to verify the author. The views and opinions expressed in letters to the editor published by Desert Exposure do not necessarily reflect those of Desert Expo-

sure or its advertisers. It is the responsibility of the reader to research facts/opinions expressed in the letters to the editor to form their own opinions from an informed position. Elva K Österreich is editor of Desert Exposure and would love to meet Desert Exposure readers during her office hours in Silver City on Thursday, Dec. 21 at the Tranquil Buzz Café, located at the corner of Yankie and Texas streets. If that is not a good time, Elva will be glad to arrange another day to meet and you can always reach her at editor@desertexposure. com or by cell phone at 575-443-4408.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 9

FOR LOVE OF THE DANCE

Flamenco!

Silver City Museum celebrates ‘From Spain to New Mexico’

he Silver City Museum is excited to announce that in mid-January the museum will host the exhibit “Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico.” The traveling exhibit will open in January and be on display through May 2018. Known as a folkloric art form that began among the Gypsy people of southern Spain, this exhibit traces flamenco to its arrival in the United States and its rise as an international art form now enjoyed by millions. Silver City now has the opportunity to explore flamenco’s unique and elegant style. By tracing flamenco’s journey from 15th and 16th century Spain to 20th century Europe’s most-cultured cities, this exhibition includes costumes (both historic and contemporary), musical instruments, costume and set-design sketches, playbills, sheet music, posters and more. The objects that will be on display also trace flamenco’s transition to recording studios and the silver screen, which allowed the art to gain a massive popular audience. Handed down from generation to generation, between family and community members living at society’s edges, flamenco incorporates historic dance and music traditions from Roman times to the Arabic period. Fla-

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Roberto Quijandría dressing Dorado de Domeq in the traditional horse gear for carriage. Horse gear by Vicente Rodríguez Robles, Sevilla, Spain, 2013. Shot on location at Estancia Alegre, Alcalde, New Mexico, Nov. 19, 2014. (Photo by Blair Clark)

menco expresses a way of life shaped by a multitude of cultural and regional influences such as the Gitanos (Romany people) of Spain and Andalusian regional customs. This exhibition also examines Spain’s ferias and fiestas, their introduction to the southwestern United States, and the individuals who contributed to making flamenco a popular art form in this country. As the exhibition title suggests, flamenco’s integration into New Mexico’s culture is also examined. This exhibition is the first to show the history and development of flamenco and its treasured role within the cultural en-

vironment of New Mexico. The exhibition is accompanied by the book, “The Spirit of Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico,” by Nicolasa Chávez, which will be available in the Silver City Museum Society Store during the exhibition. This exhibit was organized by the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe and is touring through Guest Curator Traveling Exhibitions. For the most up-to-date information on the exhibit, the reception, and hands-on activities relating to the event, visit www.silvercitymuseum.org or call 575-5385921.

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New Surgeon Joins Gila Regional Medical Center R ural communities all share the challenge of bringing in skilled medical professionals to their areas of need.

Dr. Tariq Ibrahim Board Certified General Surgeon at Gila Surgical Services

Doctor Tariq Ibrahim graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX and has dedicated his career thus far to the service of medically underserved areas and rural communities. He has practiced in New Mexico and served the Navajo and Zuni Native American tribes.

Phone: (575) 538-4187 • Fax: (575) 388-0282

Dr. Ibrahim is joining Gila Surgical Services to work with Dr. David Friedman to continue to provide excellent surgical care here in Silver City. His expertise in General Surgery includes laparoscopic/ minimally invasive surgery; acute care surgery and trauma; hernia surgery and complex abdominal wall reconstruction; gall bladder surgery; colon and anorectal surgery; thyroid and parathyroid surgery; breast surgery; skin and soft tissue surgery including melanoma, sarcoma, and wound care; varicose veins; and upper and lower endoscopy. He provides compassionate and

ethical surgical care through evidence-based practices that integrate the patient as an active participant in the decision-making process in order to deliver effective treatment. “I came to GRMC and Silver City to serve the community and build vital surgical programs that will allow members of the community to receive the best surgical care locally – close to home and their loved ones,” said Dr. Ibrahim. “Patient safety, satisfaction, and successful care are at the core of my mission.” Dr. Ibrahim’s passions are family, the arts, playing and coaching soccer, yoga and travel. He is a certified yoga instructor as well as being a Board-Certified General Surgeon.

Please Join Gila Regional in welcoming Dr. Tariq Ibrahim to Gila Surgical Services in Silver City, NM. Helping Gila Surgical Services continue to provide High Quality Care, Close to Home. ◘

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DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 11

RANCHING LEGACY

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The Voice of Agriculture Recognized Exhibit celebrates 100 years of NM Farm & Livestock Bureau

Earth Matters

A historic photo of the Pattison family of Curry County, taken in the 1920s. (Courtesy Photo)

A show about earthly matters that impact us all!

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eration was formed in 1919. Thus began the nation’s largest agricultural organization. One-hundred years after the initial meeting in Doña Ana County, the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau now represents 19,000 members across the state. The New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, $3 for children ages 4 to 17, and $2 for active U.S. military members and veterans. Children 3 and under, and members of the Museum Friends receive free admission. The Museum is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information call 575-522-4100 or visit www.nmfarmandranchmuseum. org.

of the grass-roots organization, including its programs such as Ag in the Classroom, Women’s Leadership, Young Farmers & Ranchers, Farm Family of the Year, and insurance. Soil conservation, better irrigation methods, and improved crop production were issues on the minds of the 300 farmers and ranchers in the Mesilla Valley who first gathered in 1917. These forward-thinking food producers were following a national trend during the Progressive Era where organizations grew for mutual support and to share knowledge. Popularity of the organization increased as it helped develop marketing opportunities for crops and worked with local extension agents to incorporate the latest research into farming methods. At the same time, farm bureaus were catching on nationwide and the American Farm Bureau Fed-

or a century, the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau has served as the voice of agriculture in our state. A new exhibit at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces celebrates the impact the organization has had in its first 100 years. “New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau: 100 Years Strong” opened in Nov. 3 in the Museum’s North Corridor. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 16, 2018. “We are so excited about this exhibit,” says Chad Smith, CEO of New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau. “The museum did a fantastic job of compiling our history and telling a story that stretches back 100 years. We know you’ll enjoy the vintage photos and the historic documents, but more importantly, you’ll leave with an understanding of the NMF&LB family and how our members have dedicated their lives to ensuring a successful future for agriculture in our state.” The Farm & Livestock Bureau has worked with elected and appointed officials on the state and national level to coordinate beneficial outcomes for New Mexico’s food producers. The organization advocates for farm and ranch families, rural communities, and those interested in protecting private property rights. The exhibit traces the history

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BORDERLINES • MARJORIE LILLY

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ast summer was the first time I got to know roadrunners and their gawky, brazen, flat-footed ways. The first time I really paid attention to them was when a pair built a big nest in one of the chollas of my cactus garden. (I say a pair, but male and female road-runners are basically indistinguishable.) Late one morning I saw a rabbit chasing the roadrunner across the road and zigzagging in between the cholla in the field on the other side. This astonishing scene seemed to reverse the order of nature. Weren’t rabbits peaceable, non-aggressive creatures? It took conversations with friends to figure out that the rabbit was probably a mother chasing the roadrunner because it had eaten her baby. Baby bunnies were appearing around my house at that time. At this age they are the picture of innocence, with a hint of a smile and calm eyes that show its ignorance of evil. Another time, for a second, I saw a roadrunner rising a few feet above the ground and reaching to swallow something. A cactus wren fluttered above him, really mad. I think the roadrunner ate a bird. I began thinking of it as sleazy and greedy. It seemed to be evicting other residents in the garden. It wasn’t something I wanted around. But then I saw the first white eggs under the roadrunner. As weeks went by I rarely caught sight of the eggs or the babies that came later because the parent was so fiercely vigilant. I tiptoed by, reverently. I prayed for the babies and wept when one egg disappeared and another never hatched. The nervy cowboy tuned into a brave protector of its babies. When it became clear they were ready to fly one morning, a roadrunner perched on the railing of my steps. If I came out the door to check on things, the roadrunner raised its voice as it never had—“Don’t you take one step closer to my babies!” He stole my heart.

Patas, the huntress The double nature of some creatures is striking. My cat Patas is another example. She’s getting more affectionate as she ages. She walks by my legs, bumping her head against them, about eight times now, at any occasion. I sometimes wake up with her lying on top of my feet, snoring. She curls in my lap when I read, now that it’s getting cold. There are no end of names I call her. I call her “baby,” “babykins,” “kitty-witty,” “honey,” “punkin,” “sweety pie,” and “beany baby.” But she’s a serious carnivore. This summer seemed worse than any before. She dragged in pack rats, especially, sometimes literally kicking and screaming.

A roadrunner stays watchful in a southern New Mexico summer. (Photo by Richard Fagerlund)

There were also several baby bunnies, which would be left half eaten in the same exact spot on my hall rug in the morning. I think other years she used to bring in an animal every other night. This past June it seemed to happen every single night. I just half-close my eyes and sweep the remains into my dustbin and throw them someplace outside. I also erase the images from my mind of what my little murderer does at night. She looks at me sweetly, woozily, and I forgive her.

Good and bad in Mexico A few years ago, I happened to stop by a little grocery store in Palomas and wandered around to find something to buy. The man at the cash register apparently knew I wrote about his town and said, seriously, “What do you think — are we good or bad?” which embarrassed me a little. But he picked right up again and said, “We’re both good and bad, aren’t we?” and I agreed, with some relief, because it’s true. In about 2012, when it seemed the violence in Juarez would never end, I visited Santa Fe. I went to a store where there was a man who had fled Guatemala in the early eighties. I asked him what he thought about Mexico, and he said, “They’re a bunch of criminals.” I couldn’t think how to defend Mexico at that moment. I was in over my head reading accounts of violence at the time and had a few bitter personal experiences myself. But the number of people who owned guns in Chihuahua State during the hyper-violence was a bit less than one percent, according to the Attorney General’s office. Most people were actually victims of the violence, or of fear. I know a woman (who would not want to be named) who lived in a little town in Chihuahua. She had to warn her mother not to look out the window at night because

it would be too dangerous, she felt. Mexico has gotten a deserved reputation for grotesque violence, but most Mexicans, I’ve heard, are dodging the danger and living lives as unconscious of it as possible. There are two sides to the coin. They’re brave people. Violence is built-in with some carnivorous animals and birds, but most people believe morality and human rights can be taught to humans. In Mexico City pacifist methods have been consciously promoted during big street demonstrations a few years back. During the worst violence in Juarez a few years ago, newspapers reported people flocking to churches. I’ve been thinking lately about this quote by Simon Bolivar, when I think about Mexico and about the rightness and wrongness of what happened in the past decade: “Those who have toiled for liberty in Latin America have ploughed in the sea.” Bolivar was talking about the non-governability of Latin countries. But what I’m thinking about is how any assignation of blame for the drug violence tends to become diffused or splay when seen from different angles. There’s a whorl of responsibility for the awful violence, from the foundation in the eighties of the Cartel de Guadalajara (which became the Sinaloa cartel), to Nixon’s destructive and ineffectual War on Drugs beginning in 1971, and the unpopular drug war of Mexican President Felipe Calderon starting in 2006. There’s also the barbarous violence of the cartel members themselves to blame, and the current runaway drug use in the U.S. Mexico is a country with multiple sides.

Palomas is a haven of peace Palomas is still in a parenthesis of peace, despite the fact that Chihuahua has the fifth-highest number of killings in Mexico right now. This is what is visible to me when I go there these days. Just a few days ago, I was especially conscious of several sweet scenes one after the other. I saw a little toddler sharing his plastic toys with an older, delighted man. I shared a cute joke with a church pastor. A woman I knew a few years ago gave me a big smile. And so forth. What I see, just is. It’s an ocean of peace beneath the surface of events. It’s a good time of year to go to Palomas to celebrate at the restaurants and buy holiday gifts at the inimitable, radiant Pink Store. Borderlines columnist Marjorie Lilly lives in Deming.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 13

RAISINGDAD • JIM AND HENRY DUCHENE

Taking Medication

y father and I have just returned home from an appointment with his

doctor. He doesn’t drive any more. Since he now lives with me, I find myself chauffeuring him around to conduct his personal business. I always thought the older you got, the less you did. Apparently, that’s not the case. At least with my father. I’m always taking him here or there, doing this or that. He’s closer to the end of his century than the beginning and has been diagnosed pre-Alzheimer’s. You might think that Alzheimer’s is something that happens to someone else, but don’t fool yourself, we’re all pre-Alzheimer’s. We just need to live long enough for it to catch up with us. It’s 11 a.m. Still early. He’s studying the medicine his doctor prescribed, and which we’ve just picked up from the pharmacy. “Can you believe the price of this medication?” he asks. Of course I can. I just paid for it. “Now remember,” I tell him, “the doctor said you have to take it in the morning when you first wake up, with lots of water. Or you can take it right before you go to bed, but you have to take it on an empty stomach.” We walk into the kitchen, and seat ourselves at the table. My wife comes up to say hello. “How did it go with the doctor?” she asks. “You guys hungry?” I look over at my wife. It’s been a long day, and it’s not even noon. She can see it in my eyes. “I’m not hungry, sweetie,” I tell her. “Well, I am!” my father pipes up, so she starts to serve him. My father and I continue our conversation. “So I take it when I get up,” he tells me. “That’s right, or before you go to bed. The important thing is that you don’t eat anything before you take it.” “But I take it in the morning.” “Yes,” I repeat, “as soon as you get up, but before you eat anything.”

“I can’t eat anything?” “That’s right.” He looks at the food in front of him. “But I’m hungry.” “You can eat now, Dad, but just not before taking your medicine.” He starts to dig in on the feast my wife just served him. She’s a good cook. My father’s a good eater. It’s a match made in Heaven. Speaking of my wife, she knows the direction this conversation is taking, so she gives me a little wave and makes her escape. I give her a little smile. A very little smile. Chomp, chomp! “Are you sure that’s what the doctor said?” my father says between bites. “I’ve always heard you have to eat before you take your medication.” “That’s true, but with this medicine you have to take it on an empty stomach.” “I don’t know about these pills. I don’t think they’ll do me any good.” “They might.” “And you’re telling me I can take it in the morning or at night?” “That’s right. Take it as soon as you get up, or right before you go to bed. It just has to be on an empty stomach.” “But I’m hungry in the morning. Does this mean I can’t eat all day?” He takes another big bite of food. “No, it means that you take it as soon as you get up. You can have breakfast after that. Or you can take it at night before you go to bed. It just has to be on an empty stomach.” “But I always have ice cream before I go to bed.” I’m too tired to answer. “Well, I guess your wife can serve me less,” he says. Chomp, chomp! And then continues. “She always serves me too much.” He thinks, and then he thinks a little more. “Why can’t I just take it now?” he says. “What difference does it make?” “I don’t know, Dad, that’s just what the doctor said.” “Doctors,” he sniffs, and rubs his

nose in disgust. “They don’t know everything.” “Just do it, Dad.” “Okay, okay. So you’re saying that I take the medication as soon as I wake up.” “You’ve got it. As soon as you get up, take your medicine. You can have your breakfast after that.” “But sometimes I go for a walk with my dog before I have breakfast.” “That’s fine, dad. Just take your medicine when you wake up, go on your walk, and when you get back

you can eat.” “I don’t know about those characters. I tell you, sometimes doctors don’t know what they’re doing.” CHOMP! “So I’ll take this medication right after I wake up but before I eat. After I brush my teeth and take my shower.” “That’s right,” I say, happy he’s finally gotten it. “Hmmm...” he says, checking out the bottle. The pills are small, and the directions are right there on the

label. “...ahh... well.” He’s continued eating throughout this whole conversation, but he’s finally done. And then, in a twist that should only happen in bad comedies and not real life, he gets up, grabs his medicine, and tells me on his way out: “I guess I’ll go take my medication now.” Full or empty, your stomach can visit me at RaisingMyFather. BlogSpot.com, JimDuchene. BlogSpot.com, or @JimDuchene.

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Silver City A pop-up gallery featuring the work of Silver City jewelry designer Ginny Wolf continues for a second year at One of a kind Vicki’s Eatery fossil coral until Dec. 24. earrings with Wolf is showing desert metal, one-of-a-kind, mica and world-inspired etched brass jewelry and are part of the c u s t o m i z e d pop-up Devintage hats. A cember Silver working artist City gallery at Vicki’s Eatery. for 35 years, she has exhibited and won awards across the U.S. For a sneak peek, visit www.ginnywolfstudio.com.

New work at a_sp...”A”(c)e Studio/Art/Gallery features sculpture by jean-robert p béffort.

New work by Jean-robert p béffort at a)s p...”A”© e Contemporary Studio•Art•Gallery, 110 W. 7th St. in Silver City. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Satur-

ARTS EXPOSURE

Arts Scene

Upcoming area art happenings days and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays and by appointment. Info: 575538-3333. The Place Gallery, 201 N Bullard, in downtown Silver City, welcomes seven new artists into its fold. The Red Rover Princess Angel, diverse and an art assemeclectic tal- blage by Marsha ents of Bar- Banas, is one of bara Con- may December ner, denim treats at The clothing fiber Place in Silver artist; Mar- City. sha Banas, 3D collage artist; Meg Streams, award-winning gourd artist; Julie Enos, Silver City photographer; Lynn Welsch, landscape fiber artist; Illuminata Senetre, luminous glass jewelry artist; and Jo Thomas, glass mosaic artist, add to The Place’s fun, unusual and unique creations by Grant County artists. The Place Gallery is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 7 days a week. Info: cydrid398@yahoo.com.

Copper Quail Gallery "Something for every audience"

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Treats can be found at Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery on December weekends.

Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery at 211 A. N. Texas St, in Silver City has decked the halls for the holiday season. Holiday displays and delicious treats are provided each weekend in December. Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery is filled with a large assortment of gift ideas all hand crafted by local artisans. Info: 575-993-8193.

Arte Chicano de San Vicente 2017 at the Silver City Museum celebrating local Chicano artists Dayna Griego, Peter Garcia, and the late Ruben

MARIAH'S

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Gonzales runs through Dec. 10. Info: 575-538-5921.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Fine Art & Unique Gifts with a Southwest flare and beyond from 20+ local artisans all in one place! You are invited to come in and enjoy refreshments every Saturday in December while you shop!! OPEN TUES. – SUN. Follow us on Instagram

CLOSED MONDAY

on the corner of Texas and Yankie in Downtown Silver City, NM

575-388-2646

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Making cookies at Finn’s Gallery Dec. 16 will be a jolly affair.

Finn’s Gallery has a busy December lined up beginning with a new show featuring the ceramics and sculpture of Peter Kaiser. Kaiser is the “in-house” ceramist and he’s got the wheel spinning and the kiln cooking up some beautiful new work. The opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10. The gallery will host “The Art of

Christmas Cookies” on Saturday, Dec. 16 when everyone is invited to decorate Christmas cookies in exchange for a donation for the Men’s Homeless Shelter. On Sunday, Dec. 17, Finn’s hosts a free class on creating Christmas Elf ornaments out of pinecones. The Jewelry and Accessory Extravaganza continues during the month and ends at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Finn’s is closed Christmas Day, but will open at noon Dec. 26. Info: finns406bullard@gmail. com.

Deming A Holiday Gift Boutique is the theme for December 2017 at the Deming Art Center. The boutique will run from Dec. 2-29 and there will be a reception for the artists and crafters from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3. The Art Center is located at 100 S. Gold, Deming. Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Info: 575-5463663 or www.demingarts.org.

Alamogordo/ Cloudcroft The Tunnel Stop Gallery is located approximately, one mile east of the tunnel on Highway 82 heading towards Cloudcroft. The gallery is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m., seven days a week, year-round. There is a large garden room where many different classes are held year-round (jewelry, pottery, stained glass, spinning and weaving, TaiChi, flute playing and more). The building is 5,000 sq. ft. and it is filled with 300-plus local artists. Info: 575-682-5676. Creative Designs Custom Framing and Gallery, 917 New York Ave. in Alamogordo, features artists Cathy Jordan and Nancy Apprill in December. Both are multimedia artists creating art interrelating to New Mexico culture, design and cre-

The works of Cathy Jordan and Nancy Apprill are on display at Creative Design Custom framing and Gallery in Alamogordo through December.

ativity. Cathy Jordan specializes in making pine needle baskets using native pine needles and genuine stones to embellish and add to the design. Her designs are original and unique. Cathy also works with wood carving and watercolor. Nancy Apprill works with pottery and painting. Her pottery depicts mountain scenes and New Mexico designs. She works with oil, acrylic and watercolor, again depicting New Mexico scenes and culture. A reception open to the public will be held in the gallery from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Info: 575-434-4420. Cloudcroft Art Society Gallery is open every Saturday through December. Many artworks ranging from paintings in all media and fine art photography to framed and matted prints, cards, pottery, baskets, dolls, gourds, carved wood, intarsia and painted tiles are on display and for sale. The gallery can be visited from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on the days it is open (look for the signs out front). The CAS Gallery is at the east end of Burro Street where it intersects with Swallow Place, in the Red Brick School House that also houses the Library – the gallery is on the immediate right as you step up to enter the front door to the building.

Las Cruces The Gallery at Big Picture displays the work of Wayne Suggs in “Revel in the Mys-

ART SCENE

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Southwest galleria of unique treasures!

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DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 15

Calling for artists

Left to right are Erin Wendorf, Debbie Jo Felix and Cassandra Galban in a rehearsal of “Crimes of the Heart,” directed by Nikka Zimmer, which runs weekends through Dec. 10 at Black Box Theatre downtown Las Cruces. (Photo by Peter Herman, Black Box Theatre)

Tularosa

ON STAGE • MIKE COOK

‘Crimes of the Heart’

Humor, drama at Black Box in Las Cruces

ix actors and director Nikka Zimmer are in rehearsals for “Crimes of the Heart,” which continues through Sunday, Dec. 10 at Black Box Theatre, 411 N. Main St. downtown. The play, written by Beth Henley, won a 1981 Pulitzer Prize for best drama and was nominated for a Tony for best play. “I first read ‘Crimes of the Heart’ in the mid ‘80s in a class on American drama at NMSU,” Zimmer said. “I tended to look at the world very seriously, so I certainly picked up on the tragedy of the underlying story. “When I saw the movie, however, I was astonished at all the

humor I had missed in the reading. It is interesting for me to look back now and wonder if being exposed to that was a gift which nudged me toward finding humor in devastating circumstances, as that time was one of extreme challenges in my own life. It is such a privilege to be able to direct this play all these years later. “Henley has deftly enabled us to laugh in the midst of heartbreak and demonstrated a powerful tool to, as Meg says, ‘get through these real bad days here.’ “’Crimes of the Heart’ immerses us in the humor through which we are able to experience the resilience of spirit available

to us as human beings,” Zimmer said. The cast includes Debbie Jo Felix as Lenny Magrath, Gina DeMondo as Chick Boyle, Eric Hadley as Doc Porter, Erin Wendorf as Meg Magrath, Cassandra Galban as Babe Botrell and Wake Gardner as Barnette Lloyd. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 1-2 and 8-9; at 2:30 p.m. on Sundays, Dec. 3 and 10; and a 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7. Tickets are $15 regular admission, $12 for students and seniors over age 65 and $10 for the Thursday, Dec. 7 performance. For more information, call Black Box Theatre at 575-5231223. Visit https://no-strings.org/.

Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main St., Las Cruces, is joining in the December Ramble, Friday, Dec. 1, with an invitational exhibit to accompany “Crimes of the Heart” opening at 8 p.m. on Ramble night. Info: no-strings.org.

ic designer, and worked more than 20 years in Los Angeles for advertising agencies specializing in the movie industry. Rimbach has studied both old and modern masters in Europe and the United States. HIs work is primarily in landscapes, bookcase series and his modern abstracts. He is currently exploring landscapes as he continues to capture the rugged beauty surrounding Las Cruces. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday. Info: 575-522-2933 or www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.

• The MERC, a fine art and gift shop co-operative located at 316 Granado St. in Tularosa, is seeking new artists. There are two levels of participation with varying levels of commitment and obligation. Interested artists can email founder, Darryl Willison at greatrepnm@gmail.com.

Doña Ana County • The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery at 2470-A Calle De Guadalupe, across from the Fountain Theatre in Las Cruces, is accepting applications from artists to display their art. For details, stop by the gallery, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily or call 575-522-2933. • Rokoko Art Gallery announces a call for artists work-

ing in all media for an upcoming group show opening Jan. 13, 2018. The event is titled “Opposites Attract” and work should reflect this theme. Submissions are due in the gallery, 1785 Avenida de Mercado, in Mesilla, on Saturday Jan. 6. The entry fee is $15 per piece. Info: A.me at 575-522-5553 • Artists in Las Cruces and Dona Ana County who are interested in opening their studios every second Saturday please contact Artist Kathleen Deasy at kdarts2u@gmail .com. Deasy will be hosting an open studio at her studio, 625 Van Patten Las Cruces, every second Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m. Deasy is hoping to find other area artists who will join her by opening their studios also. Contact Deasy at kdarts2u@gmail.com.

300 N. Arizona on the corner of Yankie & Arizona in Downtown Silver City

OPENING RECEPTION Sunday, Dec. 10 • 2-4 PM FE ATURING CER AMICIST

Peter Kaiser

ART SCENE

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The Gallery at Big Picture, recently relocated to 2001 E. Lohman Ave. in Las Cruces, features the work of Wayne Suggs for December.

tery of the Night.” Suggs has photographed landscapes for over 40 years but when he turned to the dark side and transposed his daytime composition eye to the night, he revealed the sky to us as only the ancient ones might have once seen it — clear, bright, and pristine. Suggs is an award-winning photographer and a Las Cruces native. The show continues through Dec. 31. The Gallery at Big Picture is located 2001 E. Lohman Ave. Suite 109, next to the UPS store in Arroyo Plaza. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday to Friday and 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday. Info: 575-6470508.

Las Cruces artist Connie June Garcia (1950-2017) had a creative flair and a love of art that is evident in her work. Featured in the Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum’s Arts Corridor through April 1, 2018, she expressed her creativity through tile, foil, drawing, contemporary painting, cards and more. Connie began creating her artwork in the 1970s, starting with batik art, which she sold at art shows throughout the U.S. Members of Connie’s family will be at the opening reception, which is 5-7 p.m. Dec. 15. Admission to the reception is free and there will be refreshments. 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces. Regular hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Info: 575-522-4100, www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org. The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, Mesilla, across from the Fountain Theatre, features two local artists for the month of December, Mary Zawacki and Frank Rimbach. Zawacki paints primarily with oils and pastels. She also teaches group art classes in Las Cruces. Mary had a career as an advertising art director and graph-

WE WILL BE CLOSED CHRISTMAS DAY

Special Drop In Events! “The Art of Christmas Cookies” A benefit for the silver city Gospel Mission Saturday, Dec. 16th from 10am to 4pm “Crafting Christmas Ornaments” Sunday, December l7th 2-4pm All ages welcome...

Open New Hours

Thurs. - Sat. 10:00 – 5:00 Sunday 11:00 – 2:00 Monday 10:00 – 1:00 Wed. 4:00 – 7:00 Closed Tuesday For information call 406-790-0573

Laurie & Pat Wilson, Owners

Godddesses by Diane Kleiss

Seedboat Gallery Flower & Flourish The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery features the work of Mary Zawacki and Frank Rimbach to close out the year.

Wed thru Sat 11am – 4pm by appt. 575-534-1136

214 W.Yankie St. Silver City, NM seedboatgallery.com

16 • DECEMBER 2017

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The Light Within @ Common Ground 102 West Kelly, Silver City, NM Custom Glass by Paula Geisler Paintings by Craig Wentz Tuesday-Saturday. 11-4. Other times by appointment.

575-534-2087

ERY

ALASKA AD PO DHE TT

LV E

R C I T Y,

Letha Cress Woolf Artist-Potter 907-783-2780

NOW SHOWING AT “THE PLACE AT THE PALACE” CORNER OF BROADWAY AND BULLARD IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SILVER CITY. email: alaskamudhead@yahoo.com

ARTS EXPOSURE

Remembering Reality

Art show, reenactment bring back the Braceros of the 1940s

culpture, painting, woodworking and performance art will come together to tell a story that is an often-forgotten part of New Mexico history. “Braceros – Melding History and Art” opens in downtown Deming on Saturday, Jan. 6. The exhibit is the inspiration of sculptor Diana LeMarbe of Deming. About two years ago she learned of the Braceros program from friend and mentor Velva Hurt. In 1942, as thousands of American men left to fight in World War II, the program was developed by the U.S. government to provide labor for farms, dairies and railroads. Lasting until 1964, this program provided millions of Mexican workers with employment and thousands of farmers with a way to address the massive labor shortage. Local history buff Raymond Cobos will begin the narrative at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Deming Museum at 301 S. Silver Ave. with a description of the Braceros program and its local impact. A team of actors portraying Braceros and telling their personal accounts will guide visitors as they make their way from the museum to the Deming Arts Center at 100 South

In the spirit of the Mexican Braceros, sculptor Diana LeMarbe of Deming creates clay statues of the field workers of the 1940s.

Gold Avenue for the visual segment of the exhibit. At the center, sculptural works by LeMarbe will be accompanied by paintings by Las Cruces artist Jeri Desrochers and wood sculptures by Deming woodworker Richard Boutwell. The exhibit will run through Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Deming Art Center. For more information contact Diana LeMarbe at 575-544-7708 or Jeri Desrochers at 575-640-9836 or jeri@jerisstudio.com.

Painter Jeri Desrochers has been sharing the spirit of the chile fields for years in Las Cruces with her vivid paintings and her work is part of the “Braceros – Melding History and Art” exhibition and production in Deming beginning Jan. 6.

If you go: Braceros – Melding History and Art Opening Saturday, Jan. 6 1 p.m. at the Deming Museum: Oral presentation and re-enactments 1 p.m. at the Deming Arts Center: Sculpture, woodworking and painting exhibit Show continues at the Deming Arts Center through Saturday, Jan. 30

ARTS EXPOSURE

Colorful Trails

Studio exploration in Las cruces The following artists are opening their studios to visitors from noon to 5 p.m., Dec. 9.

is at 429 Reeves Drive. Take Picacho to Reymond turn north and go two blocks. Info: 575-532-1060.

Penny Duncklee

Betty and Ken Krebbs

Watercolors, prints and cards. Dunklee’s studio is in a farm house built around 1878. Her studio is located at 1201 Second St. Info: 575-523-1889.

Pastels, weaving, watercolors and oils. Studio is at 715 Reymond St. Use the entrance closest to drive to enter their studio. Contact kbkrebbs@gmail.com

Leslie Toombs

Kathleen Deasy

Pastels and mixed media. Toombs has painted her studio walls with clay paint that she makes. Studio

Oils and mixed media on paper and canvas. Studio is at 625 Van Patten Ave. Info: 828-467-9060.

ON STAGE

Audition notice for ‘Photograph 51’

o Strings Theatre Company will hold auditions for “Photograph 51” by Anna Ziegler directed by Ceil Herman at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main St. in Las Cruces. The play is a humorous and moving portrait of Rosalind Franklin, one of the great female scientists of the 20th century. “Photograph 51” is a beautifully written and powerful play about ambition, isolation and the race for greatness. The play deals with the race for discovering the structure of the DNA molecule, as told by a chorus of male physicists

who were part of the discovery. The play is made up of different kinds of storytelling: a choral aspect in which the men narrate historical events from a future perspective; contested narration, in which the men dispute how a moment or event really happened; naturalistic scenes which are in the present moment; and a dream space of “what ifs?” which is located inside the characters’ hearts. Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Needed are five men, for the roles of: • Maurice Wilkins, a British scientist in his 30s or 40s

• Ray Gossling, a British scientist in his 20s Don Caspar, an American scientist in his 20s or 30s James Watson, an American scientist in his early 20s Frances Crick, a British scientist in his 30s or 40s The role of Rosalind Franklin has been pre-cast. A perusal copy of the script will be available at the Research Help Desk at Branigan Library, 200 E. Picacho Ave, Las Cruces. Contact the director at 575-5231223 or nstcbbt@zianet.com for further information. The performance dates are Jan. 26 – Feb. 11, 2018.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 17

ARTS EXPOSURE

Gallery Guide Silver City Alaska Mudhead Studio-Gallery, 371 Camino de Vento in Wind Canyon. By appointment, Letha Cress Woolf, potter, 907-7832780. [a]SP.“A”©E, 110 W. Seventh St., 538-3333, aspace. studiogallery@gmail.com. Barbara Nance Gallery & Stonewalker Studio, 105 Country Road, 534-0530. By appointment. Stone, steel, wood and paint. Sculpture path. www. barbaraNanceArt.com. Blue Dome Gallery, 307 N. Texas, 534-8671. Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. www. bluedomegallery.com. The Cliffs Studio & Gallery, 205 N. Lyon St. and Yankie, 520622-0251. By appointment. Common Ground, 102 W. Kelly, 534-2087. Open by appointment. Cow Trail Art Studio, 119 Cow Trail in Arenas Valley. Monday, 12-3 p.m. or by appointment, 706-533-1897, www. victoriachick.com. Elemental Artisans, 406-B Bullard St., 215-593-6738 Finn’s Gallery, 300 N. Arizona St., 406-790-0573 Francis McCray Gallery, 1000 College Ave., WNMU, 538-6517. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The Glasserie Studio and Store, 106 E. College Ave., 590-0044. Monday to Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Guadalupe’s, 505 N. Bullard, 535-2624. Thursday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Leyba & Ingalls Arts, 315 N. Bullard St., 388-5725. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Contemporary art ranging from realism to abstraction in a variety of media. www. LeybaIngallsARTS.com, LeybaIngallsART@zianet.com. Lois Duffy Art Studio, 211C N. Texas, 534-0822. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment. Original paintings, cards and prints. www.loisduffy. com, loisduffy@signalpeak.net. Lumiere Editions, 108 W. Broadway, 956-6369. Vintage and contemporary photography. Monday to Friday. The Makery, 108 W. Yankie, 590-1263, www.makerysvc.com. Freestyle weaving studio and school of fiber, book and paper arts. Thursday to Monday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery, 211-A Texas St., corner of Yankie and Texas streets, 3882646. Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday - Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Fine arts and crafts. Mimbres Regional Arts Council Gallery, Wells Fargo Bank Bldg., 1201 N. Pope St. 538-2005. Tuesday to Sunday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. www.mimbresarts.org. Molly Ramolla Gallery & Framing, 203 N. Bullard, 5385538. www. ramollaart.com. Moonstruck Art Gallery, 110 W. Yankie St., featuring fiber, mixed media, pottery, and jewelry. 575-654-5316. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday-11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ol’ West Gallery & Mercantile, 104 W. Broadway, 3881811/313-2595. Monday to Friday, 8:30 -10 a.m. The Place is at 201 N. Bullard St. in Silver City. Seedboat Gallery, 214 W. Yankie St., 534- 1136. Wednesday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. or by appointment.info@ seedboatgallery.com. Studio Behind the Mountain, 23 Wagon Wheel Lane, 3883277. By appointment. www.

jimpalmerbronze.com. Studio Upstairs, 109 N. Bullard St., 574-2493. By appointment. 21 Latigo Trail, 388-4557. Works by Barbara Harrison and others. Soul River Gallery, 400 N. Bullard St., 303-888-1358. Monday and Wednesday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Wild West Weaving, 211-D N. Texas, 313-1032, www. wildwestweaving.com. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wind Canyon Studio, 11 Quail Run Road off Hwy. 180, mile marker 107, 574- 2308, 619933-8034. Louise Sackett. Monday and Wednesday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and by appointment. Wynnegate Gallery, 1105 W. Market Street; 575-534-9717; hours are Saturday & Sunday, noon – 4 p.m.; also open for Red Dot Tour, artist showings, and by appointment. Zoe’s Studio/Gallery, 305 N. Cooper St., 654-4910. By chance or appointment. Pinos Altos Pinos Altos Art Gallery-Hearst Church Gallery, 14 Golden Ave. Pinos Altos, 574-2831. Open late-April to early October. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mimbres Chamomile Connection, 3918 U.S. Highway 35N, 5369845. Lynnae McConaha. By appointment. Kate Brown Pottery and Tile, HC 15 Box 1335, San Lorenzo, 5369935, katebrown@gilanet.com, www.katebrownpottery.com. By appointment. Narrie Toole, Estudio de La Montura, 313-7390, www. narrietoole.com. Contemporary western oils, giclées and art prints. By appointment. Bayard Kathryn Allen Clay Studio, 601 Erie St., 537-3332. By appointment. Cliff Gila River Artisans Gallery, 8409 Hwy. 180. Eclectic collection of local artists. Friday to Sunday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Northern Grant County & Catron County Casitas de Gila, 50 Casita Flats Road, Gila, 535-4455. By appointment. gallery@ casitasdegila. com, www. galleryatthecasitas.com. Mesilla Galeri Azul, Old Mesilla Plaza, 523-8783. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Galeria on the Plaza, 2310 Calle de Principal, 526-9771. Daily 10 am.-6 p.m. Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, 2470 Calle de Guadalupe, 5222933. Daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The Potteries, 2260 Calle de Santiago, 524-0538. Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Rokoko, 1785 Avenida de Mercado, 405-8877. Las Cruces Blue Gate Gallery, 4901 Chagar (intersection of Valley Drive and Taylor Road, open by appointment, 523-2950. Camino Real Book Store and Art Gallery, 314 South Tornillo St. 523-3988. Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Cottonwood Gallery, 275 N. Downtown Mall (Southwest Environmental Center), 5225552. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.6 p.m. Cutter Gallery, 2640 El Paseo, 541-0658. Tuesday to Friday, 10

a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Justus Wright Galeria, 266 W. Court Ave., 526-6101, jud@ delvalleprintinglc.com. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Las Cruces Arts Association, Community Enterprise Center Building, 125 N. Main St. www. lacrucesarts.org. Las Cruces Museum of Art, 491 N. Main St., 541-2137. Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Main Street Gallery, 311 N. Main St., 647-0508. Tuesday to Friday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mesquite Art Gallery, 340 N. Mesquite St., 640-3502. Thursday to Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 2-5 p.m. M. Phillip’s Fine Art Gallery, 221 N. Main St., 525-1367. New Dimension Art Works, 615 E. Piñon, 373-0043, 410-9259126. By Appointment. NMSU Art Gallery, Williams Hall, University Ave. east of Solano, 646-2545. Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite. Friday to Sunday, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Ouida Touchön Studio, 2615 Calle de Guadalupe, 6357899. By appointment. ouida@ ouidatouchon.com, www. ouidatouchon. com. Quillin Studio and Gallery, behind downtown Coas Books, 575-312-1064. By appointment only. Tombaugh Gallery, Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano, 522-7281. Wednesday to Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or by appointment. Unsettled Gallery & Studio, 905 N. Mesquite, 635-2285. Wednesday, noon-5 p.m.; Thursday to Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Virginia Maria Romero Studio, 4636 Maxim Court, 644-0214. By appointment. agzromero@zianet.com, www. virginiamariaromero.com. Deming Deming Arts Center, 100 S. Gold St., 546-3663. Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Gold Street Gallery, 112-116 S. Gold St., 546-8200. Open Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Call first to be sure they are open. Orona Art Studio, 546-4650. By appointment. lyntheoilpainter@ gmail.com, www.lynorona.com. Reader’s Cove Used Books & Gallery, 200 S. Copper, 5442512. Monday to Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Photography by Daniel Gauss. Studio LeMarbe, 4025 Chaparral SE, 544-7708. By appointment. Rodeo Chiricahua Gallery, 5 Pine St.,557-2225. Open daily except Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hillsboro Barbara Massengill Gallery, 8949511/895-3377, open weekends and by appointment. Ruidoso Art Ruidoso Gallery, 575-8081133, www.artruidoso.com, 2809 Sudderth Drive. The Adobe, 2905 Sudderth Drive, 257-5795. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. DJ’s Jewelry, 618 Carrizo Canyon Road, 630-1514. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Specializing in turquoise, Native American traditional, New Mexican contemporary and estate jewelry. Earth-N-Stone, 2117 Sudderth Drive, Ste. 14, 257-2768., 8081157. Pottery studio/gallery of Alan Miner. Gazebo Potters, 2117 Sudderth Drive No. 7, 808-1157. Pottery classes, workshops, wheel time, kiln firing, works by local potters. Josie’s Framery, 2917 Sudderth Drive, 257-4156. Framing,

gallery representing regional artists and photographers. LongCoat Fine Art, 2825 Sudderth Drive (at Mechem), 257-9102. Monday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Contemporary Masters and historical works of art. Burnett Interiors showroom. Mountain Arts, 2530 Sudderth Drive, 257-9748, www. mountainartsgallery.com. Daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tanner Tradition, 624 Sudderth Drive., 257-8675. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Quality Native American art and jewelry. Thunder Horse Gallery, 200 Mechem Drive, Ste. 1, 2573989. info@thunderhorsegallery. com. Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Bronze sculpture by Rory Combs, Sarinova Glass and fine art. The White Dove, 2825 Sudderth Drive, No. A (at Mechem), 866-257-6609, www. thewhitedove2825.com. Daily, 9:30 a.m-4 p.m. Authentic Native American jewelry and artifacts. Kenneth Wyatt Galleries of Ruidoso, 2205 Sudderth Drive, 257-1529, www.kennethwyatt. com. Fine art by the Wyatt family. Ruidoso Downs Pinon Pottery, MM. 26465 U.S. Hwy. 70, 937-0873, 937-1822, www.pinonpottery.com. Pottery by Vicki Conley and other area artists, fine art by Anita Keegan and Virgil Stephens.

Alamogordo Creative Designs Custom Framing & Gallery, 575-4344420, 917 New York Ave. Patron’s Hall/Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, 575-4342202, 1110 New York Ave. Tularosa Horse Feathers, 318 Granado St. 575-585-4407. Art, southwest furniture and decor. The Merc, 316 Granado St. 505238-6469. Art gifts by regional artists, books. Carrizozo Heart of the Raven, 415 Twelfth St., 937-7459, www. JudyPekelsmacom. Functional and decorative pottery, classes. Lincoln Old Lincoln Gallery, across from Visitor’s Center in Lincoln, 6534045. Coffee bar featuring 45 New Mexico artists. Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. San Patricio Hurd La Rinconada, MM 281 U.S. Hwy. 70, 653-4331, www. wyethartists.com. Monday through Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Works by Peter Hurd, Henriette Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth and resident artist, Michael Hurd. White Oaks White Oaks Pottery, 445 Jicarilla Drive (three miles past White Oaks), 648-2985. Daily 10 a.m-5 p.m. Porcelainpottery by Ivy Heymann.

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18 • DECEMBER 2017

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Hometown Prints & Cards from Original Paintings by Silver City Artist Lois Duffy Christina Potter. (Photos by Morgan Smith)

TUMBLEWEEDS • MORGAN SMITH

Fear and Heroism in Mexico City Looking at solidarity in the face of tragedy

“E

211-C N. Texas St., Silver City www.loisduffy.com 575-313-9631

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stamos bien, estamos vivos,” Sergio, the security guard, said. “We’re well, we’re alive.” At 1:14 p.m. on Sept. 19, he saw the building across the street collapse “in a millisecond.” Eight people died, but 10 were rescued, as volunteers began digging into the rubble without masks or gloves. A tank of gas had also come tumbling down and got caught in a tree; otherwise it could have landed and exploded, killing Sergio. This 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck just after Mexicans had completed an evacuation drill marking the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 quake, which killed as many as 10,000. I flew to Mexico City on Tuesday, Oct. 3, and spent Wednesday and Thursday surveying the damage and interviewing survivors in heavy-hit Roma and Condesa. As harrowing as stories like Sergio’s are, the reaction to this devastating event was truly heroic. Here is a summary of the trip as well as photos. Ruth Alegria saw a mattress shop collapse 45 minutes after the initial shock.

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Craig and Jorge, the owners of the Red Tree Hotel where Ruth is staying, opened their doors to those who were displaced. “Los refugiados,” Ruth calls them, herself included. Yaya Flores, who works at the hotel, would work her eighthour shift and then volunteer for another 12 hours of digging to look for survivors or to find bodies. When a dead person was retrieved, the temptation was to say, “I have to leave, I’ve done enough.” But others would say, “This cannot be their funeral place; we cannot leave the dead there.” There was an outpouring of help and love. People hung extension cords out windows, so you could recharge your phones and be able to communicate. A pool store put out a sign, “Take a bath here.” Others offered food. “I never want to eat a sandwich again,” Yaya said. She was in charge of a brigade of 25 children from many countries. Uber gave free service. Then we go to the house of Cristina Potter. She was

HEROISM

continued on page 19

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 19

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“I Feel Like I’m at Home!” Marta Patricia Arias with husband Cuauhtemoc

Sergio, the security guard

HEROISM

was screaming, “mis niñas, mis niñas.” This was her first trip out of her home since the earthquake and she was still terrified. “Miedo hoy. Tristeza,” she said. (“There is fear today. Sadness.”) Then I meet Alan Méndez Florián, a renowned chef who opened his restaurant, Pasillo de Humo to the volunteers and offered free tamales and hot food for days. Everywhere we turn, we see cracks up and down the remaining buildings. How much structural damage has been done? Who will pay for repairs? Where will thousands of displaced people live in the meantime? There’s a larger force at play here, however. It is the heroism shown by so many, the same heroism that we have seen during the floods in Houston and the fires in California. Will those acts of heroism and that sense of caring and community have an impact on Mexico’s government? Will it have an impact here in the United States where we are so bitterly divided?

continued from page 18 knocked out of the chair in her office when it hit, but she has a strong house. “Por eso, tenemos vida,” she said. (“For that, we are alive.”) We stop in the Condesa area where an apartment building was sealed off with the yellow tape. A stunned -looking man is standing there with a construction hard hat on as if he were a worker but, in fact, he is Sergio, a resident who cannot go back up to his apartment, even though he has no socks or shirts. Then two young women appear, Monserrat and Erika, both of whom worked in a business two houses away that was unharmed. Because it was only two stories rather than a high rise? Or just the random nature of the earthquake? At a pet food store, Sara Vidal talks of the overpowering smell of gas, the dust, of people running, chaos, not knowing what to do. “Un caos, todo corriendo,” said Lizbeth who works in a nearby restaurant. (“Chaos, everyone running.”) Marta Patricia Arias lives on the south edge of Mexico City and asked me to interview her. More than her personal fear,

she wanted to stress “La ayuda de los jovenes, la solidaria de la gente.” (“The help of the young, the solidarity of the people.”) All sorts of people came running out to help, not just Mexicans. People clapped for them. But, Arias said, “La gente queda con miedo.” (“People are still fearful.”) She is a dentist at the university and her husband, Cuauhtémoc, is a sociologist. They talk about “La solidaridad de los Mexicanos. La gente dando cosas, comida, agua.” (“The solidarity of Mexicans. People giving things, food, water.”) Their youngest son now sleeps with his clothes on, so he can run if there is another tremor. One joke. The food distributed has the symbol of the PRI, the ruling political party, as if always trying to make political points — even in times of tragedy. Cuauhtémoc then says, “En la tragédia es donde encontramos la fuerza.” (“We find strength in tragedy.”) Lourdes, the wife of my guide, Paco, describes the horizontal and then the vertical movements of the tremors. It made them feel as if they were drunk. She was in a car, couldn’t communicate with her children,

Morgan Smith is a freelance writer and photographer located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He can be reached at Morgan-smith@comcast.net.

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Smokey the Mattocks cat takes a break on top of a model of the Mattocks Ruin. (Courtesy Photo)

School children learn about the Mattocks Ruin. (Photo by William Hudson)

HISTORIC TREASURE

Mimbres Cult

Preserving 1,000

he Mimbres Culture Heritage Site (MCHS), a historic treasure in the Mimbres Valley, long known as the old Mattocks place, tells the story of the people of the Mimbres Valley. Through artifacts and architectural remains, archival information and oral histories, the legacy of the Mimbres is unveiled at MCHS. A large Mimbres pithouse/pueblo ruin and two Territorial adobe houses are the focus of the site itself. Humans have long been attracted to the area — because of the Mimbres River and its permanent source of water, prime agricultural land and proximity to the natural resources of the river corridor and nearby mountains and deserts. The people that lived and died at the “Mattocks” left behind bits and pieces of the past. An interpretive trail through the archaeological site, a replica 1800s doctor’s office, a museum with displays of pottery, other artifacts and exhibits on the homestead, ranching and mining eras, help tell the story of the history of the Mimbres Valley. The Mattocks Ruin, a close to 1,000-yearold Mimbres village with an estimated 200 rooms, was partially excavated in 192931 by Paul Nesbitt of Beloit College and by Mimbres Foundation archaeologists in the mid 1970s. Artifacts and other data collected from the site have greatly added to what is known about the prehistory of southwest New Mexico. Archaeologists recovered a large number of Mimbres pottery bowls with intricate geometric designs and naturalistic images. These images, including those of a man whirling a bullroarer, a man and woman sharing a blanket, parrot trainers, an antelope with a turkey tail, frogs, bighorn sheep, insects, bats, a man on the back of an owl offer up a glimpse of life along the Mimbres River a thousand and more years ago. The two territorial adobe structures on the property are some of the last remaining buildings from the New Mexico territorial era in the Mimbres Valley. Research into the history of the houses using archival information and oral history has uncovered fascinating tales about the colorful people

who lived on the property and made their living from the land. Dr. Granville Wood homesteaded 160 acres along the Mimbres River in 1882. He was awarded his homestead patent in 1887. Wood, a practicing physician and prominent member of Georgetown society, built an adobe house, planted a large orchard and 40 acres of alfalfa. Georgetown was a nearby silver mining boomtown. The mining mill was located where the Mimbres post office is today. Gun ports in one room of Wood’s house reflect the era in which it was built — a time of Apache raids along the Mimbres. The Eastern Chiricahua Chihene Apache, the Red Paint People, had seasonally occupied the Mimbres area for a few hundred years before the arrival of Hispanic and Anglo homesteaders. As more homesteaders, ranchers and miners poured into the region, the Apaches were pushed out. As a result of the Apache Wars of the 1870s and 1880s the Apaches were effectively “removed” from southwest New Mexico. In December of 1883 Adolph Bandelier, the pioneering archaeologist, visited Wood as part of his survey of prehistoric sites in the Mimbres area. He investigated the ruin on the Wood property and wrote the following account in his journal: “Dec.28: We called on Dr. Woods, and he showed us an axe, which is of diorite. It has large flanges. There is a large pueblo near his house, which I shall measure tomorrow. On the highest mountain overlooking the Mimbres on the east side, opposite Dr. Woods, there are two circular depressions, and there many arrowheads were found. Metates are met with frequently. The ruins extend to the high hills along the river too. “ Dec.29: In the afternoon I went to Dr. Woods, who gave me his stone axe. We then measured his ruin. It is fairly preserved. There are many very large blocks of stone in it. The circular depression is interesting. On the northwest side, there is a wall which runs partly into it. On the south side, there is like an entrance to it, formed by huge blocks of stone. The ruin is of earth, but there are many stones scat-

Students head out on the interpretive trail through the Mattocks Ruin. (Photo by William

tered along it. The walls of all the buildings were of rubble or cobble, and the foundations frequently set on edge … “Dec. 30: I saw, near Dr. Woods’ … a juniper tree … standing in the midst of a quadrangle of stone foundation. The lowest point [temperature] reached here is +6ºF. Snow falls occasionally, but never lasts. The soil is exceedingly fertile, every kind of vegetable grows splendidly. Potatoes are fine and very good. But there is a lack of water supply, and the river sinks at many places, even north of here. Here it is a clear handsome brook, bordered by willows and

osiers.” Near the end of 1887, Dr. Wood traded the property to Robert Floyd, a health seeker, for Floyd’s Texas property. Floyd died in 1889 and the Mimbres property passed to his wife Kate Abi Floyd. In December 1889, Kate Floyd married Benjamin F. Gooch. Ben Gooch and Kate were reunited, so said the Silver City newspapers, having once been “sweethearts,” but parted due to a lover’s quarrel. Gooch built a larger adobe house, grew vegetables, picked fruit from the orchard, and raised cattle. In 1901, Gooch opened a grocery store and meat

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 21

A replica pottery display at Mimbres Cultural Heritage Center accurately depicts real pieces found at the site. (Courtesy Photo)

Murder on the Mimbres reenactor Michael Barragree does his part during a recent event at the center. (Courtesy Photo)

E • MARILYN MARKEL

ture Heritage

0 years of history

m Hudson)

market in Silver City, selling produce and beef from the Mimbres ranch. Described in newspapers as a “well to do” Mimbres rancher, Gooch bought a house in Silver City, moved his family to town, and leased out part of his Mimbres property to a man named J.D. Ross. On Oct. 13, 1902 Ben Gooch shot and killed J.D. Ross at the Mimbres ranch over a land dispute. Gooch claimed it was an act of self-defense; Ross was armed with a pitchfork. Gooch had a gun. The Silver City newspaper reported the shooting incident and Gooch made the following state-

ment about the killing: “Mr. Ross had several times of late threatened that he would ‘do me up.’ “ Upon the afternoon of the unfortunate shooting, Gooch said “I was at the ranch to fix up some fences which needed repairing and was down in the field near the river for that purpose, when I met Mr. Ross. We walked up the river a short distance in friendly conversation, when Mr. Ross, who was carrying a pitch fork in his hand, began to curse about the ditches, saying I would have to fix them or pay damages. I walked along up the river, endeavoring

to get away from him, as he seemed to be very angry and was using some very abusive language. At this juncture he stepped upon a slight elevation and, having the pitch fork in both of his hands, started to rush upon me and I drew my gun and fired.” Gooch shot five times with his 38-caliber revolver, hitting Ross two times, once in the arm and chest and once in the back. Ross died 30 minutes later. Gooch gave himself up to the Grant County Sheriff, but escaped and fled to Washington State. He rode the train to Salt Lake City, took the name of “Joseph Smith,” and then made his way to Everett, Washington. He confessed his crime to a local sheriff and was brought back to Grant County in 1904. Though never tried for the killing of Ross, Gooch was judged to be insane and spent two years in the county jail, waiting to be transferred to an insane asylum. In the meantime, Kate Gooch had moved to El Paso and leased the Mimbres property to Mimbres rancher Walter Moore. In 1906 Gooch, escaped from jail. A few months later, he was arrested on the streets of Morenci, Arizona and placed in the insane asylum in Phoenix. But he soon escaped from the asylum and reappeared in the Silver City area. Gooch reportedly fled into the Gila Wilderness where he lived as hermit and became an outlaw. As late as 1917 there were reported “Gooch sightings” after guns were stolen from a cabin and a man thought to be Gooch fought a gun battle with some cowboys. The cowboys chased Gooch back into the wilds of the Gila, and that was last known sighting of Ben Gooch. In 1907, Kate Gooch sold the Mimbres ranch to John Bragaw, a Georgetown merchant, whose heir Charles Harris then sold it to Otto Heuschling in 1916. Bert and Harry Mattocks bought the property from Hueschling in November 1922. Bert Mattocks lived on the property until the early 1970s. Many stories are still told about Bert Mattocks, known as “old blind Bert,” including the story of how Bert shot himself in the head in 1917 — resulting in a permanent

loss of vision. Bert did not want to fight in World War I. He passed away in 1973 and the property, after being sold several times, was purchased by the Mimbres Foundation in 1978. The archaeologists bought the property to preserve and protect the Mattocks Ruin, fearing the site would meet the same fate as the other large Mimbres sites in the valley — destruction by looters seeking to rob the burials of grave goods, especially the sought after painted pottery bowls. The Mimbres Foundation held on to the property until 2006 when it was purchased by the Silver City Museum. In 2011, the museum turned MCHS over to the current owners, the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF). Today, the dedicated volunteers at MCHS, led by Kathy Hill, the president of IFWEF, are working hard to “keep the lights on.” Partnering with the Grant County Archaeological Society, MCHS offers tours of the Mattocks Ruin and Gooch House museum, and has hosted hundreds of school children on education days. Students from San Lorenzo Elementary and Aldo Leopold Charter School are junior site stewards as they learn about the importance of preserving and protecting our cultural heritage. Events like the Hummingbird Festival held in July and the Annual Reenactment of the “Murder on the Mimbres” held in October are attracting visitors to MCHS and the beautiful Mimbres Valley. For more information call 575-536-3333 or visit MimbresCultureHeritageSite.org. The site currently open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. During summer hours it is open every day 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Marilyn Markel is the education coordinator of the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site and researched the history of the MCHS. She worked with archaeologists to develop the interpretive trail through the Mattocks Ruin and has given many dozens of tours of MCHS.

22 • DECEMBER 2017

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PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK • RICHARD COLTHARP

A Tale of the Tannenbaum

Christmas trees, Christmas miracles with Henry Lightcap

love Elvis’ version of “Here Comes Santa Claus,” but not on Nov. 5, when it’s 76 degrees in southern New Mexico. Hearing the song in the store, though, put me in mind of a couple of Christmases ago, and a Gila Wilderness adventure with

my buddy Henry Lightcap, when we cut down our own Christmas trees. The good folks at the Gila National Forest sold us our $5 permits, a bargain at twice the price. We were looking forward to the trip, and a steak at the

Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos on the way back. Henry volunteered to drive, and I didn’t complain. I’m fond of his pickup: a multi-colored (mostly rust brown) 1971 Ford F250 with a gun rack in the rear window, a Mexican blanket on

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the bench seat, and a Pep Boys cup holder screwed to the dashboard. Henry had never bothered with a newfangled musicmaker, so it still had a Philco AM-only radio in the dash. When he arrived, I had a Thermos of coffee and sandwiches. I tossed my bow saw and an ax in the back and we hit the road. It was cold enough to feel like December, but not so bitter as to keep us away. Just a little overcast. A perfect day for our mission. At the edge of the Gilas, I tuned in the radio, hoping for Christmas music. I quickly remembered the lousy Gila reception. Nothing but static, buzz and a fading, in-and-out Mexican station. Henry claimed a knack for finding the right spot for the perfect trees. To me they all looked good. Except, even if they look small in the forest, they can still be big for the average living room. I generally have to lop some off the top when I get home. Dang, though, if Henry didn’t ride right up to a nice spot. We’d only have to walk in a hundred yards or so. A break in the clouds convinced us to eat lunch. Henry pulled down the tailgate and we sat with the sunshine, pastrami sandwiches and the last of the coffee. Nourished, we found our trees, cut them and tagged them with our permit stickers, tossed them in the back and headed down the road. We’d gotten a late start, but there was plenty of time to get home before dark. I absent-mindedly fiddled with the radio again, forgetting we were in static country. Henry and I never mind a silent ride anyways. I rolled down the window, held

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my hand out and, plop! There was a snowflake. I showed it to Henry, who rolled down his window, looked up and caught one of his own. How fitting to have a little of the white stuff. Soon, though, it was more than just a little. Thirty minutes in, the wipers going good, we saw headlights. We rolled down our windows to wave and flag them, tell them to turn back. It looked like they were slowing down when, suddenly, they fishtailed and headed right toward us. Henry swerved slightly, and they were in circles, out of control. Narrowly missing us, they flew off the road. Henry stopped the pickup, and we wondered how far they might have fallen. We got out, and could see they had been stopped by some small trees, just short of a big boulder. If they slipped again or the trees snapped, the boulder would keep them from falling farther. We hoped. Calling 911 was not an option. Our cellphones had no better reception than the AM radio. The only hope was a 12-foot chain and a rope Henry had in the back of the pickup. The snow kept falling, and we didn’t know if we could back in close enough to the car, or get enough traction to pull them out. I went to the car to talk to the driver. His name was Luis, and he was at least 80. His wife, Clarissa, was not much younger. In my broken Spanish, and his broken English, we communicated they should stay in the car, but turn on the engine and give the gas when Henry tried to pull. Henry and I fastened the chain, barely long enough, and

• Primary Care 1600 E 32 St Silver City, NM • Primary Care Silver City, NM • Pediatrics • Pediatrics The Family Clinic • Podiatry The Family Clinic • Podiatry 1380 HWY 180 E • Mental Health 1380 HWY 180 E Silver City, NM • Mental Health • Urgent CARE walk-in clinicSilver City, NM • Urgent CARE walk-in clinic • In-house Imaging and Lab • In-house Imaging and Lab • Flu Shots • Flu Shots • Medicare Wellness Visits • Medicare Wellness Visits

TALE

continued on page 24

Bayard Clinic Bayard Clinic 608 Winifred St 608 Winifred St Bayard, NM Bayard, NM

Deming Clinic Deming Clinic 1511 S Lime St 1511 S Lime St Deming, NM Deming, NM

See our website for more services and information See our website for more services and information www.silverhealthcare.org or Call 575-538-2981 www.silverhealthcare.org or Call 575-538-2981

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 23

HEALING OURSELVES AND OUR WORLD • ATHENA WOLF

Our Local Star A tale of the sun and solstice

ec. 21 in the Northern Hemisphere marks the shortest period of daylight of the year. This is winter solstice. A few thousand years ago people built monuments to observe this cycle — Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru among many others — to follow the sun’s path across the sky, to determine the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset. Many people around the globe ushered in the first light of the Sun the morning of winter solstice with prayer, song and music. Simple gratitude for the Sun’s warmth and light were expressed at this time.

Magnetic Storms The eleven year solar cycles have been observed for centuries by sunspot activity and auroras. Today we continue to try to understand how sunspots and solar storms affect us. Like the ocean transports water and heat around the planet, the sun also has a conveyor belt in which plasma flows toward the poles, sinks, and returns toward the equator. As the sun reaches the end of a cycle, new sunspots appear near the equator, and another cycle begins with the production of sunspots at higher latitudes on the surface of the sun. Sunspots sometimes erupt into powerful solar storms that shoot streams of charged particles into space, occasionally in our direction. Solar storms consist of flares,

coronal mass ejections, or both. Flares are the result of the sun’s magnetic field snapping like a rubber band and releasing energy as photons. These photons take only 8 minutes to reach Earth. Fast-moving charged particles follow about an hour later. While brief flares can be compared to tornadoes; coronal mass ejections are more like the hurricanes of space weather. Powerful solar storms can knock out satellites in orbit around the planet. These storms have temporarily shut down Mars rovers and triggered malfunctions in satellites from many different countries. When flares and coronal mass ejections come our way they can disrupt power grids, cause radio blackouts or disrupt air traffic control. The Earth’s magnetic field usually protects the planet from coronal mass ejections.

er method was found to calculate planet position by use of harmonic numbers found and derived from Mayan astronomical calculations.” So, as late as 1968 scientists were still learning from the ancient Mayan astronomers. Astrophysicists have recently discovered that our local star generates acoustic waves (sound waves) at frequencies reflected in the intervals of the planets in our solar system. Five-minute oscillations in the Sun›s atmosphere were discovered. By the 1980›s it was realized that these were actually acoustic waves occurring at intervals of 5, 20, 60 and 160 minutes (Longair, High Energy Astrophysics). These sound waves vibrate according to the speed of sound at various depths of the Sun. You can listen to this song of the sun, speeded up so it is audible, on NASAs website.

The Song of the Sun

Sunspot Weather

Johannes Kepler spent much of his life trying to describe the working of the “music of the spheres” which was a scientific belief in his time and before. His third law relating the revolution of Earth to the average distance from the sun was a result of his efforts to describe planetary motion in terms of musical harmony. Though this may seem quaint today, scientists are still exploring the concept of the music of the spheres. In Scientific American 68.2.1, there is a note that “Anoth-

The highest number of sun spots in any given cycle is designated “solar maximum,” while the lowest number is designated “solar minimum.” Each cycle varies dramatically in intensity with some solar maxima being so low as to be almost indistinguishable from the preceding minimum. The timing of one solar minimum corresponded to what’s called the Little Ice Age in Europe — a time of colder weather, heavier snowfall and the unusual freezing of bodies of water such as the

Thames and the Baltic Sea. Many scientists think that a prolonged solar minima and its corresponding decrease in solar energy has cooled Earth in the past. This dark day of winter solstice we also may be looking forward to the beginning of the next cycle of more light and warmth.

Athena Wolf is the founder of the Escuela de Curanderismo and practices Ayurveda in Mimbres. You can contact her at info@ curanderahealing.com

Fire Report

Over 82,000 acres of Gila National Forest treated in 2017

he Gila National Forest is considered a frequent-fire forest. It is a forest that consists of dry mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine, which has historically experienced frequent, low-intensity fire. Creating a management strategy that will increase the resistance and resiliency of the Gila National Forest is part of the

current and future planning of this forest. In alignment with that strategy are the restoration accomplishments of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017: • Over 14,000 acres of prescribed burning was accomplished in both non-wildland urban interface and wildland urban interface areas. This was accomplished with the assistance of

Silver City Zen Center

many partners. • Over 68,000 acres of land were treated with wildland fire. The result of this restoration work will be a more fire-resilient forest for future generations. For information on the Gila National Forest, visit http://www. fs.usda.gov/gila or join the conversation on Facebook at www. facebook.com/GilaNForest/.

(Ginzan-ji Zen Buddhist Temple) Meditation Practice (Zazen)

Monday-Friday 8:00 am

Zazen, Kinhin & Dharma Talk

Saturday 9:00 am

Dokusan (interview with teacher) by appointment Resident Priest

Rev. Dr. Oryu Paul Stuetzer

Ziryab Ad_hOLIDAY20172.pdf 1 10/8/2017 5:29:56 PM

Yankie-Texas ART DISTRICT

506 W. 13th St. (corner of 13th and Virginia)

575-388-8874

‘

at the crossroads of Yankie & Texas Streets in Historic Downtown Silver City

For easy and natural self-confidence & beauty FINN’S GALLERY

Corner of Yankie & Arizona Open Thurs-Sunday 406-790-0573

Seedboat Gallery 214 W. Yankie 534-1136

Blue Dome Gallery * 575-538-2538

Downtown: Thurs – Sat & Mon, 11-5 at 307 N. Texas St. The Lodge: Daily 9-5 Wed-Sat 11am-5pm or by appt at 60 Bear Mt. Ranch Rd.

LOIS DUFFY STUDIO 211-C N. Texas St., Silver City www.loisduffy.com

HOLIDAY

GIFTS BASKETS

575-313-9631 OPEN SATURDAYS OR BY APPOINTMENT

CMY

SOAPS

The Makery

108 W. Yankie 590-1263 www.makerysvc.com

Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery 211A N. Texas 388-2646

Tues-Thurs & Sunday 11-4, Friday 11-5, Sat. 10-5, Closed Mondays

To advertise here, please contact: Ilene Wignall 575-313-0002 jiwignall@comcast.net

1330 Grant Street (across from Penny Park) 575-519-4704

CANDLES

BATH BOMBS

STOCKING STUFFERS ...and more!

WE CAN SHIP YOUR GIFT

24 • DECEMBER 2017

www.desertexposure.com

By the Book

CYCLES OF LIFE • FR. GABRIELE ROCHELLE

Giving Thanks

In “Bicycle: The History,” author David Herlihy recounts the saga of this far-reaching invention and the passions it aroused in the 19th century at a time the bicycle evoked an exciting new world in which even a poor person could travel afar and at will.

PILATES DANCING STONES STUDIO 109 N. BULLARD • SILVER CITY

Celebrating cycling pioneers

‘T

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is the season to give thanks and this month we do just that. For early pioneers like Karl von Drais who invented a set of straddled wheels propelled by feet on the ground, a contraption that would become the bicycle, we give thanks. We give thanks to those who took the idea and ran — or pedaled — with it to make the bone shaker and penny farthing (the high-wheeler your great-great-grandfather rode); to those who invented the diamond frame or safety bike, to those who invented the platform pedal, to Messrs. Browett and Harrison of England who gave us the first caliper brake; to John Brooks, who, when his horse died, began to ride a bike and, finding the seat dreadful, invented the finest leather saddles; to veterinarian John Dunlop who invented the pneumatic tire to make riding easier for his sickly son; to Henry Lawson who brought us the first rear wheel chain driven bike. We give thanks for Messrs. Sturmey and Archer who invented a planetary gear system and gave us the internal threespeeds many of us grew up with. We give thanks for the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, whose products we loved as teenagers. We give thanks for Tullio Campagnolo who perfected an idea and brought us the first truly functional derailleur system. We give thanks for early American bicycles the Colum-

bia and the Pope and, of course, for Messrs. Arnold and Schwinn whose machines dominated the market for close to a century. We give thanks for Shozaburu Shimano, who began producing bicycles and parts in the 1930’s and whose company now dominates the market in derailleurs. We give thanks for Joe Breeze and Gary Fisher who brought us mountain biking, to SRAM for introducing hydraulic disc brakes. The list goes on and on. We give thanks for the freedom that cycling brought to women, in particular, when they became riders. “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling,” Susan B. Anthony wrote in 1896. “I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives women a sense of freedom and self-reliance.” We give thanks to those who combined the diamond-frame bicycle with the primitive internal combustion engine to create the motorcycle; to Messrs. Harley and Davidson; to Messrs. Hendee and Hedstrom who brought us the Indian; for those who made the Henderson, the Ducati, the BMW, BSA, Vincent Black Lightning and Norton Commando, the Triumph, British Enfield, the great Japanese brands Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki, and more. Thanks for those who invented the motorcycle and continue to improve it. We give thanks for those

products between the bicycle and the motorcycle— for those who brought us the Whizzer in America, that great moped of old; for Vespa and other scooters. We give thanks for those who have brought us the electric-assist bicycle, a growing choice for many urban commuters. To the Bosch company with its superior electric motor for bikes; for all of these inventors and entrepreneurs we give thanks. We give thanks to those who invented folding bicycles like Dahon and Brompton, which allow us to mix forms of transportation. For all these and many more whom we cannot now name or whose names have been lost, we give hearty thanks. You enriched our lives through collapsing distance and saving time. Beyond what we were capable of doing on foot or by horse, you gave us new ways to travel through this world. Finally, you gave us fun and enjoyment and excitement. For all this we are profoundly grateful and evermore shall be.

it again. Even worse. The car’s engine died, and the dead weight caused Henry to lurch backward. I watched the car inch back, inch back and Henry’s pickup inch back, inch back. Then they started really sliding. Henry was turning the wheel this way and that, trying anything for traction. Nothing worked. I stood helpless. I was going to watch this lovely couple, and my buddy Henry crash into the canyon, and there was nothing I could do. I yelled at Luis. I yelled at Henry. I don’t even remember what I said, if it was English or Spanish. Probably a half-goodbye and a half-prayer. Just then, the whole forest lit up. It was as if something had exploded, but there was no sound and no fire. The light seemed to come from above, but was so bright I couldn’t look up. Luis’ engine re-started, and Henry gained traction. Quickly, they were both moving out of danger. We told the couple to lead the way. We would follow them all the way home, to make

sure they were safe. For the first half hour, Henry and I sat wordlessly in the cab. Forgetting the reception issue, I turned on the radio. Much to our surprise, a song appeared. Nat Cole, singing “The Christmas Song.” Remaining silent, we looked at each other. We were dressed up like eskimos, and we would find it hard to sleep that night.

Fr. Gabriel Rochelle is pastor of St Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Mission, Las Cruces, an avid cyclist and secretary for Velo Cruces, the local advocacy group; see Velocruces.org. The church is at http://stanthonylc.org.

575-538-1256 carolwatsonbrand@gmail.com

Carol L. Watson-Brand Fully Certified Pilates Instructor

Plea s e su w it h yo u r C h r i s tm a s t r e e p u r c h a s e ! !

High quality fresh-cut Christmas Trees

FOR SALE!

Mon.— Fri. 8 — 4:30

5-6’ and 6-7’ trees available We accept credit & debit cards

Please contact Life Quest for more information:

575-388-1976

For Sale at 907 Pope St. Silver City, NM 88061 (575) 388-1976 • www.lifequestnm.org All proceeds go to supporting our programs: providing support services to individuals, children and families with or at risk for developmental disabilities or delays.

TALE

continued from page 22 the rope. We were soaked by the snow. Henry got in the pickup and I stayed outside, in view of both drivers so I could give directions. I gave a count of three to gun it. Unfortunately, Luis somehow got it into reverse and went six feet back, pulling the pickup with him and flattening the small trees, before both vehicles stopped. I heard a creak and a crack, and the boulder we thought was our safety net tumbled down the ravine. Now, if something went wrong, both the car and the truck could tumble down next. I got everyone back on track, making sure both vehicles were in Drive this time. On the count of three, both gunned it, but neither moved forward. Because of the slick surfaces, Henry went left and Luis went right. I yelled to keep gunning until I worried the chain would break. They stopped and I had Henry back up, to get better in line with the car. We readied for another count of three, and they gunned

The above is a work of fiction, based on real experiences in Grant, Otero and Doña Ana counties in New Mexico. Richard Coltharp is publisher of Desert Exposure. And while he does like Elvis’ version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” he really, really likes Elvis’ “Santa Claus is Back in Town.” Coltharp can be reached at richard@ lascrucesbulletin.com.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 25

TALKING HORSES • SCOTT THOMSON

’Tis the Season…

There is still plenty to be grateful for

sually this is the month I like to sit down and give thanks for all the good things that have happened in my little corner of the horse world over the past year, as well as some of the great experiences I’ve had during my long journey with horses. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been that kind of year, so finding the sunshine through the clouds has been a challenge. The year started with the loss of our wonderful Morgan horse, Revere – not from illness, old age or some tragic accident but from a human-caused event that proved many horse owners have no understanding of and knowledge about the nature of horses and their behavior, or their responsibility for seeing the world through the horse’s eyes. This was a loss we’ll never forget. This event had an immediate impact on my training business as this horse was at the center of all our teaching. As any small businessman in a small town will tell you, a sudden drop in revenue from an unexpected, and in this case, totally unnecessary event can make survival tough. When you lose your star player in any business, it takes a lot of work and energy to get things back on track. Then I was forced to make a decision about my horse Cody, who was now alone and not likely to graciously accept any new horse after 15 years with his best friend. I had to give him what I’d always promised, retirement while in perfect health so he could spend the rest of his years doing what horses are supposed to do. I had to think about an unplanned redesign of my property – a property that functioned perfectly for 11 years without a single pasture injury or escape – because it was set-up for horses that were buddies. Then there was the task and enormous cost of finding horses of the quality of what we had, horses equally good on the trails and in the arena, doing western work or dressage. There aren’t many of those out there, people generally don’t sell them, and they take years to develop if starting from scratch. On top of all this, I lost my brother to cancer, my sister took a big hit from the hurricanes in Florida and we had numerous close friends affected by the fires in California. A tough year by anybody’s standards. But, a conversation with a horse owner during a recent trip through New England made me realize just how far I’ve come with horses, how lucky I’ve been and, after listening to her tales of incompetent trainers and bad techniques, how much more I’d like to do.

As bad as things have been, horses still bring great joy and there is much to be thankful for if I looked a little harder. Things like: Eohippus, a little rabbit-like animal about 12 inches tall that lived almost 60 million years ago, that evolved into the magnificent horses of today. Amazing horseman like the Dorrance brothers, Ray Hunt, Monte Roberts and too many others to name who resurrected training techniques and philosophies, literally thousands of years old, that put the needs of the horse first, and for inspiring the next generations of horse men and women to continue their work. The continuing influence of science and research on how we care for our horses. New innovations in shoeing, saddles, nutrition, training, fitness and general healthcare are giving us more options to help our horses live longer, more productive and healthier lives. We still have people willing to be large animal vets. It can be a dangerous, frustrating and not always lucrative profession, but we’d be lost without them. I have helped one of our vets with the sad but necessary end of life decision for too many old horses this year. The kindness and compassion that went into a very physical task was extraordinary. The danger was also obvious as some of these horses, before galloping off to horse heaven to run free with the herd in endless green pastures, perhaps thinking they will never have to see a vet, farrier or trainer again, might like to take one last shot – maybe a final reminder that all horses still have wildness in their hearts and souls. So many volunteer fire and rescue personnel are also horse people. We’ve seen a steady stream of natural disasters and the resulting hardships for people and animals. But, I sleep a little bit better knowing that the people we count on to help us in an emergency truly understand how important our horses are to us. Riders who take the time to do some PR when out on the trails. I know it is hard to believe, but not everyone loves horses, understands their behavior or likes to share a trail or campsite with them. It never hurts to stop and chat, give a little free education or promote our cause. Hikers and bikers who know something about horses, letting you know they’re coming, not hiding behind trees and controlling their dogs. Ken Jones, one of the best horseman I’ve met, who after watching me work with an unhandled weanling at his ranch

in CO, when I was so green I wasn’t even sure which end the food went in or which end the poop came out, said I had a feel and touch that couldn’t be taught. Didn’t have any idea what he meant or what it would lead to, but he was the first person who opened the door to horses for me. Pat Parelli, who wrote a note to my wife 17 years ago saying “mere mortals can do this work with horses, even blondes like you!” That started us on our family journey. Dennis Reis, who after my first clinic at his ranch could have easily said, “sell your horse and don’t ever come back here again.” Yes, it was that bad. Instead, he said “there is a good horse deep inside of your horse, and if you can reach him, given his past and issues, you’ll be a great hand and on your way to being an accomplished horseman.” Two years later he took me and my horse on the road, and wanted to make me head of his business. None of what I’ve accomplished since would have ever happened without his encouragement and patience. All the troubled, abused, neglected and frustrated horses that have let me into their lives, in the process confirming everything I’ve been taught and learned about horses, especially the power of natural horsemanship. “They’re all good for something” was a powerful line in the movie “Seabiscuit,” and time and time again I’ve seen this to be true. My wife, who when she called me from a castle in Ireland, where she was riding on beaches and in countryside too beautiful to be believed, and I gave her the news that I bought my first horse without consulting her, she didn’t hop the next plane home to check my sanity but looked forward to the journey we were starting together. Cody and Revere, our two wonderful horses, no longer with us. Through endless clinics, shows and demos, they showed great patience with students of all levels, and were always willing to help train other horses when I needed the power and wisdom of an equine assistant. They let me try out new techniques and ideas and practice my craft with, usually, few objections. They proved the idea of true partnership with a horse is not just a clever marketing phrase. They gave us just one sprained ankle and two broken ribs in 17 years of riding, teaching and playing, not bad given the nature of the activity and what we asked of them. With no special skills or fancy breeding, they were all we could ever want. Maybe the only way for me

to look back on a year like this is to think of it like the old approach of “income averaging” on your tax returns – some years are great, some not so good. But, if you have horses in your life in some way, then on average life is pretty good and worthy of thanks. Happy Holidays to all, human and horse alike!

Scott Thomson lives in Silver City and teaches natural horsemanship and foundation training. You can contact him at hsthomson@ msn.com or 575-388-1830.

Robert Pittman

Certified Advanced R O L F E R ® Center for Healing Arts, 300 Yankie St., Silver City

Appointment or free consultation:

575-313-4379

TWO LEGGED: PRIVATE APPT. AVAILABLE

WALK-IN CLINIC

T & TH: 9 - 11:30AM & 1-2PM

575-519-2724 FOUR LEGGED:

Adjusting horses & dogs by appointment

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Silver Alternative Medicine PA Dr. Paul Stuetzer, PH.D., DOM Physician Karen Prevost M.A., Medical Assistant Acupuncture, Chinese Medicinals & Herbs, Homeopathic & Naturopathic Medicine. Family Practice specializing in Pain Relief, Headaches, Allergies, Nutritional Deficiencies, Immune Disorders, Nervous System Disorders & Lifestyle Counseling.

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506 W13th street, one block from WNMU, corner of Virginia, Silver City, NM 88061

Office:

575-388-8858

26 • DECEMBER 2017

www.desertexposure.com

BODY • MIND • SPIRIT

Grant County Weekly Events pot-luck dinner at 6 p.m., convening for business at 7 p.m. Locations vary. 5363092, whudson43@yahoo. com. Babytime Sing & Play — 1 p.m., Silver City Public MONDAYS Library, 515 W. College AARP Widowed and Single Avenue. Stories, songs, Persons of Grant County rhymes and movement for —10:30 a.m., second infants 0-12 months and Monday, Cross Point their caregivers. Free, no Assembly of God Church. All registration necessary. 538singles welcome. Contact 3672 or ref @silvercitymail. Sally, 537-3643. com. Al-Anon family group, New Back Country Horsemen — 6 Hope —12:05 p.m., First p.m., second Wednesday, Presbyterian Church, 20th WNMU Watts Hall, opposite and Swan St., Silver City. Professional Massage CVS Pharmacy, Hwy. 180. Open meeting. Foot Contact: 534Subject to change. 574-2888. 4866 or 574-2311. Profound Relaxation A Course in Miracles — Meditation for Beginners — Malika Crozier, C.R. 7:15 p.m., 600 N. Hudson. 5:30 p.m., Lotus Center, 211 Information, 534-9172 or W. Broadway. Jeff, 956-6647. 575-534-9809 534-1869. www.lotuscentersc.org. By appointment...Silver City, NMFuture Engineers — 4-5 p.m. Silver City Squares — Dancing Silver City Public Library, 7-9malikacrozier@gmail.com p.m., Presbyterian Young Living Essential Church, 1915 Oils N. Independent Swan St. Dist. #2107515 W. College Avenue. Free Compliments all Healing Modalities creative construction fun with Kay, 388-4227, or Linda, Lego, K’NEX, and Strawbees! 534-4523. For children ages 6-12, no registration necessary. 538TUESDAYS 3672 or ref@silvercitymail. Alzheimer’s/Dementia com. Support —1:30 p.m., First Gilawriters — 1:00-3 p.m., Tuesday, Senior Center. Silver City Food Co-op’s Margaret, 388-4539. Market Café Community Bayard Historic Mine Tour Room, 615 N. Bullard St. —9:30 a.m., Second Contact Trish Heck, trish. Tuesday, meet at Bayard City heck@gmail.com or call 534Hall, 800 Central Ave. $5 fee 0207. covers two-hour bus tour of Gin Rummy —1 p.m. at historic mines plus literature Tranquil Buzz, corner of and map. Call 537-3327 for Yankie and Texas Streets in reservation. Silver City. Figure/Model Drawing — 4-6 Grant County Democratic p.m. Contact Sam, 388Party —5:30 p.m., potluck; 5583. First Tuesday, 6 p.m. 6:20 p.m., meeting, second at the headquarters, next to Wednesday, Sen. Howie the Chevron/Snappy Mart in Morales’ building, 3060 E. Arenas Valley. Dan Larson, Hwy. 180. 654-6060. 654-4884. Ladies Golf Association — 8 Multiple Sclerosis Support a.m. tee time, Silver City Golf Group — 11:30 a.m., first Course. Tuesday at a local restaurant; Prostate Cancer Support email for this month’s Group —6:30 p.m., third location: huseworld@yahoo. Wednesday, Gila Regional com. Medical Center PFLAG Silver City — First Conference Room. 388-1198 Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the ext. 10. Unitarian Universalist Storytime — 10:30 a.m., Silver Fellowship, 3845 N. Swan. City Public Library, 515 W. Confidential support for College Avenue. For children LGBTQ persons and their ages 0-5, no registration families. 575-590-8797. necessary. 538-3672 or ref@ Republican Party of Grant silvercitymail.com. County — 6 p.m., second Grant County Federated Monday, 3 Rio de Arenas Republican Women – 11:30 Road (the old Wrangler a.m., Third Wednesday, restaurant). WNMU Cafeteria, Sunset Slow Flow Yoga — 11:30 a.m.Room. 313-7997. 12:45 p.m., Lotus Center, 211 W. Broadway, Becky Glenn, THURSDAYS 404-234-5331. ARTS Anonymous —5:30 Southwest New Mexico p.m., Unitarian Universalist Quilters Guild – 9:30 a.m., Fellowship, 3845 N. Swan St. first Tuesday, Grant County Artists recovering through the Extension Office, 2610 N. 12 Steps. 534-1329. Silver Street, North entrance. Blooming Lotus Meditation Newcomers and visitors are — 5:30 p.m., Lotus Center, welcome. 388-8161. 211 W. Broadway. 313-7417, geofarm@pobox.com. WEDNESDAYS De-stressing Meditations Al-Anon family group — 6 — Noon-12:45 p.m., New p.m., Arenas Valley Church Church of the SW Desert, of Christ, 5 Race Track Road, 1302 Bennett St. 313-4087. Arenas Valley Grant County Rolling Stones (the old radio station). Open Gem and Mineral Society meeting. Contact: Karen 313—6 p.m., second Thursday, 7094 Senior Center, 204 W. Archaeology Society — 6 Victoria St. Kyle, 538-5706. p.m., third Wednesday every Historic Mining District & month, October-March at Tourism Meeting — 10 a.m., the Woman’s Club, 313 second Thursday, Bayard Hwy. 180; April-September Community Center, 290 meeting begins with a SUNDAYS Archaeology Society — First Sunday of every month, field trip. 536-3092, whudson43@ yahoo.com.

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Enjoy the warmth & love shared this time of year & best wishes for prosperous 2018.

“Come and take the waters.”

Reflexology

Hurley Ave., Bayard. 5373327. Little Artist Club — 10:3011:30 a.m., Silver City Public Library, 515 W. College Avenue. Free creative fun for children ages 0-5. No registration necessary. 5383672 or ref@silvercitymail. com. TOPS — 5 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, 1915 Swan, 538-9447. Vinyasa Flow Yoga — 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., Lotus Center at 211 W. Broadway, Becky Glenn, 404-234-5331. WildWorks Youth Space — 4 p.m. For children ages 10+ Space for youth to hang out, experiment, create and more. Free, no registration necessary. Silver City Public Library, 515 W. College Avenue, 538-3672 or ref@ silvercitymail.com. Yoga class — Free class taught by Colleen Stinar. 1-2 p.m. Episcopal Church fellowship hall, Seventh and Texas. 574-5451. FRIDAYS Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group — 10:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m., First Friday, Hidalgo Medical Center. Ask at the front desk for the room number. 388-4539. Free senior care service available from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Silver City Senior Center. Call Gigi at 388-1319 for more information. Overeaters Anonymous — 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church. 654-2067. Silver City Woman’s Club — 10:30 a.m., second Friday, 411 Silver Heights Blvd. Monthly meeting, lunch is at noon. Lucinda, 313-4591. Women’s Al-Anon Meeting: Women Embracing Recovery — 5:30 p.m., La Clinica Health and Birth Center, 3201 Ridge Loop, Silver City. Contact: 3137094 or 313-1032 SATURDAYS Alcoholics Anonymous “Black Chip” —11 a.m.noon, First United Methodist Church. Double Feature Blockbuster Mega Hit Movie Night — 5:30-11 pm., Satellite/ Wellness Coalition. Evening Prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition — 5 p.m., Theotokos Retreat Center, 5202 Hwy. 152, Santa Clara. 537-4839. Kids Bike Ride — 10 a.m., Bikeworks, 815 E. 10th St. Dave Baker, 388-1444. Narcotics Anonymous — 6 p.m., New 180 Club, 1661 Hwy. 180 E. Spinning Group — 1-3 p.m., First Saturday, Yada Yada Yarn, 614 N. Bullard, 3883350. Vinyasa Flow Yoga — 1011:30 a.m., Lotus Center, 211 W. Broadway. All levels. Becky Glenn, 404-234-5331. All phone numbers are area code 575 except as noted. Send updates to events@ desertexposure.com.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 27

WINGING IT • YVONNE LANELLI

One Grackle, Two Grackle

f course, Christmas means holidays, parties, presents, trees and fun. But birders add one more item to their Christmas list: National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, called “CBC.” Does that mean that birders spend all of Dec. 25 out in the fields with binoculars, looking and listening? Not exactly. Before I tell you what Christmas Bird Count’s really like, you’ll want to know two things: why a Bird Count and why during Christmas? “The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies … to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America … [and] provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years,” according to the Audubon

This flock of great-tailed grackles surprised us since Audubon says they don’t like this altitude. (Photos by Yvonne Lanelli)

website. Lofty goals, but then, wildlife health is critical to human health. So, again from the website, “Audubon shares data with the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and others, providing modeling for strategies to protect birds and their habitat,

and environmental issues with implications for people as well.” Why Christmas? It is an early-winter bird census, conducted during a three-week period every year between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. Thousands of volunteers across the United States, Canada, and many countries in the

Western Hemisphere pick one day during that three-week period and go out to count birds. It’s fun! Last Dec. 28, I became a CBC-er for the first time with my group, Lincoln County Bird Club. As a novice, I was paired with Anita Powell, experienced birder and founder of LCBC. Our “territory” included Ruidoso at the Chamber of Commerce along River Walk, Carrizo Canyon, Ruidoso Downs near the river and Paradise Canyon. Across the county, other LCBC members worked in pairs along their designated paths and territories. Although we were keen to see and record species, the weather didn’t cooperate. It was cold and overcast. Bird identification proved a challenge, even with strong field glasses. Anita also speculated that strong, sustained winds the week before had resulted in many species seeking refuge

outside their usual locations. Nevertheless, we sat patiently inside Anita’s car and waited by water’s edge. Whenever we saw movement, we trained our field glasses and as soon as Anita made a definite ID, I marked it off on our pre-printed species list provided by Audubon. We counted species and the number of birds in each species. It was slow going. I wondered how other members in the rest of the county were faring. Was the weather as bad there as here? In between sightings, Anita filled me in on our Club’s CBC history. “We’ve participated every year since 1995 with the exception of 2015 when weather prevented anyone from getting out,” she said. Since 1995, the year LCBC was founded, the total number of birds counted ranged from a low

GRACKLE

continued on page 28

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he Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks National Monument has gotten a lot of attention lately, not only in this column, but everywhere. And thanks to Carrie Hamblen and the Green Chamber of Commerce in Las Cruces, we are also including the business community in the monument. Here in Las Cruces we are able to get everything from a coffee blend to locally grown wines and clothing with the Organ Mountains prominently displayed in the logo. Yet, when actual hikes are discussed the focus is almost exclusively on the Dripping Springs and Solidad and Baylor Canyon areas and maybe Aguirre Spring. Today I want to introduce you to a lesser known little hike in the southern part of the Monument: Peña Blanca. To get there, take the Mesquite exit off I-25, turn left towards the mountains and go straight on for 4.7 miles. The road pretty soon turns from asphalt to dirt, but is well-graded and should be no problem even for a regular vehicle without all-wheel drive. You

will go under two sets of power lines. Park in the little area to the left of the road and head towards the closest (and littlest hill) to the East. Trust me, it’s not even as high as A-Mountain (aka Tortugas). And you don’t have to go up, although that is an option. To hike it, stay on the jeep road that turns to the left here or take the Sierra Vista trail which passes by, but if you decide on the latter you will have to “bushwhack” closer to the mountain eventually. The vegetation is thin enough here; it shouldn’t pose a problem. The jeep trail circumvents the mountain almost entirely. Only on the south side will you be forced to find your own trail for a few hundred yards. But that is the most interesting side, anyway. I recommend scrambling up halfway to explore the caves used by Native Americans. You will even find some petroglyphs here. Maybe cave is too strong a word here; let’s call them overhangs. They did offer great protection from the elements — and continue to do that for us today.

We were lucky and didn’t need them for shelter on our hiking day. The whole circle route took us less than 90 minutes. It will be a bit more if you decide to make your way to the top, but not significantly. So you see, it’s a little hike indeed, but a nice way to get out and away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Take your four-legged friends along. They have permission to be here — better on a leash though, because there’s lots of wildlife here as well. As always, take enough water, wear sturdy shoes and block out the sun with sunscreen and a hat. Enjoy the outdoors!

conditions suffice? When I’d taken a dozen images, we drove on. Later that day, all of us met at a local eatery to warm up and turn in our lists. To our chagrin, the cold overcast had indeed hampered sightings and IDs. But, LCBC members are a dedicated group and had diligently kept after it. Members reported many of the usual suspects, including Western Bluebirds and Mountain Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, Common Ravens, American Crows, Song Sparrows, Steller’s Jays and Dark-eyed Juncos. A thrill was sighting five Bald Eagles and two Golden Eagles. Other raptors included Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks. Many species of waterfowl made the count, including 31 Canada geese, 327 American Wigeons, 144 Mallards, two Northern Shovelers and more. Doves and pigeons were well-represented with 103 Rock Pigeons, 32 Eurasian-collared Doves, 17 White-winged doves and two Mourning Doves.

“We recorded 52 species!” Anita reported, looking up from her calculator. “And 2,611 individuals!” Not as high as many previous years, but impressive nevertheless. All data was reported to National Audubon Society (www.audubon.org/join-christmas-bird-count) and also put on our website, www. lincolncountybirdclub.com. And we’re excited for our 2017 count tentatively planned for Saturday, Dec. 30. Maybe the weather will cooperate this time. Should you find yourself in the Ruidoso area on Dec. 30 and would like to count with us email jw_e@beyondbb.com or call 575937-5416. Chances are good that wherever you live, groups of birders are out one day during that three-week period doing their bit for world health. It’s one more fun thing to do over the holidays!

Of German origin, Gabriele Teich has called Las Cruces her home for almost 20 years — and loved every minute of it, hiking the mountains in the immediate surrounding area and all over this beautiful state.

GRACKLE

continued from page 27 of 1,637 individuals in 2010 to the high of 4,222 in 2005. The number of species ranged from 49 species in 2012 to 75 in 2012. How would the weather affect this year’s numbers? But the birds had a surprise for us. As we drove slowly through a residential area behind the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack, Anita spotted a flock of medium-sized black birds with large tails. She stopped, and we trained our field glasses on them. “Great-tailed Grackles,” she announced. “Audubon doesn’t believe us when we say we have them at this altitude. Can you get pictures?” I trained my little snappy cam on the flock, still perched in a bare tree. As we remained motionless inside the car, several flew down to the ground near the car. As quietly as possible, I rolled down the window, zoomed my lens forward and clicked away. Audubon insists on photographic evidence for any claim of unusual sightings. Would my little snappy cam’s images taken in gray

Novice birder and freelance writer Yvonne Lanelli (www. evlanelli,com) enjoys meeting new friends in LCBC and in the sky.

DESERT EXPOSURE Red or Green? is Desert Exposure’s guide to dining in southwest New Mexico. We are in the process of updating and modifying these listings. We are asking restaurants to pay a small fee for listing their information. Restaurant advertisers already on contract with Desert Exposure receive a free listing. For other establishments, listings with essential information will be $36 a year and expanded listings, up to 10 lines, will be $48 a year. To get

GRANT COUNTY

Silver City 1ZERO6, 106 N. Texas St., 575313-4418. Pacific Rim, South East Asian, Oaxacan and Italian: Friday to Sunday D, by reservation only. ADOBE SPRINGS CAFÉ, 1617 Silver Heights Blvd., 538-3665. Breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches: Sunday B L, all week B L D. BURGERS & BROWNIES & BEER, OH MY! 619 N. Bullard St., 575597-6469.

CAFÉ OSO AZUL AT BEAR MOUNTAIN LODGE, 60 Bear Mountain Ranch Road, 538-2538. B L, special D by reservation only. CHINESE PALACE, 1010 Highway 180E, 538-9300. Chinese: Monday to Friday L D. COURTYARD CAFÉ, Gila Regional Medical Center, 538-4094. American: B L, with special brunch Sundays.

DIANE’S RESTAURANT, 510 N. Bullard St., 538-8722. Fine dining (D), steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches (L), salads: Tuesday to Saturday L D, Sunday D only (family-style), weekend brunch. DIANE’S BAKERY & DELI, The Hub, Suite A, Bullard St., 534-9229. Artisan breads, pastries, sandwiches, deli: Monday to Saturday B L early D, Sunday L. DON JUAN’S BURRITOS, 418 Silver Heights Blvd., 538-5440. Mexican: B L. DRIFTER PANCAKE HOUSE, 711 Silver Heights Blvd., 538-2916. Breakfast, American: B L, breakfast served throughout. EL GALLO PINTO, 901 N. Hudson St., 597-4559. Mexican: Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday B L Thursday to Saturday B L D. FORREST’S PIZZA, 601 N. Bullard St. Unit J. 388-1225. Tuesday to Friday L D, Slices only at lunch time. FRY HOUSE, 601 N. Bullard St. Suite C. 388-1964. GIL-A BEANS, 1304 N. Bennett St. Coffeeshop. GOLDEN STAR, 1602 Silver Heights Blvd., 388-2323. Chinese: L D. GRANDMA’S CAFÉ, 900 Silver Heights Blvd., 388-2627. American, Mexican: B L. GRINDER MILL, 403 W. College Ave., 538-3366. Mexican: B L D. HEALTHY EATS, 303 E. 13th St., 534-9404. Sandwiches, burritos, salads, smoothies: L. JALISCO CAFÉ, 100 S. Bullard St., 388-2060. Mexican. Monday to Saturday L D Sunday B. JAVALINA COFFEE HOUSE, 117 Market St., 388-1350. Coffeehouse. JUMPING CACTUS, 503 N. Bullard St. Coffeeshop, baked goods, sandwiches, wraps: B L. KOUNTRY KITCHEN, 1700 Mountain View Road, 388-4512. Mexican: Monday to Sunday B L D. LA COCINA RESTAURANT, 201 W. College Ave., 388-8687. Mexican: L D.

DECEMBER 2017 • 29 an updated listing in Red or Green?, contact Anita Goins at anita@lascrucesbulletin.com or at 575-680-1980. The listings here are a sampling of our complete and recently completely updated guide online at www. desertexposure.com. We emphasize non-national-chain restaurants with sit-down, table service. With each listing, we include a brief categorization of the type of cuisine plus what meals are served: B=Breakfast;

LA FAMILIA, 503 N. Hudson St., 388-4600. Mexican: Tuesday to Sunday B L D. LA MEXICANA, Hwy. 180E and Memory Lane, 534-0142. Mexican and American: B L.

LITTLE TOAD CREEK BREWERY & DISTILLERY, 200 N. Bullard St., 956-6144. Burgers, wings, salads, fish, pasta, craft beers and cocktails: Monday to Sunday L D. MEXICO VIEJO, Hwy. 90 and Broadway Mexican food stand: Monday to Saturday B L early D. MI CASITA, 2340 Bosworth Dr., 538-5533. New Mexican cuisine: Monday to Thursday L, Friday L D. MILLIE’S BAKE HOUSE, 602 N. Bullard St., 597-2253. Soup, salads, sandwiches, baked goods and now serving barbecue on Saturdays: Tuesday to Saturday. NANCY’S SILVER CAFÉ, 514 N. Bullard St., 388-3480. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D. THE PARLOR AT DIANE’S, 510 N. Bullard St., 538-8722. Burgers, sandwiches, homemade pizzas, paninis: Tuesday to Sunday L D. PRETTY SWEET EMPORIUM, 312 N. Bullard St., 388-8600. Dessert, ice cream: Monday to Saturday. Q’S SOUTHERN BISTRO AND BREWERY, 101 E. College Ave., 534-4401. American, steaks, barbecue, brewpub: Monday to Saturday L D.

REVEL, 304 N. Bullard, 3884920. Elevated comfort food. Weekdays LD, weekends BD, closed Wednesdays. SILVER BOWLING CENTER CAFÉ, 2020 Memory Lane, 538-3612. American, Mexican, hamburgers: L D.

SUNRISE ESPRESSO, 1530 N. Hudson, 388-2027. Coffee shop: Monday to Saturday B L, early D. SUNRISE ESPRESSO, 1212 E. 32nd St., 534-9565. Coffee shop, bakery: Monday to Friday B L, early D, Saturday B L only. TAPAS TREE, 601 N. Bullard St. in The Hub, Wednesday to Sunday L, Fridays L D. TERRY’S ORIGINAL BARBEQUE, Hwy. 180 and Ranch Club Road. Barbeque to go: L D.

VICKI’S EATERY, 315 N. Texas, 388-5430. www.vickiseatery.com Fresh...made just for you!. Saturday-Sunday breakfast; Monday-Saturday lunch; and Friday-Saturday dinner. WRANGLER’S BAR & GRILL, 2005 Hwy. 180E, 538-4387. Steak, burgers, appetizers, salads: L D. TRANQUIL BUZZ CAFÉ, 112 W. Yankie St. Coffee shop, coffee, home-made pastries and ice cream, fresh fruit smoothies.

L=Lunch; D=Dinner. Unless otherwise noted, restaurants are open seven days a week. Call for exact hours, which change frequently. All phone numbers are area code 575 except as specified. Though every effort has been made to make these listings complete and up-to-date, errors and omissions are inevitable and restaurants may make changes after this issue goes to press. That’s why we urge you to help us make Red or Green? even better. Drop

DOÑA ANA COUNTY

Las Cruces & Mesilla ABRAHAM’S BANK TOWER RESTAURANT, 500 S. Main St. 434, 523-5911. American: Monday to Friday B L. ANDELE’S DOG HOUSE, 1983 Calle del Norte, 526-1271. Mexican plus hot dogs, burgers, quesadillas: B L D. ANDELE RESTAURANTE, 1950 Calle del Norte, 526-9631. Mexican: Monday B L, Tuesday to Sunday B L D. AQUA REEF, 141 N. Roadrunner Parkway, 522-7333. Asian, sushi: LD. THE BEAN, 2011 Avenida de Mesilla, 527-5155. Coffeehouse.

A BITE OF BELGIUM, 741 N. Alameda St. No. 16, 5272483, www.abiteofbelgium. com. Belgium and American food: Daily B L. BOBA CAFÉ, 1900 S. Espina, Ste. 8, 647-5900. Sandwiches, salads, casual fare, espresso: Monday to Saturday L D. BRAVO’S CAFÉ, 3205 S. Main St., 526-8604. Mexican: Tuesday to Sunday B L. BURGER NOOK, 1204 E. Madrid Ave., 523-9806. Outstanding greenchile cheeseburgers. Tuesday to Saturday L D.

or Southwest New Mexico’s

Best Restaurant Guide

a note to Red or Green? c/o Desert Exposure, 1740-A Calle de Mercado, Las Cruces, NM 88005, or email editor@ desertexposure.com.

Remember, these print listings represent only highlights. You can always find the complete, updated Red or Green? guide online at www. desertexposure.com. Bon appétit!

BURRITOS VICTORIA, 1295 El Paseo Road, 541-5534. Burritos: B L D. Now serving beer.

DICK’S CAFÉ, 2305 S. Valley Dr., 524-1360. Mexican, burgers: Sunday B L, Monday to Saturday B L D. DION’S PIZZA, 3950 E. Lohman, 521-3434. Pizza: L D. DOUBLE EAGLE, 2355 Calle De Guadalupe, 523-6700. Southwestern, steaks, seafood: L D, Sun. champagne brunch buffet. DUBLIN STREET PUB, 1745 E. University Ave., 522-0932. Irish, American: L D. EL SOMBRERO PATIO CAFÉ, 363 S. Espina St., 524-9911. Mexican: L D. EMILIA’S, 2290 Calle de Parian, 652-3007. Burgers, Mexican, soup, sandwiches, pastry, juices, smoothies: Tuesday to Sunday L D. ENRIQUE’S MEXICAN FOOD, 830 W. Picacho, 647-0240. Mexican: B L D. FARLEY’S, 3499 Foothills Rd., 522-0466. Pizza, burgers, American, Mexican: L D. FIDENCIO’S, 800 S. Telshor, 5325624. Mexican: B L D. THE GAME BAR & GRILL, 2605 S. Espina, 524-GAME. Sports bar and grill: L D. GARDUÑO’S, 705 S. Telshor (Hotel Encanto), 532-4277. Mexican: B L D. GIROS MEXICAN RESTAURANT, 160 W. Picacho Ave., 541-0341. Mexican: B L D.

CAFÉ A GO GO, 1120 Commerce Drive, Suite A, 5220383, www.cafeagogonm. com. Bistro with an eclectic menu. “We have a passion for delicious food and it reflects in our dishes:” Monday to Saturday L D. CARILLO’S CAFÉ, 330 S. Church, 523-9913. Mexican, American: Monday to Saturday L D. CHACHI’S RESTAURANT, 2460 S. Locust St.-A, 522-7322. Mexican: B L D. CHILITOS, 2405 S. Valley Dr., 526-4184. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D. CHILITOS, 3850 Foothills Rd. Ste. 10, 532-0141. Mexican: B L D. DAY’S HAMBURGERS, Water and Las Cruces streets, 5238665. Burgers: Monday to Saturday L D. PECAN GRILL & BREWERY, 500 S. Telshor Blvd., 521-1099. Pecan-smoked meats, sandwiches, steaks, seafood, craft beers: L D. DELICIAS DEL MAR, 1401 El Paseo, 524-2396. Mexican, seafood: B L D.

Get your red &green on! Restaurateurs:

Lock in your local listing

Basic listings with essential information will be $36 per year. Expanded listings up to 10 lines will be $48 per year. Restaurant advertisers already on a retail contract with Desert Exposure get a free listing.

To get your updated listing in the guide, call Jamie at 575-524-8061.

30 • DECEMBER 2017

www.desertexposure.com

GO BURGER DRIVE-IN, Home of the Texas Size Burrito, 1008 E. Lohman Ave. , Las Cruces, NM 88005, 575524-9251. Monday - Saturday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Specializing in Relleno Burritos and Other Mexican Food

Avenida de Mesilla, 652-4953. Steaks, barbecue, seafood, sandwiches, salads, pasta: L D.

HIGH DESERT BREWING COMPANY, 1201 W. Hadley Ave., 525-6752. Brew pub: L D. INTERNATIONAL DELIGHTS, 1245 El Paseo Rd., 647-5956. Greek and International: B L D. J.C. TORTAS, 1196 W. Picacho Ave., 647-1408. Mexican: L D. JOSE MURPHY’S, 1201 E. Amador (inside Ten Pin Alley), 526-8855. Mexican, American: L D. JOSEFINA’S OLD GATE CAFÉ,

GOLDEN STAR CHINESE FAST FOOD, 1420 El Paseo, 523-2828. Chinese: L D. GRANDY’S COUNTRY COOKING, 1345 El Paseo Rd., 526-4803. American: B L D. HABANERO’S 600 E. Amador Ave., 524-1829. Fresh Mexican: B L D. HACIENDA DE MESILLA, 1803

Bear Mountain Lodge

It’’s Christmas Dinner

MONDAY, December 25th • Served Noon to 5pm ReseRvations a mUst! •575-538-2538 please choose entRée & DesseRt when ReseRving

Sunday, DECEMBER 24TH CHRISTMAS EVE 5-7pm - Come and see the luminarios New Mexican Posole either Roasted Pork or Veggie style served with lime, sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes, avocado, cilantro, cheese, and artisanal bread alongside a hardy romaine salad with dried cranberries and pistachios hot apple crisp $27 STARTERS Butternut Squash Bisque served with a Crostini of Olives and Figs on the Side ENTREE CHOICES

(PLEASE CHOOSE ONE)

Zucchini Fritters topped with crème fraiche and fresh basil served with corn pudding and roasted veggies OR

Crab Cakes served with a Basil Lemon Tomato Remoulade served with roasted veggies OR

Duck Confit with bing cherries and gingered beets served corn pudding and roasted veggies All entrees served with Bear Mountain Lodge Romaine Salad, Bear Mountain Crackers, and Homemade Bread DESSERTS: English Trifle OR

Apple Tart served with whipped cream and caramel sauce COST IS $47.00 PER PERSON

60 Bear Mountain Ranch Road

575-538-2538 • www.bearmountainlodge.com

2261 Calle de Guadalupe, 525-2620. Pastries, soups, salads, sandwiches: Monday to Thursday L, Friday to Sunday B L. KATANA TEPPANYAKI GRILL, 1001 E. University Ave., 522-0526. Meals created before your very eyes. Japanese: Monday to Friday L D, Saturday D. KEVA JUICE, 1001 E. University, 522-4133. Smoothies, frozen yogurt: B L D. LA MEXICANA TORTILLERIA, 1300 N. Solano Dr, 541-9617. Mexican: L D. LA NUEVA CASITA CAFÉ, 195 N. Mesquite, 523-5434. Mexican and American: B L. LA POSTA RESTAURANT DE MESILLA, 2410 Calle De San Albino, 524-3524Mexican, steakhouse: L D, Saturday, Sunday and holidays also B. LAS TRANCAS, 1008 S. Solano Dr., 524-1430. Mexican, steaks, burgers, fried chicken: L D, Saturday and Sunday also B. LE RENDEZ-VOUS CAFÉ, 2701 W. Picacho Ave. #1, 527-0098. French pastry, deli, sandwiches: Tuesday to Sunday B L. LET THEM EAT CAKE, 1001 E. University Ave. Suite D4, 6805998. Cupcakes: Tuesday to Saturday. LORENZO’S PAN AM, 1753 E. University Ave., 521-3505. Italian, pizza: L D. LOS COMPAS CAFÉ, 6335 Bataan Memorial W., 382-2025. Mexican: B L D. LOS COMPAS CAFÉ, 603 S. Nevarez St., 523-1778. Mexican: B L D. LOS COMPAS, 1120 Commerce Dr., 521-6228. Mexican: B L D. LOS MARIACHIS, 754 N. Motel Blvd., 523-7058. Mexican: B L D. MESILLA VALLEY KITCHEN, 2001 E. Lohman Ave. #103, 5239311. American, Mexican: B L.

METROPOLITAN DELI, 1001 University Ave., 5223354, www.metropolitandeli. com. Sandwiches and catering: L D. MIGUEL’S, 1140 E. Amador Ave., 647-4262. Mexican: B L D. MI PUEBLITO, 1355 E. Idaho Ave., 524-3009. Mexican: Monday to Friday B L D, Saturday and Sunday B L. MILAGRO COFFEE Y ESPRESSO, 1733 E. University Ave., 532-1042. Coffeehouse: B L D. MIX PACIFIC RIM CUISINE AND MIX EXPRESS, 1001 E. University Ave. D3, 532-2042. Asian, Pacific: Monday to Saturday L D. MOONGATE CAFÉ, 9345 Bataan Memorial, 382-5744. Coffee shop, Mexican, American: B L. MOUNTAIN VIEW MARKET KITCHEN, 1300 El Paseo Road, 523-0436. Sandwiches, bagels, wraps, salads and other healthy fare: Monday to Saturday: B L early D. NELLIE’S CAFÉ, 1226 W. Hadley Ave., 524-9982. Mexican: Tuesday to Friday B L. NOPALITO RESTAURANT, 2605 Missouri Ave., 522-0440. Mexican: L D. NOPALITO RESTAURANT, 310 S. Mesquite St., 524-0003. Mexican: Sunday to Tuesday, Thursday to Saturday. L D. OLD TOWN RESTAURANT, 1155 S. Valley Dr., 523-4586. Mexican, American: B L. ORIENTAL PALACE, 225 E. Idaho, 526-4864. Chinese: L D. PAISANO CAFÉ, 1740 Calle de Mercado, 524-0211. Mexican: B L D. PEPE’S, 1405 W. Picacho, 5410277. Mexican: B L D. PHO A DONG, 504 E. Amador Ave., 527-9248. Vietnamese: L D. PHO SAIGON, 1160 El Paseo Road, 652-4326. Vietnamese: L D.

PICACHO PEAK BREWING CO., 3900 W. Picacho, 575680-6394. www.picachopeakbrewery.com

9pm-2am $6 cover $10 couple includes champagne, party favors, midnight snacks, photo booth, live music, dancing! 200 N Bullard Street

PARTY!

Downtown Silver City

LITTLE TOAD CREEK BREWERY & DISTILLERY craft beer, wine & spirits

open seven days a week serving sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, salads, tacos, & pub food with fresh & healthy ingredients

& HOPS Gift Shop & Package Store

Check out our great selection of Christmas Gifts & Stocking Stuffers!

PLAYER’S GRILL, 3000 Herb Wimberly Drive. (NMSU golf course clubhouse), 646-2457. American: B L D. RANCHWAY BARBECUE, 604 N. Valley Dr., 523-7361. Barbecue, Mexican: Monday to Friday B L D, Saturday D. RASCO’S BBQ, 125 S. Campo St., 526-7926. Barbecued brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage, ribs. RED BRICK PIZZA, 2808 N. Telshor Blvd., 521-7300. Pizzas, sandwiches, salads: L D. ROBERTO’S MEXICAN FOOD, 908 E. Amador Ave., 523-1851. Mexican: B L D. ROSIE’S CAFÉ DE MESILLA, 300 N. Main St., 526-1256. Breakfast, Mexican, burgers: Saturday to Thursday B L, Friday B L D. SAENZ GORDITAS, 1700 N. Solano Dr., 527-4212. Excellent, gorditas, of course, but also amazing chicken tacos. Mexican: Monday to Saturday L D. SANTORINI’S, 1001 E. University Ave., 521-9270. Greek, Mediterranean: Monday to Saturday L D. SALUD DE MESILLA, 1800 Avenida de Mesilla B, 323-3548. American, Continental: B L D. THE SHED, 810 S. Valley Dr., 5252636. American, pizza, Mexican, desserts: Wednesday to Sunday B L. SI SEÑOR, 1551 E. Amador Ave., 527-0817. Mexican: L D. SPANISH KITCHEN, 2960 N. Main St., 526-4275. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D.

SPIRIT WINDS COFFEE BAR, 2260 S. Locust St., 521-1222. Sandwiches, coffee, bakery: B L D. ST. CLAIR WINERY & BISTRO, 1720 Avenida de Mesilla, 524-2408. Wine tasting, bistro: L D. SUNSET GRILL, 1274 Golf Club Road (Sonoma Ranch Golf Course clubhouse), 521-1826. American, Southwest, steak, burgers, seafood, pasta: B L D. THAINDIA, 1445 W. Picacho Ave., 373-3000. Thai: Monday to Friday L D, Friday-Saturday LD. Anthony ERNESTO’S MEXICAN FOOD, 200 Anthony Dr., 882-3641. Mexican: B L. LA COCINITA, 908 W. Main Dr., 589-1468. Mexican: L. Bayard FIDENCIO’S TACO SHOP, 1108 Tom Foy Blvd. Mexican: B L D. LITTLE NISHA’S, 1101 Tom Foy Blvd., 537-3526. Mexican: Wednesday to Sunday B L D. LOS COMPAS, 1203 Tom Foy Blvd, 654-4109. Sonoran-style Mexican, hot dogs, portas, menudo: L D. M & A BAYARD CAFÉ, 1101 N. Central Ave., 537-2251. Mexican and American: Monday to Friday B L D. SPANISH CAFÉ, 106 Central Ave., 537-2640. Mexican, tamales and menudo (takeout only): B. SUGAR SHACK, 1102 Tom Foy Blvd., 537-0500. Mexican: Sunday to Friday B L. Chapparal EL BAYO STEAK HOUSE, 300 Paloma Blanca Drive, 824-4749. Steakhouse: Tuesday to Sunday B L D. TORTILLERIA SUSY, 661 Paloma Blanca Dr., 824-9377. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D, Sunday B L. Cliff D’S CAFÉ, 8409 Hwy 180. Breakfast dishes, burritos, burgers, weekend smoked meats and ribs: Thursday to Sunday B L. PARKEY’S, 8414 Hwy. 180W, 535-4000. Coffee shop: Monday to Saturday. Doña Ana BIG MIKE’S CAFÉ, Thorpe Road. Mexican, breakfasts, burgers: B L D. Mimbres ELK X-ING CAFÉ, (352) 212-0448. Home-style meals, sandwiches and desserts: B L. RESTAURANT DEL SOL, 2676 Hwy. 35, San Lorenzo. Breakfasts, burgers, sandwiches, Mexican: Daily B L early D. Pinos Altos BUCKHORN SALOON AND OPERA HOUSE, Main Street, 5389911. Steakhouse, pasta, burgers: Monday to Saturday D. Santa Teresa BILLY CREWS, 1200 Country Club Road, 589-2071. Steak, seafood: L D.

LUNA COUNTY

Deming ADOBE DELI, 3970 Lewis Flats Road SE, 546-0361. Bar, deli, steaks: L D. BALBOA MOTEL & RESTAURANT, 708 W. Pine St., 546-6473. Mexican, American: Monday to Friday L D, Sunday B. BELSHORE RESTAURANT, 1030 E. Pine St., 546-6289. Mexican, American: Tuesday to Sunday B L. CAMPOS RESTAURANT, 105 S. Silver, 546-0095. Mexican, American, Southwestern: L D.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 31 Paisano Café includes both indoor and outdoor seating.

304 N. Bullard St., Silver City, NM EatDrinkRevel.com 575-388-4920

Weekdays lunch 11-2 dinner 5-9

Inside the café. (Photos By Mike Cook)

TABLE TALK • MIKE COOK

Stepping out to Paisano Café

Weekends brunch 9-2 dinner 5-9

alk about a good neighbor! My three favorite things about Paisano Café are 1) their Tacos Dorados; 2) their beautiful music; and 3) their location in Las Cruces on the edge of Mesilla. From outside the restaurant, on Bulletin Plaza, the smells and the sounds emanating from the restaurant are enticing. But they’re nothing compared to enjoying the ambiance – and the fabulous food – inside the restaurant. There are so many delicious entrees to choose from; the restaurant has separate menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also have a vegetarian and vegan menu. My favorite lunch dish, as mentioned, is Tacos Dorados – shredded chicken, tomatoes, lettuce and their special sauce. Yum! It’s a simple and traditional southwestern dish that Paisano Café has dressed up in their own unique and delicious style. And, you get four tacos instead of the standard three! And they come in a taco rack. I love that! I also love the chips and salsa you get at Paisano before the meal. The chips are thick and crunchy (as they simply must be!), and the salsa is the sauce is their unique and flavorful green salsa, which you will also get on their green enchiladas. There is a rice dish on the side which I often save for afters (that’s British for dessert). Just sprinkle on a packet or two of sugar, and you’ve got the sweet course ready and waiting. When I’m feeling a bit more decadent, I choose something from Paisano’s dessert menu – or “para el Cafecito (“with the coffee,” I

Tacos Dorados.

Closed Wednesday

OPEN WEDNESDAY THRU SATURDAY 1 to 4 NOV. 22 THRU DEC. 13 AND DAILY DEC. 18 THRU DEC. 24

505 N. Bullard Street, Silver City, NM Thurs. - Sat. 10 to 4 575-535-2624 Flan for dessert.

think), as they call it. I almost always get the flan, and theirs is flantastic! The price tag for the entire meal – including the fast and very friendly service – was a modest $18.16, including tax. And, I am, of course, a generous tipper. I’ve only been to Paisano for lunch so far, but I’ll be going back for breakfast and dinner. Join me! Breakfast is served on Saturday and Sunday only, including all day on Sunday. It includes all the traditional favorites plus unique creations like Oro Negro Benedict (two poached eggs atop an English muffin, sliced Canadian bacon and a homemade corn truffle hollandaise sauce with grilled asparagus), café French toast made with croissants and banana pancakes. The lunch menu includes Queso Fundido (three melted cheeses fondue style with choice of chorizo, green chile or mushrooms), Cazuela de Guacamole (fried corn tortilla basket filled with fresh homemade guacamole and refried black beans) and Mezcla de Hongos (sauteed mixed mushrooms

in Guajillo sauce) and chef’s-recipe hummus. They also have salads, wraps, sandwiches, lunch plates and pasta with five different creamy sauces. The dinner menu includes appetizers, soups (the signature is green chile potato soup) and entrees ranging from fish and chicken to duck, shrimp and steak. Many of their traditional Mexican dishes include their signature mole (mow LAY) sauce in flavors that include (a smoky taste and a hint of ash,” “a touch of Oaxaca chocolate), and a bit of “hoja santa (root beer plant) and sweet, pineapple, red apples, fried plantain and a blend of spices. The restaurant also has a wide selection of beer and wine. Paisano Café is located at 1740 Calle del Mercado, Las Cruces. Paisano Café hours are 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday; 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit http://paisanocafe.com/.

We have a totally full house of ethically sourced, fairly traded, and unique Holiday goods for all your gift-giving needs.... beeswax candles, bells and singing bowls, papel picado, salt lamps, boxed cards and art calendars, jewelry, Guatemalan bags, lots of cool stuffing stuffers, and more.... We give our thanks and wish a peaceful and blessed Holiday season to you, our friends and neighbors.

Happy Holidays!

LIVE MUSIC DECEMBER 2017 • NEVER A COVER! Every Thursday & Saturday Night • 8-11pm

DECEMBER 2 BOB EINWECK – SOLO GUITAR DECEMBER 7 ALISTER M. & DAMIAN LUNA – ACOUSTIC GUITAR DECEMBER 9 DERRICK LEE GROUP – JAZZ ENSEMBLE DECEMBER 14 DERRICK HARRIS BAND – BLUES DECEMBER 16 LITTLE TABLE CONTRA BAND – STRING ENSEMBLE DECEMBER 21 DIGISAURUS – ELECTRO POP/ROCK (ALBEQUERQUE) DECEMBER 23 TIFFANY CHRISTOPHER – ONE-WOMAN BAND DECEMBER 28 STEVE SMITH – SOLO MANDOLIN

32 • DECEMBER 2017

www.desertexposure.com

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD at 7th and Texas in Silver City, NM, wishes to extend a sincere invitation to all who are married, divorced, widowed, partnered, single, richer than Bill Gates or poorer than a war refugee. We invite you to visit us if you barely speak English, are fluent in twelve languages, are skinny as a soda straw or classified as a bit pudgy. We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or can’t carry a tune in a galvanized bucket. You’re also welcome here if you’re just curious, just left rehab or recently got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish or Hindu, whether you’re all of the above or none of them. We couldn’t care less when you last attended church. We also welcome those of you who are emotionally immature or responsible beyond the call of duty, no matter your age. We invite all those over sixty who have yet to grow up, teenagers who feel they are already adults as well as overworked moms, football addict dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, total rednecks, latte-sippers, health nuts and junk food junkies. We welcome those who are suffering or grieving, whether or not you’ve found closure or healing. We also welcome you if your problems are consuming you physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. We especially welcome those with negative religious experiences in the past because we’ve all been there as well. Whether you’re on the verge of being sent to debtor’s prison or have a billion dollar stash buried in your back yard, we welcome you. We invite you here if you think the earth is flat, the Easter Bunny is real, work too hard, don’t or can’t work at all, can’t spell, count or tie your own shoes. We welcome you if you’re Democrat, Republican, Independent or anything in between. You’re invited here if you’re branded, pierced, tattooed or all of them. We welcome you here if you had religion crammed down your throat as a kid, got lost and ended up here thinking it was a rock ‘n roll festival. If you’re a baptized Christian of any denomination, the Holy Eucharist is offered to you. If you aren’t baptized, we can fix that. We welcome, tourists, locals, skeptics, warm hearts and hardened ones. Because you’re a CHILD OF GOD, we welcome YOU! Sundays 8AM and 10:30AM, 5th Sundays, 9:30AM.

non-denominational

Valley Community Church 9-A Racetrack Road, Arenas Valley, NM Sunday Worship at 10 A.M. Annual Christmas Tree Lighting

TULAROSA TALES JENNIFER GRUGER

Luminarias

Volunteers come together to bring little bags to light

he luminaria display on Christmas Eve is perhaps Tularosa, New Mexico’s bestknown treasure. This one-night-only display of light, love and tradition is one of the best parts of the holiday season in the Tularosa Basin. Thousands of luminarias are displayed throughout the Village on Christmas Eve. A luminaria, in case you just moved here from Ohio or another country altogether, is a candle carefully set in sand inside of a paper bag and lit to create a warm glow at night. There are sometimes conflicting opinions about the correct use of the term “luminaria”. Most of us refer to the paper bag lantern in this way, but traditionalists insist the correct term is “farolitos.’” Historically, a true luminaria is a series of small bonfires lining the road. According to tripsavvy.com, luminarias have their roots in the 1800s. Originally, small bonfires were used to guide people to Christmas mass. Often, they are associated with the final night of Las Posadas, which is the symbolic representation of when Mary and Joseph were seeking shelter in Bethlehem, walking from home to home for a place to rest. For about 20 years, most of the luminarias displayed in Tularosa were supplied through a cooperative effort between the Tularosa Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Tularosa. The Amigos Club ran the program prior to that. The Village and the Chamber began to fatigue, and the Tularosa Arts and History Council (TAHC) was asked by the Village in 2016 to take over the project. “This is one of the oldest Christmas programs in Tularosa,” said Don Powell chairman of the now inactive Chamber and a TAHC board member. “New Mexico Magazine has done numerous articles on this and it is a way to celebrate the season that should be continued.” With Powell’s support and a financial donation from the Chamber to the TAHC to help with the cost of

Open Your Mind

Join with us for our Sunday morning service 10:00 AM Enjoy Fellowship & Stimulating Topics Children Welcome

Sunday, December 3 at 6pm

the supplies, the TAHC board voted to formally take over the project starting in 2017. Ralph Otero has been working on Christmas Eve more than 20 years to provide access to last-minute luminaria buyers. Otero, Facilities Manager with the Village of Tularosa, will continue to distribute the luminaria sacks and candles out of the Tularosa Community Center one final year. High School students, 4-H members, FFA participants, and Rotary Club of Tularosa volunteers, along with other volunteer community members and Village employees start early on Christmas Eve day setting out the luminarias along Highway 54/St. Francis Drive, from one end of town to the other. Businesses and residents throughout the village also do their part by lining them on their rooftops, driveways and storefronts. Close to dusk, more volunteers are needed to light the candles. This display takes dedication and determination. It is laborious and tiring, but to the residents and to the visitors, it is worth every minute. Luminaria sacks and candles for Tularosa residents can be purchased from the Tularosa Community Center located at 1050 Bookout Road from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon Friday. Piles of dirt provided by the Village are located throughout the town. Sales on Christmas Eve day have historically been encouraged, but this year, the organizers would like to ask that you try to get your materials purchased in advance to give volunteers the day to focus on the setup and lighting tasks. For information about the Luminaria Project or the Tularosa Arts and History Council, like us on Facebook or call Jennifer Gruger at 505-710-2924. Please, don’t forget to slow down to 15 mph when you come visit and watch out for Santa who will be escorted through town by the Fire Department sometime after dark!

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City 3845 North Swan

Questions: (575) 538-0101

Phone: 575-538-9311 for more info

Where Everyone is Welcome!

505-469-7505 sivaraven@gmail.com

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 33

40 DAYS & 40 NIGHTS

What’s Going On in December FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1

Silver City/Grant County Christmas Mercado — opens 9 a.m. at the Hanover Outpost, 5490 N.M. 152, Hanover. An indoor Christmas Mercado with local arts and crafts, Santa, food and music. Peter & Billie — 6:30 p.m. at Diane’s Restaurant, 510 N. Bullard St., Silver City. Info: 575-538-8722. Ruidoso/Lincoln County Gary Allan, country music — 8-10 p.m. at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, 287 Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero. Info: innofthemountaingods.com. Las Cruces/Mesilla The Holiday Bazaar — 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Fundraiser for La Casa Inc., domestic violence shelter. Handcrafted goods and homemade goodies. Info: 575-526-2819. Downtown Art Ramble — 5-7 p.m. Main Street Downtown Las Cruces. Info: 575-525-1955. “Crimes of the Heart” — 8 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-523-1223. “Annie” — 8 p.m. at Las Cruces Community Theatre, 313 Main St. in Las Cruces. Live production of musical play. Fun-iture Furniture Fun-raiser — 5-8 p.m. at the DragonFly Restaurant downtown Las Cruces. Las Cruces Arts Association Members are selling hand-painted decorative furniture made of rejuvenated old pieces. Info: 575-532-1046.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2

Silver City/Grant County Christmas Mercado — opens 9 a.m. at the Hanover Outpost, 5490 N.M. 152, Hanover. An indoor Christmas Mercado with local arts and crafts, Santa, food and music. Fort Bayard Museum and walking tour — Opens at 9:15 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Fort Bayard Historic Site. Tours start at 9:30 a.m. from the 1012 Commanding Officer’s Quarters, House 26 located on the West side of the Parade Ground. Info: 575-537-2443 or 575-9563294. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County Hillsboro’s Christmas in the Foothills 2017 — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Hillsboro Community Center, 316 Elenore St., Hillsboro. Info: 575-895-5457. 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493. Ruidoso/Lincoln County Annual Holiday Bazaar — 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Capitan Public Library, 101 E. Second St., Capitan. Info: 575-354-3035. Country Christmas Bazaar — 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. Info: poohandbaby2@hotmail.com. Ruidoso Festival of Lights Parade — 5:30-7 p.m. from Sudderth/Mechem corner, through Midtown to the Chamber of Com-

“Crimes of the Heart” — 7 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-523-1223.

merce. Info: discoverruidoso.com. Alamogordo/Otero County Olde Fashioned Christmas — 4-9 p.m. in downtown Alamogordo. Info: 575-446-3612. Cloudcroft Christmas Tree Lighting — 5 p.m. on Burro Street in Cloudcroft. Bonfire, hot chocolate and cider, holiday music, games and more. Info: coolcloudcroft.com. The Coasters — 7 p.m. at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. Sexy Seniors direct from Las Vegas, the original Cornell Gunter’s Coasters. Info: 575-437-2202. Las Cruces/Mesilla 2017 Southwestern Family Caregiver Conference — 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Alma d’ arte Charter High School, 402 W. Court Ave. Las Cruces. Info: 575-541-0145. The Holiday Bazaar — 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Fundraiser for La Casa Inc., domestic violence shelter. Handcrafted goods and homemade goodies. Info: 575-526-2819. Holiday Crafts for Kids — 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. A free craft activity for children 4-17, museum admission is required. Info: 575-522-4100. Southwest Battle of the Bulls 3 — noon at Grapevine Plaza, 3900 W. Picacho Ave. in Las Cruces. Judged/sanctioned dog show for bully breeds including pitbulls, American bullies, English bulldogs and French bulldogs. Includes a kids with bullies show. Family event with free face painting and special guest appearance by Santa Claus. Info: 575-650-1125. Santa Claus Run — 5-6 p.m. at the Downtown Plaza, Las Cruces. Info: www.santaclausrun.com. Tree lighting, Downtown stroll — 6-9 p.m. downtown Las Cruces. “Crimes of the Heart” — 8 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-523-1223. “Annie” — 8 p.m. at Las Cruces Community Theatre, 313 Main St. in Las Cruces. Live production of musical play. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3

Las Cruces/Mesilla The Holiday Bazaar — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Fundraiser for La Casa Inc., domestic violence shelter. Handcrafted goods and homemade goodies. Info: 575-526-2819.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8

The Christmas Tree in Old Mesilla will be lighted on Dec. 8. (Photo by Tabitha Rossman)

“Annie” — 2 p.m. at Las Cruces Community Theatre, 313 Main St. in Las Cruces. Live production of musical play. “Crimes of the Heart” — 2:30 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-5231223. Noche de Luminarias — 6-9 p.m. at the Corbett Center Student Union, New Mexico State University. Info: 575-646-3200. Auditions for “Photograph 51” — 7 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. A humorous and moving portrait of Rosalind Franklin, one of the great female scientists of the 20th century. Info: 575-5231223. Alamogordo/Otero County Alamogordo Winter Vendor Showcase — noon-5 p.m. at the Alamogordo Civic Center. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4

Truth or Consequences/Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5

Hang out with a mass of Santas as they run through downtown Las Cruces Dec. 2. (Courtesy Photo)

Truth or Consequences/Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original

buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6

Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7

Silver City/Grant County Lecture: Mimbres Dimples, Slipslop and Clapboard – What they are and what they mean — 6 30: p.m. at Western New Mexico University Light Hall. Dr. Stephen H. Lekson, curator of archeology and professor of anthropology, Jubilado, University of Colorado Museum of Natural History talks about Mimbres pottery and what it has to tell us. Info: 575-538-6386. Ruidoso/Lincoln County Christmas in the Park — 6-8 p.m. at Schoolhouse Park, 501 Sudderth Drive, Ruidoso. Christmas tree lighting, sleigh rides, hot chocolate and more. Info: 575257-5030 Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493. Las Cruces/Mesilla Las Cruces Festival of Trees — 4-9 p.m. at Centennial High School, 1950 S. Sonoma Ranch Blvd., Las Cruces. Trees will be raffled off, $5 per ticket. Info: 575646-4084.

Ruidoso/Lincoln County The Nutcracker featuring Ruidoso’s Dali’ Ballet Company — 7 p.m. at the Spencer Theater, 108 Spencer Drive, Alto. Info: 575-3364800. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493. Old-Fashioned Christmas — 6-9 p.m. around Truth or Consequences. Begins with Christmas tree lighting in Evelyn Renfro Park after which all can enjoy bonfires, carolers, other performers and holiday refreshments downtown. Info: director@torcmainstreet.org. Las Cruces/Mesilla Las Cruces Festival of Trees — 4-9 p.m. at Centennial High School, 1950 S. Sonoma Ranch Blvd., Las Cruces. Trees will be raffled off, $5 per ticket. Info: 575646-4084. Town of Mesilla tree lighting on the plaza — 6 p.m. in Mesilla. Info: 575-524-3262. Flying J Wranglers Christmas — at the Triumphant Life Church, 2020 N. Valley Drive. Info: 575528-5683. Steven Vanhauwaert — 7:30 p.m., Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Main Street. This Belgium native’s solo repertoire consists of works by Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin and Debussy. Admission” $5-$60. Info: 575-405-7429. “Crimes of the Heart” — 8 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-523-1223. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com. Community Art Sale — 5:30-8 p.m. at 390 Calle de Alegra, Las Cruces. Info: 575-521-4794.

34 • DECEMBER 2017

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Alamogordo/Otero County The Nutcracker — At the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. Production with the Alamogordo School of Dance. Info: 575-5255670.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

Silver City/Grant County Fort Bayard Museum and walking tour — Opens at 9:15 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Fort Bayard Historic Site. Tours start at 9:30 a.m. from the 1012 Commanding Officer’s Quarters, House 26 located on the West side of the Parade Ground. Info: 575-537-2443 or 575-9563294. Friends of the Library Book Sale — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at 1510 Market St., Silver City. Info: folsilvercitynm@gmail.com. Festival of Trees — at the old Curious Kumquat, 111 E. College Ave., Silver City. A community festival celebrating creativity and the holiday spirit including decorated trees and agave stalks, live plants, bake sale and pop-up store, music, crafts and special events. Info: www.guadelupemontessori.org. Ruidoso/Lincoln County The Nutcracker featuring Ruidoso’s Dali’ Ballet Company — 2 and 7 p.m. at the Spencer Theater, 108 Spencer Drive, Alto. Info: 575336-4800. Deming/Luna County Luminarias Night at Rockhound State Park — 5-6:30 p.m. at Rockhound State Park. More than 1,000 luminarias light the visitor center, native gardens and labyrinth. Info: 575-546-6182. Luminarias and Star Party — 5 p.m. at Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus. Info: 575-531-2711. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493. Elephant Butte Luminaria Beachwalk — 5-8 p.m. at Elephant Butte Lake State Park, U.S. Highway 195. Features 4,000 lumniarias lining paths on the beach leading to community-sponsored campsites offering pozole, chile, cocoa, cookies and more. Hayrides, carolers and Santa all will be available. Followed by a Christmas party at Elephant Butte Inn. Info: 575-744-1777. Second Saturday Art Hop — 6-9 p.m. downtown T or C. Galleries, studios, shops and restaurants open late. Info: promotions@torcmainstreet.org. Las Cruces/Mesilla Turning Back the Sun — Noon-8 p.m., Celebrate Winter Solstice at Leasburg Dam State Park with live demonstration of traditional Pueblo adobe oven bread baking with samplings, and Pueblo Indian social dances during the day. Gather in amphitheatre just before sunset for traditional Coyote/ Winter stories from native peoples and enjoy sampling Buffalo Stew and oven baked Pueblo bread and hot chocolate. Night skywatching follows with use of several telescopes. Admission” $5 per car, event is free with paid camping permit. Info: 575-524-4068. Las Cruces Festival of Trees

— 4-9 p.m. at Centennial High School, 1950 S. Sonoma Ranch Blvd., Las Cruces. Trees will be raffled off, $5 per ticket. Info: 575646-4084. Las Noches de Las Luminarias at the Fort Selden Historic Site — 6-9 p.m. at Fort Seldon. More than 800 luminarias, holiday music, campfire and refreshments. “Crimes of the Heart” — 8 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-523-1223. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com. Community Art Sale — 10 a.m.5 p.m. at 390 Calle de Alegra, Las Cruces. Info: 575-521-4794. Alamogordo/Otero County Parade of Lights, “Home for the Holiday” — 5 p.m. start, heads West on 10th Street from Oregon Avenue to New York Avenue. Info: www.alamogordo.com. The Nutcracker — At the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. Production with the Alamogordo School of Dance. Info: 575-5255670.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10

Silver City/Grant County Festival of Trees — at the old Curious Kumquat, 111 E. College Ave., Silver City. A community festival celebrating creativity and the holiday spirit including decorated trees and agave stalks, live plants, bake sale and pop-up store, music, crafts and special events. Info: www.guadelupemontessori.org. Auditions for “A Murder is Announced” — 2 p.m. Silver City Coop Marketplace Café Community Room on Bullard Street, Silver City. Parts for seven women and five men are open, Performances will be Feb. 23, 24, 25 and March 2,3,4, 2018. Info: 575-313-6883. Holiday Concert and Sing-ALong — 3 p.m. with the Hi Lo Silvers at the First Presbyterian Church, 1915 N. Swan St. in Silver City. Singers are directed by Nada Dates and accompanied by Rhonda Gorog on piano and Bill Baldwin on bass violin. Info: 575388-8771. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra Count 12th Annual Yuletide in Chloride — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Chloride, N.M., 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via U.S. 52. Original buildings from 1880s decorated in olde fashioned Christmas style. Info: 575-743-0493. Las Cruces/Mesilla “Crimes of the Heart” — 2:30 p.m. at the Black Box Theatre. Winner of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award play about three sisters who face crisis after crisis separately and together. Info: 575-5231223. “JOY,” a holiday concert with Mesilla Valley Chorale — 3 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in downtown Las Cruces. Info: 575647-2560. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com. Community Art Sale — noon-4

DESERT EXPOSURE p.m. at 390 Calle de Alegra, Las Cruces. Info: 575-521-4794.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13

DECEMBER 2017 • 35 Info: 575-524-4068.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16

live plants, bake sale and pop-up store, music, crafts and special events. Info: www.guadelupemontessori.org. Fort Bayard National Cemetery Wreaths Across America — 10-11 a.m. at Fort Bayard National Cemetery, 200 Camino de Paz, Fort Bayard. Wreath placement day. Info: 575-5382626. Words and Music — 2-4 p.m. at the Tranquilbuzz Coffee House, 112 Yankie St., Silver City. Aldo Leopold Charter School poets read from their work, followed by open mic for words and music. Star Party at City of Rocks State Park — 5:30-7:45 at City of Rocks. Info: 575-536-2800. Alamogordo/Otero County Santaland — 4 p.m. at Zenith Park Pavilion in Cloudcroft. Bonfire, hot chocolate and cider, holiday music, games and more. Info: coolcloudcroft.com. Las Cruces/Mesilla The Nutcracker — At the New Mexico State University Center for the Arts. Production with the Las Cruces School of Dance and Music. Info: 575-525-5670. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21

Ruidoso/Lincoln County Flying J Wranglers Christmas at the Spencer — 7-10 p.m. at the Spencer Theater, 108 Spencer Drive, Alto. Info: 575336-4800.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23

Silver City/Grant County

The 12th Annual Yuletide in the ghost town of Chloride begins on Dec. 9.

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36 • DECEMBER 2017

www.desertexposure.com Fort Bayard Museum and walking tour — Opens at 9:15 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Fort Bayard Historic Site. Tours start at 9:30 a.m. from the 1012 Commanding Officer’s Quarters, House 26 located on the West side of the Parade Ground. Info: 575-5372443 or 575-956-3294.

On Dec. 24 luminarias in all the communities across Southern New Mexico will be out, lighting the Christ Child on his way.

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Las Cruces/Mesilla Heritage Cooking: Campfire Christmas Cookies — 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. Visitors can participate in the art of making cookies using a vintage Pizzelle iron from the 1800s. The event is free but museum admission is required. Info: 575522-4100. Discovering the Camino Real at Leasburg Dam State Park — 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Leasburg Dam State Park. Ranger-led 2.5-mile hike to learn why Juan de Oñate and his party left a lush and abundant river valley. Learn about efforts to restore the area’s natural environment to conditions similar to what was seen by the Spanish and Indian expedition. Admission: $5 per car, event is free with paid camping permit. Info: 575-524-4068. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24

Las Cruces/Mesilla Christmas Carols and Luminarias on the Old Mesilla Plaza — After dark at Old Mesilla. Info: 575-524-3262.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27

Ruidoso/Lincoln County Torchlight Parade, Fireworks Show and Dummy Delude Competition — Competition starts at noon, fireworks after dark at Ski Apache, 1286 Ski Run Road, Alto. Info:575-464-3600. Las Cruces/Mesilla Discovering the Camino Real at Leasburg Dam State Park — 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Leasburg Dam State Park. Ranger-led 2.5-mile hike to learn why Juan de Oñate and his party left a lush and abundant river valley. Learn about efforts to restore the area’s natural environment to conditions similar to what was seen by the Spanish and Indian expedition. Admission: $5 per car, event is free with paid camping permit. Info: 575-524-4068.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30

Info: 575-857-5352. Las Cruces/Mesilla Discovering the Camino Real at Leasburg Dam State Park — 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Leasburg Dam State Park. Ranger-led 2.5-mile hike to learn why Juan de Oñate and his party left a lush and abundant river valley. Learn about efforts to restore the area’s natural environment to conditions similar to what was seen by the Spanish and Indian expedition. Admission: $5 per car, event is free with paid camping permit. Info: 575-524-4068. La Frontera, fair trade — 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces Items available by women from the border area and Mexico. Info: lafronterafairtrade@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31

Ruidoso/Lincoln County New Year’s Eve Bash: Decades of Fun — 7 p.m. – 2018 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, 287 Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero. Live bands with music from the past. Dinner menu (tickets $150. Info: innofthemountaingods.com.

MONDAY, JANUARY 1

Las Cruces/Mesilla First Day Hike — 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Leasburg Dam State Park. Ranger-led hike of the Buffalo Soldier, Upper and Lower Mogollon Trails. See and feel the rare and unique geothermal springs and aquatic plants and animals that are sustained by these waters. Admission: $5 per car, event is free with paid camping permit. Info: 575-524-4068.

DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 37

THE STARRY DOME • BERT STEVENS

Phoenix, the Phoenix Distant stars still waiting to rise

reek mythology has many birds scattered through its stories, including the Phoenix. After living for 1,400 years, the Phoenix would die in sparks and flames. From the ashes, the Phoenix would be regenerated and live again. This bird is associated with the Sun, which goes through daily cycle of dying in the west each evening and being reborn in the east the next morning. Found low in the southern sky each December, the constellation Phoenix flies into the sky, but never completely rises above the southern horizon. It was first depicted in a celestial atlas published in 1603 by German uranographer (a celestial cartographer or mapmaker) Johann Bayer in his Uranometria. However, it was actually created by Dutch-Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius and announced on a celestial globe released in 1597. The ecliptic does not pass near Phoenix, so the planets never enter this constellation. Phoenix is also far from the Milky Way, so there are no star clusters to be found here. However, there is another kind of cluster that can be found in Phoenix, a cluster of galaxies. In the northwestern corner of this constellation is one of its two major galaxy clusters, called the Phoenix Cluster. This is one of the largest known galaxy clusters, with the mass of two thousand trillion times the mass of our Sun. This huge cluster is 5.7 billion light-years from Earth and it was only discovered in 2010. This cluster was first detected with a radio telescope that observes in the frequency band that starts in the microwave and extends to just below the infrared. This telescope, which is almost four hundred inches in diameter, is located at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica where there is very little water vapor in the air to block the signals from space. This cluster is producing stars at a prodigious rate, some seven hundred new stars each year. Compare this to a single galaxy that produces a new star every few years. As a result, this cluster has three trillion stars. More than half of these stars are in the central galaxy of the cluster, an elliptical galaxy that was formed by absorbing surrounding smaller galaxies. Around this galaxy is a halo of stars that extended 1.1 million light-years from its center. This makes it twenty-two times the linear size of our galaxy, the Milky Way. With all the star formation

happening in this galaxy, it can only grow larger. Astronomers believe that this is a short-term (at least in astronomical terms) growth spurt, and it will end in less than a hundred million years. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory orbiting the Earth discovered that it is the strongest source of x-rays yet observed. X-rays typically come from the hot gasses where the fast-moving atoms collide frequently, releasing some of their energy as x-rays. In this galaxy, they come from the cooling gas around the core. One of the most massive black holes known to exist is at the center of this galaxy. It has a mass that is around twenty-billion times the mass of our Sun, roughly the mass of two dwarf galaxies. The black hole is seventy-three trillion miles across, nineteen times the distance from the Sun to Pluto. The black hole absorbs 60 times the mass of the Sun each year from the surrounding galaxy, so it is still growing. The black hole at the center of most galaxies stream out tremendous jets of matter that continuously heat up the gas around the core. The Phoenix Cluster’s central galaxy’s black hole has very weak jets, so the gas around it is able to cool naturally by emitting radiation like x-rays. The black hole’s gravity has drawn in a huge quantity of gas toward the core. As this massive amount of gas cools, it is able form local pockets of denser gas that collapse to form new stars. This process gives this galaxy the ability to create new stars at that astounding rate of 700 stars every year.

The Planets for December 2017 Mercury and Saturn are together in the evening sky, just seven degrees above the southwestern horizon at the beginning of the month. They will both be too close to the Sun after the first week of the month to be seen. On Dec. 1, Mercury will be magnitude +0.2 with a 35 percent sunlit disc that is 8.0 seconds-of-arc across. Saturn will be at magnitude +0.5 with a disc that is 15.0 secondsof-arc across. Its Rings are 34.1 seconds-of-arc across and they are tilted down 26.8 degrees with the northern face showing. Both will set by 7:15 p.m. Saturn will be moving slowly eastward in western Sagittarius while Mercury moves westward from western Sagittarius into south-central Ophiuchus. It then turns back eastward ending the month is southeastern part of that

Calendar of Events – DECEMBER 2017 (MST) 03 10 12 14 17 21 21 26 31

8:47 a.m. 12:51 a.m. 7 p.m. Morning 5:30 p.m. 9:28 a.m. 2 p.m. 2:20 a.m. 6 p.m.

Full Moon Last Quarter Moon Mercury between Sun and Earth Geminid Meteor Shower New Moon December Solstice-Winter begins Saturn on the far side of the Sun First Quarter Moon Aldebaran behind the Moon

The constellation of Phoenix, the Phoenix, rides along our southern evening during the evening hours in December. While this constellation’s name is from Greek mythology, it is a modern constellation created in 1597. One of the most massive galaxy clusters that has been discovered is in the northwest corner of Phoenix. The southern end of this constellation never rises above our southern horizon.

constellation. Moving from central Virgo to western Libra this month, Mars is shining at magnitude +1.6. It has a disc 4.0 seconds-of-arc across and it is ninety-four percent illuminated. The God of War rises around 4 a.m. and it can be found 36 degrees above the southeastern horizon as it gets light. The King of the Gods is now firmly in the morning sky, rising just before 5 a.m. It is moving eastward in west-central Libra, passing less than a degree from the star Zubenelgenubi on Dec. 23. Jupiter’s disc is 32.0 secondsof-arc across at midmonth. This Gas Giant shines at magnitude -1.8 and it is twenty-seven degrees above the southeastern horizon as it gets light. Venus is too near the Sun to be seen this month, but Mercury will reappear in the morning sky for the last third of the month. The Messenger of the Gods will be magnitude -0.3 as the month ends with a disc that is 6.8 seconds-ofarc across and 61 percent illuminated. It will be 11 degrees above the east-southeastern horizon, having risen around 6:30 a.m. The December Solstice occurs on Dec. 21 at 9:28 a.m., when the Earth’s northern hemisphere is at its maximum tilt away from the Sun. At that instant, the Sun will be at its southern-most point in our sky, with the Sun’s center at declination 23.436 degrees south of the Equator. This is the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. So take advantage of the darkness and “keep watching the sky”! An amateur astronomer for more than 45 years, Bert Stevens is co-director of Desert Moon Observatory in Las Cruces.

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DESERT EXPOSURE

DECEMBER 2017 • 39

LIVING ON WHEELS • SHEILA SOWDER

Too Right, Mate! RVing in Jolly Old England

e were sitting in a pub in Penzance, in Cornwall, England, when the lady sitting next to me said, “You’re American?” Turned out she and her husband were from Northampton, their names were Phil and Christine, and they were my first English RVers. Okay, caravanners, as the English call it, but the same thing really. And like RVers everywhere, they were happy to share their experiences. “We’ve been caravanning for at least 10 years,” Christine told me. “In our camper van. Mainly so we’d have a place to stay when we come down to Cornwall to visit Phil’s mum.” They belong to the Caravan and Motorhome Club, the oldest and biggest caravan club in Europe, which has a million members and affiliations with 3,000 park locations in the UK (3,000!!), and seems to offer the same services as our Good Sam Club. The organization was founded in 1907, 22 years after the first purpose-built touring caravan, The Wanderer, was built in 1885. And, yes, before the invention of the automobile. Its history is interwoven with that of England itself; it provided caravans to the Red Cross during World War I, presented a model of The Wanderer to Prince Charles and Princess Ann when they were children, and celebrated its centennial at Buckingham Palace in 2007. “Some people say their parks are too regimented, not natural enough, but personally, I like a good shower,” said Christine as Phil rolled his eyes.

Campers have smooth grassy areas to settle in at Trevernan Park in England.

I guess it never occurred to me that RVing would be as popular in England as it is in America, and that they were way ahead of us in building RVs, providing RV parks, and organizing caravan clubs (the first RV club in the U.S., the Tin Can Tourists, wasn’t founded until 1919). “Let’s visit caravan parks and talk to caravanners,” I said to my husband Jimmy, who was competently driving us around Cornwall and Devon in a small car. But neither one of us had realized how doggone many parks there are. So, we decided to just visit a few to have time for sightseeing and for those frequent pastry and cappuccino breaks. The first thing I noticed about

A typical United Kingdom caravanning sign points the way to a campground. (Photos By Sheila Sowder)

the caravan parks we visited — they are small by comparison to those in our country, which makes sense. We have much more land, and overall, a much lower population density. England is about the size of Alabama, but has 54.3 million people compared to Alabama’s pokey 4.8 million. So, lots of small parks, tucked away in forests, nestled in valleys, at least in Cornwall and Devon, which includes the southwest coast, rolling farmland, and a couple of large moors. And the parks are very green; trees, grass, no pavement, with the sites (or pitches, as they’re called in the UK) spread out nicely over the grass. We discovered that there are over 550,000 touring caravans in England; camper vans, small motorhomes, and small trailers in which campers wander around the country. You don’t see any 42-foot behemoths in England where many of the roads are what we’d consider lanes. We met Nan and Lonnie, an Australian couple, in the small fishing village of Brixham in Devon. We all stopped for a pint and a chat. They just happened to be ardent caravanners, so much so that they had rented a 42-foot motorhome when visiting New England a few years earlier and driven across our northern states up into Canada to Vancouver. “I told ‘em, gi’ me the biggest one you’ve got, bloke,” said Charlie. Brave, we said, although judging by how many Australians and Brits and other nationalities of RVers come into Silver City, it’s not unusual. But what about the reverse — do many Yanks travel to England and rent RVs? They couldn’t tell us, but research has given me reason to think it can be done, so people are probably

doing it. Caravan rentals agencies are in every part of the country and easily accessible online with availabilities, amenities, and rates. And while we didn’t meet any RVing Yanks during our research, we got some great advice from Nan and Lonnie and some of the other caravanners we did meet. If you think traveling around England in an RV might be for you, here’s some points to consider. Rented touring caravans are fully supplied with everything you’ll need for a holiday ramble except food. Join the club ahead of time, probably the Caravan and Motorhome Club although there are many others. Overseas membership is around $70 a year, and you’ll receive their magazine, access to their park network, discounts, free entry to tourist attractions. Worth the money, and you can pay online by credit card. Study English road rules — don’t get cocky and assume you’ll figure it out as you go along. Not only will you be driving in the left lane but from the right seat. And there are many roundabouts.

Rent a camper van or Class B rather than a tow-behind. Don’t ask why, just do it. And for goodness sake, drive a comparable vehicle over here so you at least know how to do that! Unless you’re one of those ultra-free spirits who always assume everything will just work out, plot out your trip beforehand. You can always deviate, but it’s nice to have a plan. And always remember, it’s not your country — you’re just a visitor. English caravanners are as friendly and helpful as American RVers. So, stay humble, be respectful, and enjoy the country, its historic sites, its beautiful scenery, and the wonderful people that live there. Sheila and husband, Jimmy Sowder, have lived at Rose Valley RV Ranch in Silver City for four years following five years of wandering the US from Maine to California. She can be contacted at sksowder@aol. com.

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