exposure Arts & Leisure in Southern New Mexico
Humanity and our wild horses Page 6
Exploring the past Page 25
Table talk Page 29
JANUARY 2019 Volume 24 • Number 1
2 • JANUARY 2019
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Large home, newly renovated, close to school and hospital. Off street parking, enclosed back yard. Large kitchen with lots of storage. Many updates throughout the home and it is move in ready. Call today to see. MLS# 35937 $159,900
Lake Roberts Getaway! Walking distance to lake and Gila National Forest. Endless hiking, bird watching and hunting in GMU 16B/24. Cozy cabin with Lopi wood stove, loft and master bedroom on the main floor. Sunroom and 4 decks. 1 stall garage and carport with attached workshop plus RV carport with 2 RV hookups. Yard features gazebo, fire pit and greenhouse with storage. Custom cabinets and built - in’s throughout the home. MLS# 35989. $169,000
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES! 936 sf 2 bay shop with attached 598 sf 1 bedroom/1 bath living quarters. Perfect set up for a live/work situation, artist studio, contractor, mechanic, snow bird etc. Leveled site is ready to build your dream home, bring in manufactured housing or tiny home. Full RV hookup. Awesome passive solar gain. Spectacular views, close to Gila National Forest, golf course, baseball fields. Just minutes from historic downtown Silver City. Unrestricted with horses, 4H animals allowed. Pictures of the inside of shop coming soon MLS# 35971. $140,000
4BD/2BA NEW RE-MODEL ON 1.17
HISTORIC HOME 2BD/2BA + OFFICE IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN, SET ON AN OVERSIZED 0.3 ACRE LOT. WRAPceilings, new kitchen with granite counter AROUND PORCH, REMODELED KITCHEN, tops, new master bath, new carpet & METAL ROOF. Lovely hardwood floors, high bamboo floors, double-pane windows, ceilings, entry hall. Walk-in pantry, large standing seam metal roof. Covered patio, laundry room, attic storage. Entire electric storage building, move-in ready! (plus service), complete plumbing, floors MLS# 35979. $185,000 and windows were new/replaced 2008, under permit. MLS# 35933. $235,000 ACRES CLOSE TO TOWN. Vaulted
PASSIVE SOLAR TRUE ADOBE HOME ON 7.2 ACRES NORTH OF SILVER CITY. Beamed ceilings, brick floors, kiva fireplaces, southern exposure. Living, Dining, & both bedrooms have direct access to an outside patio running the length of the home. Massive stone fireplace constructed of stones found on-site. Fantastic views await you at this unique horse property on unrestricted land. MLS# 35980 $450,000
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 3
Contents 9
37
PUBLISHER
WEB DESIGNER
EDITOR
1740-A Calle de Mercado Las Cruces, NM 88005 575-524-8061 www.desertexposure.com
Richard Coltharp 575-524-8061 editor@desertexposure.com Elva K. Österreich 575-680-1978 editor@desertexposure.com
Ryan Galloway
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
Pam Rossi 575-635-6614 pam@lascrucesbulletin.com
35
SILVER CITY SALES
Pam Rossi 575-635-6614 pam@lascrucesbulletin.com
RUIDOSO AREA SALES
Aaron Adams, 214-673-9254 aaron@desertexposure.com
DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR
12
Teresa Tolonen 575-680-1841 teresa@lascrucesbulletin.com
5 RAISINGDAD • Year in Review This, that and another by Jim and Henry Duchene
17 SOUTH OF THE BORDER • Lorena, the Professor Woman works on behalf of Tarahumaras by Morgan Smith
5 EVERYDAY OBSERVATIONS • Writing in Cursive It’s all about respect by Abe Villarreal
19 ON STAGE • Carmina Pax Las Cruces choirs go to Carnegi Hall
6 EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK • Choose One Living lagom by Elva K. Österreich
19 WESTERN HERITAGE • Pat Garret Festival Famous lawman and Billy the Kid remembered
6 GUEST COLUMN • Humanity and Our Wild Horses Save legacy, stop cruelty by Laurie Ford
20 WINGING IT! • Audubon Bird Count It’s not just the partridge in the pear tree by Yvonne Lanelli
7 LETTERS • Back to Core Issues Readers share their opinions 8 ADVENTURE • Nature’s Clock Bosque del Apache by Laurie Ford 9 DIPPING INTO THE PAST • Introducing Gordodon Alamogordo dinosaur discovered by Mary Ann Hatchett 10 ARTS EXPOSURE • Gallery Guide Art venues across the area 11 ON THE SHELF • Keeping Busy Retired professor goes to work by Mike Cook 11 CALLING ARTISTS • Opportunities New Mexico artists take note 12 ARTS EXPOSURE • Healing Creations Jan Hampton spotlight by Mike Cook 13 ARTS EXPOSURE • Arts Scene Latest area arts happenings 14 ON SCREEN • Winter Film Series Wild women of the West 14 ON STAGE • The Romantics Award-winning cellist performs in El Paso 15 ON SCREEN • Las Cruces Film Festival George Lopez to receive award at 2019 event 15 ARTS EXPOSURE • Penny Thomas Simpson Watercolor show puts rural kitchen scenes at forefront 16 COLORFUL TRAILS • Second Saturday Open Studios Las Cruces artists make themselves available 16 ARTS EXPOSURE • Navajo Rug Auction Las Cruces Museums benefit 16 TALKING BOOKS • Melzer at Fort Bayard Historian provides keynote address
21 CYCLES OF LIFE • Opening Adventure What’s new, exciting in recent years by Fr. Gabriel Rochelle 22 BODY, MIND SPIRIT • Grant County Events Weekly happenings in Grant County 23 TALKING HORSES • Nature vs. Nurture Overcoming a bad start by Scott Thomson 24 BACK TO THE GARDEN • Cabbage Heads Kids grow green across the nation 25 TUMBLEWEEDS • Exploring the Past The forgotten cemeteries of Hidalgo County 27 RED OR GREEN • Dining Guide Restaurants in southwest New Mexico 28 TABLE TALK • Keep Your Leftovers New Mexican households food waste by Kate Bateman
LAYOUT AND DESIGN
Stacey Neal and Monica Kekuewa
COLUMNISTS
Fr. Gabriel Rochelle, Sheila Sowder, Bert Stevens, Jim Duchene, Gabriele Teich, Abe Villareal, Morgan Smith and Laurie Ford
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 © 2019 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.
ABOUT THE COVER: Artist Stewart Grange is primarily a printmaker but often works in other mediums as well. This painting is called “Giant Sycamore: Animas Creek New Mexico.” Grange is a native of East Yorkshire, England currently working out of studios in Silver City and Minnesota. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art in the1960s and has been a painter and multi-media artist for more than 50 years. His work can be found at Stewartgrangeart.com.
Postcards From the Edge Desert Exposure Travels
29 TABLE TALK • Chala’s Wood Fire Grill Muy fabuloso by Mike Cook 30 STARRY DOME • Cassiopeia the Queen A cautionary tale by Bert Stevens 31 PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK • Bipedal Perambulation What would you walk a mile for? by Richard Coltharp 33 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS • Events Guide What’s going on in December? 35 TUMBLEWEEDS • The Mysteries of Dripping Springs Finding a hidden gem in the mountains by David Burge 37 ANIMAL WELFARE • Working for Health Livestock Board protects industry by Kristi Garcia 39 LIVING ON WHEELS • Squirrel Wars The squirrels call it “free food” by Sheila Sowder
The Kimsey-Nitterauer clan gathers from far and wide for annual Thanksgiving fun in Silver City and invited Desert Exposure to the party. 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 and yourself holding a copy of Desert Exposure it to editor@desertexposure.com or stick it in the mail to: Desert Exposure, 1740-A Calle de Mercado, Las Cruces, NM 88005.
4 • JANUARY 2019
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MONDAY-FRIDAY 9AM - 5PM, SATURDAY 10AM - 5PM Free Delivery 538-3767 • www.homefurnituresilvercity.com 207 South Bullard Street FINANCING AVAILABLE with approval
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DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 5
RAISINGDAD • JIM AND HENRY DUCHENE
The Year in Review This, that and another thing
A
s I was chewing on one, enjoying every gummy morsel, I made the mistake of inhaling. When I inhaled, the candy got sucked in with the oxygen and lodged in my windpipe – sort of. It would have lodged completely if I had followed my first instinct to gasp in a huge lungfull of air, but I didn’t. Instead, to dislodge the almost-stuck candy, I tried to expel what little air I had. It wasn’t a whole lot, but it was enough. It pushed the little booger out of the way enough for me to take a careful breath and then cough the rest of the candy out. It wasn’t jammed in there, but it would have been if I had panicked. My wife, meanwhile, saw what was happening and gave me a couple of whacks on my back, but by that time the worst was over. “That was scary,” she said. “For me, too,” I admitted. “Yeah,” my father agreed, his mouth full of popcorn, “I was afraid I wouldn’t get to see the movie.”
W
hen my phone rang, the last thing I expected was to hear my daughter crying on the other end. She hasn’t been married for very long, and she and her husband had just had their first big fight. When I hung up, my concerned wife asked me what she wanted. “To come home,” I said. “What did you tell her?” “I told her she WAS home.”
#31
I
was out with my grandson the other day. We were at Sears, looking at what lawn equipment might be on sale. He pointed to a shiny new lawnmower. It was fire engine red. “You should get one of those,” he said. “I already have one,” I told him. “You do?” “Yeah... YOU!” ometimes taking my father to his various doctor appointments is a chore. On this occasion, my wife was with us because there were other things we needed to get done. It was pretty obvious that I was having trouble finding the street the doctor’s office was located on, but my wife was kind enough not to mention it. When I finally found the office, I said, “Whew! I didn’t know how to get here.” “I don’t believe that for a second,” my wife told me. “Why not?” “Because you certainly know how to get everywhere when I’M driving.”
y wife is an excellent cook, but somehow, on my birthday, the cake she had made for me was crumbling badly, even with her best attempts to hold everything in place with frosting. “Hey, that cake’s just like you,” my father told me when he saw it. “It’s falling apart.”
T
I
S
he forecast said rain. Personally, I didn’t think so, but my father disagreed. Pointing out the window, he told me, “Son, those are some serious clouds out there.” “Those aren’t cirrus clouds,” I answered him, misunderstanding. “They’re cumulus.” Giving me the stink eye, my father did his best impression of Tuco from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and said, “There are two kinds of clouds in the world, my friend. Those that are serious, and those that aren’t.”
I
know we live in the time of Uber, but my father and I were doing my buddy Maloney a favor and dropping him and his family off at the airport. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year to travel, so
the porters were overwhelmed and Slip, his nickname at work, wasn’t able to get the attention of one to help them with their luggage. “Oh, man,” he whined, “we’re going to miss our flight.” “Let me have a twenty,” my father told him. Maloney hesitated, but Slip’s mother-in-law gave him a quick elbow to the ribs. “Give it to him,” she ordered, and then gave my father a flirtatious smile. Though surprised, Maloney opened his wallet. Pulling out a twenty, he handed it over. My father raised it in the air. Almost immediately, we had three skycaps running over to help us.
M
don’t know why, but my father likes to go shopping with us. Not so much with me, but with my wife. I think it’s because my wife never tells him no when he wants to toss some useless item that he’ll never use or eat into our cart. The line we were in wasn’t long, especially compared to the other lines, and two older ladies looking to save time were making their way to us. “That one looks good,” one lady told the other, nodding in the direction of my father. “Sorry, ladies” my father said, “I’m married.” Line up at RaisingMyFather. BlogSpot.com, JimDuchene. BlogSpot.com or @ JimDuchene for free laughs.
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: X = J, Z = G
T
hey don’t make Westerns and war movies the way they used to, but you can always count on Sylvester Stallone to come out with another Rocky movie. Recently, my wife and I took my father to see “Creed 2,” and I’m not just saying that because the Italian Stallion paid me to. As we were waiting for the movie to start, my wife offered me a gummy bear. I took a few because they’re my favorite. Don’t ask me why.
"VBUIEUZ DEFJUHJH YWM NJHJMI CEZVWMU HVJJA WYIJU HJDD YWM VBUNMJNH WY IVWBHLUNH WY NWDDLMH, KVEFV IVJ HILIJ FLU IVJU BHJ IW YBUN FWUHJMTLIEWU JYYWMIH..." - XJUUEYJM ZMBZJM Use the answer key below to track your clues, and reveal Secret Words! A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Previous Solution: "LA SANTA MUERTE IS A SKELETAL FIGURE USUALLY WEARING A LONG ROBE AND HOLDING A SCYTHE. IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH HEALING AND PROTECTION." - MORGAN SMITH *Secret Words:” BLACK OF NIGHT DRUMS”
Congrats to #30 solvers : Will Adams*, George Egert*, Ann Boulden*, Skip Howard*, Mike Arms*, and Shorty Vaiza*!
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EVERYDAY OBSERVATIONS ABE VILLARREAL
Writing in Cursive It’s all about respect
I
n the early 20th century, the average American could communicate in several ways. You could go next door and knock on your neighbor’s door. You could send a telegraph to a family or friend who was at a distance. Phones were available to many families, and by the 1930s radio broadcasts were the in-thing. Fast forward 100 years, and there are endless ways to send or receive communications, yet somehow there seem to be fewer ways in which people are talkin’ to each other. At a recent dinner party with many 20-somethings, I realized that what my parents taught me regarding respect to others was being challenged. Yes, respect, because how we talk to each other and listen to each other is about respect. People don’t look up anymore. They don’t tell stories with a beginning, middle and an end. Today’s generation, with all its wonderful attributes, is creating its own way, and telling its own story in a way that was unimaginable even in the late 20th century. And then there’s writing in cursive. Who does it anymore? For that matter, who writes with a paper and pen anymore? Think about it, writing in cursive has become a lost art form. It’s a shame because there are many positives that come with the beautiful flow of a pen on the move. When I was recently researching my family tree on ancestry.com I came across several documents from the 1930s and 1940s. I don’t know too much about my great-grandparents, so I can only interpret who they were as individuals through their handwriting. You can tell more than you know, from people’s signatures, their phrasing, punctua-
tion. Were they educated? Did they write in short phrases or complicated sentence structures? We’ll never know if they could tell a good story, but they probably could, since texting and snap chatting weren’t needed. Social media apps and smartphones were nowhere in sight. When people talked to each other, they actually talked to each other. They looked into each other’s eyes and read each other’s faces. People used body language instead of emojis. Fights weren’t made out of an emotional misinterpretation of a text message. We knew what people meant because they let us know what they meant. And when someone wrote you a letter, or mailed you a postcard, he or she always wrote in cursive because any less would be disrespectful. I know cursive won’t have a comeback. Writing on paper takes too long. There’s no autocorrect and thinking about spelling and other old-fashioned things are too much work. It’s a shame, because how we communicate with other is much more important than an LOL at the end of a three-word text message. I’d love to hear from you at some point. Drop me a note sometime. I’d love to see your signature. Abe Villarreal is the assistant dean of student activities at Western New Mexico University. When not on campus, he enjoys writing about his observations on life, people and American traditions.
6 • JANUARY 2019
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EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK • ELVA K. ÖSTERREICH
Choose One
I
Moving into the new year the lagom way
am a rule maker. Not many, just a few. For example, my rules for raising my children were: 1.) Choose my battles carefully and stick to them like glue and 2.) Never stop them from jumping in puddles. For myself, I have a few others, most borrowed from things I picked up in passing, for example: “Tie your camel;” “No regrets;” and “Don’t be a jerk” (adapted from “Be polite”). While all of these could engender long discussion and explanations, the one I want to talk about today is the newest – “Choose one.” “Choose one” is the task I set for myself in 2018 (and am far from perfecting it). It applies to life, food, health, enjoyment and general living conditions. • Choose one tamale (or scoop of macaroni salad, or baked potato, etc.) first, not two. You can always go back for another, but you won’t feel obligated or tempted to eat it if you don’t really need or want it and it’s sitting on your plate. • Choose one action activity a day to get out and relax. Take 20 minutes and go for a walk, or meditate, or stretch, or just breath. • Choose one event a day. Don’t
try to go to a morning Farmers Market, have lunch with a friend, have dinner with another friend then go to a play in the evening all in the same day (unless you are on vacation of course). Doing too much in a day, even if its leisure stuff, can create stress rather than enjoyment. I haven’t succeeded in following this rule yet, but it sounds healthy. • Choose one task to complete thoroughly be it laundry, dishes, unboxing, paperwork, etc. And then, in in December, in honor of my mom’s 80th birthday, our relatives, Heino and Inga-Britt Ots, came to visit from Sweden and my sister asked them about the concept of “lagom.” A word I had never heard of. “It’s not too much and not too little,” Inga-Britt said. “It’s between something – not too hot and not too cold – just enough. We are a logom country.” Now I am quoting directly from Wikipedia because, for a change, the description seems perfect: “Lagom is widely translated as ‘in moderation,’ ‘in balance,’ ‘perfect-simple,’ and ‘suitable’ (in matter of amounts). Whereas words like sufficient and average suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lag-
om carries the connotation of appropriateness, although not necessarily perfection. The archetypical Swedish proverb ‘Lagom är bäst,’ literally ‘The right amount is best,’ is also translated as ‘Enough is as good as a feast.’ That same proverb is translated as ‘There is virtue in moderation.’” So there, I thought, lagom sounds much like my “choose one” concept and as I looked more, I found it ties into my other rules as well. In her book “Live Laugh Lagom: Embracing the Swedish way to Balance and Happiness,” Lola A. Åkerström talks about the concept as an emotional check, how to listen more and speak less. “There are so many opportunities and details you can miss when you dominate conversations and take up space,” she writes. “This doesn’t mean deferring to others, but rather giving them their own space to shine as well. You can learn to respect others more when you pause to listen to them, and vice versa.” The Swedish proverb, “The stomach is filled earlier than the eye,” perfectly fills the choose one food rule. When it comes to cooking, lagom represents a never-too-ex-
treme approach. The healthy mix of whole grains, fish, and vegetables the Nordic diet is known for is blended with a tradition of “fika,” a midday coffee and sweet break. “While the rest of the world swings between cleanses and over-the-top food trends, Swedes keep it simple by sticking with lagom,” writes Merritt Watts in her Good Food column at www. wellandgood.com. Inga-Britt said there is a program on Swedish television, a reality show called “Allt för Sverige” (Everything from Sweden). “They invite people from the U.S. who will look for their relatives,” she said. “They have competition. One will win, and that person meets their relatives (for a family reunion). The first word they learn is logom. They will go learn how old people lived.” She said participants learn how they live, go through various challenges and do things like celebrate mid-summer from different places in Sweden. There is little surprise that people across the world have take lagom on as a way of life. It seems like a pretty good recipe to me. “Personally, lagom has reminded me to seek ruthlessly for
the beauty in this world and to capture it and preserve it. God has used it to pull me back from the edge of darkness and reminded me time and time again that all is not bad or lost in this world,” writes photographer/designer Jonathan Simcoe. “There is beauty to seen and enjoyed. There is light to be captured and displayed. There is life to be lived. And amidst all the chaos and tangle of life, there is something beautiful in finding lagom. Where everything has its right place. Stolen moments of rest and balance. Even a sense of peace.” 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. 24 at the Tranquilbuzz 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 575-4434408.
GUEST COLUMN • LAURIE FORD
Humanity and Our Wild Horses How can we save legacy, stop cruelty?
I
f the United States Forest Service (USFS) has its way, despite the opposition of Congress, California Law and the majority of United States Citizens, hundreds of wild horses gathered from the Devil’s Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory will soon, intentionally, be entering the slaughter pipeline. The USFS, unlike the Bureau of Land Management, is under the Department of Agriculture and is not bound by federal law prohibiting the sale of wild horses for slaughter. The USFS recently completed a round-up of almost 1,000 horses from the Modoc National Forest in northern California, designated habitat where wild horses have been known to be present for at least 140 years. On Jan. 10, all horses aged 10 and older, including pregnant mares, will be put up for sale for $25 with a limit of 24 per day. After 60 days the remaining horses will be sold by the truckload, with no limitations or oversight, for $1 apiece. This is truly heartbreaking, especially considering this is the state’s last remaining large herd and is recognized around the world. Ironically, this atrocity is taking place in a state that has historically stood up for our wild horses and burros and opposed slaughter. Despite that the intended sale is in violation of California state law prohibiting the sale and slaughter
of horsemeat for human consumption, the USFS persists in its justification claiming there is no evidence that this will be the intended use. The only slaughter market for horses is human consumption, and, to make it even easier for kill buyers, the wild horses will no longer have the freeze brand that identifies them as such. While the USFS claims that the 300,000-acre Devils Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory can only support 400 horses, and that they want “range and riparian ecological conditions to recover” thousands of private livestock continue to graze during the vital spring and summer months. Minimal reductions in grazing permit use could potentially save hundreds of wild horses and ranchers have even been offered financial compensation by the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) to do so. In addition, the AWHC have also offered to finance, at no cost to the taxpayer, a fertility control program to reduce population rates. The precedence the Modoc USFS is setting should be especially alarming for New Mexico residents considering our own last, large wild horse herd, the Jicarilla, is under the management of the USFS. Located in the Carson National Forest, the Jicarilla Wild Horse Territory is dominated by oil, gas and livestock grazing.
Recalling the historical contribution our wild horses have made to this country, and the cruelty they have been made to endure as their reward, one wonders where all the progress we have made really lies. While the Return to Freedom Conservation Coalition and other advocates have filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent this sale, private citizens can still play a vital role in the outcome of such an inhumane agenda. The public can go to the website of Returntofreedom.org, click on News, and get the latest information regarding this sale. The link also provides prompts making it easy to forward your concerns, your voice, to the appropriate USFS officials and congressional representatives. Modoc National Forest: 530-2335811 or 530-233-8738. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico: 202-224-66212. Laurie Ford moved to New Mexico 14 years ago. Photography and horses have always been her passion. For the past five years she has been travelling around the west, camping in wild horse areas to observe and photograph the animals in their natural environment.
A stallion, part of the New Mexico Jicarilla herd, raises his head, alerting to the wind. (Photo by Laurie Ford)
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 7
Letters to the Editor We 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.
Elevate, address the core Editor, I really enjoyed your take (Desert Exposure November 2018, Editor’s Notebook, “The Rhetoric of Politics”), one of the more balanced viewpoints I have read in Desert Exposure. I wanted to relate a conversation I had with my sister regarding the issues you raised and your viewpoints: For some background, my sister has lived on Capital Hill in (Washington) DC for over 35 years, and believes the world revolves around DC. My sister believes anyone who does not live in the beltway does not have access to what is “really” going on in the world – my sister loves New Mexico but believes we are intellectually disadvantaged ...? Anyway, after the election of DJT, my sister called to ask if I could offer any plausible explanation for how (this) could have happened? I am certain my explanation did not satisfy her, but she was gracious in accepting it nonetheless. I tried to explain that after years of being blatantly lied to, by both parties, coupled with systemic avarice making nearly
all politicians millionaires after a short time in office, and adding the failure to get meaningful legislation passed by virtually ignoring their constituents, we found ourselves grasping for anyone who could offer middle America a seeming lifeline – in this case, offered by DJT. I concluded that we have both parties to blame for creating an atmosphere where DJT could succeed while remaining completely tone-deaf to the cries for substantive help with the core issues facing our country. The fact DJT was able to best what was arguably the single most talented Republican field of candidates in modern memory, serves to underscore my position – but to the issue you highlighted; namely, the despicable rhetoric, employed equally by both sides. While nothing new (as you reiterated) I would have hoped the discourse could have been elevated to address the things which unite us, as Americans, regardless of party affiliation, addressing the “core” issues facing this country is what I believe the majority of voters want our elected officials to concentrate their energies upon – actually getting things done – what a concept, and one that is as foreign to Santa Fe as it seems to be in Washington. I love my state, but I decry the fact we are at or near No. 50 in almost every meaningful category. Lastly, while I too believe candidate questionnaires are a good thing on their face, nothing prevents a candidate from prevaricating on such questionnaires, seemingly with impunity. I have heard it said “voting” is the single most important aspect of being an American citizen, but the Founding Fathers knew it was an “informed” electorate that could affect positive change and hold our Republic together, today I fear we have neither an informed Electorate nor responsive political parties, to the detriment of us all. Donn Gallahue Silver City
Invasion? On a November afternoon, I returned to the United States via El Paso del Norte bridge. More than a hundred predominantly male migrants, camped on thin blankets beside the bridge wall, watched as I crossed alone, with one suitcase trailing behind. During my sojourn south of the border, President Nieto offered sanctuary to the travelers if they agreed to stay within the states of Oaxaca or Chiapas. The fact that a vast majority of vagabonds chose to march on to the proverbial promised land called America speaks volumes. The incoming Mexican president, Obrador, is clearly on a collision course with Trump – he favors open borders. Returning from Jalisco into Juarez, the flight attendant reminded passengers in two languages to put your own oxygen mask on first. Vietnam veterans sleep on benches in Pioneer Park, while hungry children queue up in line for Thanksgiving dinner at El Caldito soup kitchen and journalists such, as Emilio Gutierro Soto, languish in detention for months while their legitimate requests for political asylum remain in question. America has reached the breaking point. The issue is our sovereignty – it’s being violated. This is not a caravan; it’s an invasion. Carol Hunter Las Cruces
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8 • JANUARY 2019
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ADVENTURE • LAURIE FORD
Nature’s Clock
Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge
S
top! Listen! They’re here! While fall colors sweep across New Mexico and the days grow shorter these words resonate all over the state as the Sandhill Cranes trumpet their arrival. Winter is just around the corner. As they have for thousands of years, most of these cranes, along with other migratory geese and ducks, will spend the winter in the wetlands and fields of the Middle Rio Grande Valley where their ancestors once foraged among the grazing wild horses. It is here, in the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, where they will feed, rest and socialize until it is time to return to their northern Rocky Mountain nesting grounds in early spring. The historical plight of the Sandhill Cranes and snow geese is very similar to that of the American Mustang – hunted to near extinction and suffering from the incessant destruction of their habitat by man. From the time the Spanish settled in the valley during the 1500s, the Rio Grande River, the lifeline of the valley, has been continually altered and manipulated with manmade dams and irrigation ditches. The size and flow of a once raging river gradually changed, flooding ceased, and the surrounding wetlands disappeared. The migratory habitat birds depended upon for survival was gone. By the early 1900s the Sandhill Crane population was hovering around 1000, and snow geese numbers had plummeted so low that hunting was banned. The “Migratory Bird Treaty Act” was passed in 1916 making it unlawful to kill migratory birds without permission and provided for the establishment of refuges to protect their habitat. In 1939 the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge became part of a national system of lands dedicated to the protection of both migratory, and non-migratory, wildlife with an emphasis on pre-
Cranes are in mating action at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in December. (Photos by Laurie Ford)
serving the Sandhill Crane. To re-establish a wetlands environment by replicating the once natural flooding cycles of the Rio Grande River, the refuge devised a series of gates, dams and irrigation canals to manage the water. With seasonal, routine flooding and draining of selected wetlands the native plant life, vital to maintaining a habitat that can support a diversity of wildlife year-round, once again, began to thrive. To provide additional food sources the refuge currently grows crops such as corn and winter wheat, and local farmers raise alfalfa and corn; harvesting the alfalfa and leaving the waste corn for the birds. Today, the success of this system
Thursday, Jan 17
of managed wetland and agricultural lands can be seen throughout the year. Not only does the 57,000 acres now provide the necessary habitat for wildlife, but also satisfies the human need to connect with nature. As winter approaches, along with tens of thousands of migratory birds, water levels in targeted areas of the Bosque are raised to create ponds and marshes where the cranes, geese and ducks can roost safely during the night. At dawn, there is a mass exodus, or “fly-out”, from the water to feed in the neighboring fields. Like an orchestrated procession, the geese depart first, a glistening white cloud rising into the soft colored hues of a morning sky. Small groups of cranes slowly follow, leaning forward as they prepare for flight and calling out to one another, “it’s time!” By noon the geese have returned to the ponds to rest while the cranes linger in the fields until the dramatic evening “fly-in” at dusk. These elaborate aerial displays make winter the most popular time to visit the Bosque. Another major attraction is the exuberant courtship ritual displays of the cranes as they call and dance to reaffirm their bond with lifetime mates. If still single, they will perform in earnest to attract a mate so that they can
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start a family of their own in the spring. Like the mummers strutting on New Year’s Day, they jump and bow, flap and twirl, and often get so exited they toss twigs and plants up into the air with glee. While it is the cranes and geese that dominate the landscape of the Bosque during the winter months, numerous other wintering, and permanent, residents can be observed. Flocks of shiny red -winged blackbirds rise from the grasses in a frenzy as hawks and falcons scour the fields in search of a meal. Bald eagles and owls watch solemnly from heighty perches, and up to 15 species of ducks, their tails aimed towards the sky, search the shallow water for roots and tubers. With over 300 species of year-round birds, and the abundant deer, coyote, jackrabbits, bobcats and javelina there is always something to see at the refuge. By the end of February most of the cranes and geese have departed leaving the Bosque eerily quiet. Spring is just around the corner. The wetlands are slowly emptied of water to accommodate a new influx of migrating birds who will fill the air with song. Turkeys gobble, and quail call out in preparation for mating
Tuesday, Jan 29
7:00 p.m. | WNMU Light Hall Theater TICKETS $15
Cultural Affairs
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season. Roadrunners dash about in pursuit of lizards and snakes as wildflowers begin to bloom. After a short reprieve, the Bosque is, once again, brimming with new life and sounds. As summer slowly progresses the broadtail and rufous hummingbirds join the black-chin as they zip between the numerous feeders at the visitor center. Over 25 species of shorebirds loaf in the year-round ponds where great blue herons, and other wading birds, stalk the waters for tiny fish and frogs. Fledglings prepare for flight and bright yellow sunflowers dot the landscape. Fall is right around the corner. When you visit the Bosque this winter and see the tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes it is hard to image that in 1941 only 17 spent the season here. Recent changes made to “The Migratory Bird Treaty Act” may bring back such dismal numbers. The Act now reads that people and companies are no longer to be held accountable for the death of these birds if there was initially no intent to kill them. Oil companies, who have been responsible for almost 90 percent of the incidents that killed thousands of migratory birds, are now relieved of any liability. Once again, the future of these birds, like our wild horses, is uncertain. But one thing is for sure, in the Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge, you don’t need a calendar to see what time of year it is. Watch, and listen, and nature will gladly tell you. Located 15 miles south of Socorro, New Mexico off I-25 (exit 139) the refuge is open yearround. The southern marsh auto loop and northern farmland loop provide unlimited wildlife viewing and access to numerous observation decks and hiking trails. For information visit www. fws.gov/refuge/bosque_del_ apache/ or call the visitor center at 575-835-1828.
Thursday, Jan 31
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DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 9
DIPPING INTO THE DISTANT PAST • MARY ANN HATCHITT
Fat-tooth Dinosaur
The oldest specialized plant-eating reptile discovered near Alamogordo
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n historic plant-eating reptile fossil discovery near Alamogordo rewrites the known evolutionary timeline. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (NMMNHS) announced the discovery of Gordodon, a new sail-backed reptile based on an incomplete skeleton found in Permian age (about 300 million years old) rocks near Alamogordo. Spencer The unique Lucas, PhD structure of the skull, jaws and teeth of Gordodon indicate it was a surprisingly specialized plant eater (herbivore). Previously, such specialized plant eating was not known in reptiles older than about 200 million years. “Gordodon rewrites the books by pushing back our understanding of the evolution of such specialized herbivory by about 100 million years,” said Spencer Lucas, PhD palentology curator at the NMMNHS. The fossil was discovered in a roadcut near Alamogordo by Ethan Schuth, while on a University of Oklahoma geology class field trip in March 2013. Schuth and Dr. Lynn Soreghan (who taught the geology class) contacted Lucas at the museum in Albuquerque. Field crews from NMMNHS collected the fossil bones in 2013-2014. The bones that Schuth found are part of an exquisitely preserved but incomplete skeleton. Preparation (removing the extremely hard sandstone that covered the bones) took place at the museum during 2015-2017. Lucas, Larry Rinehart (NMMNHS fossil preparator, now retired) and Matt Celeskey (NMMNHS research associate and artist) undertook research on the skeleton and prepared a manuscript describing it for publication. The manuscript underwent peer review and has just been published in Palaeontologia Electronica, an open-access paleontology journal. The skeleton, a sail-backed eupelycosaur (yoo-PEL-ee-kosore), is about 300 million years old, so it is from the early part of the Permian Period in the geological timescale, more than 50 million years before the origin of dinosaurs.
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Gordodon Skull & Gordodon Body, (Courtesy photos New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs)
Gordodon Life Restoration (Image created by Matt Celeskey)
Eupelycosaurs include the ancestors of mammals, making this new skeleton more closely related to us than to dinosaurs Lucas, Rinehart and Celeskey identified the skeleton as belonging to a new genus and species that they named Gordodon kraineri. Gordodon was approximately 5 feet long and weighed an estimated 75 pounds. The skull, jaws and teeth of Gordodon indicate that it was a plant eater (herbivore). Gordodon is from the Spanish gordo (“fat”) and the Greek odon (“tooth”), a reference to the large pointed teeth at the tips of its jaws. It is also a reference to the nearby city of Alamogordo. The species name kraineri honors Dr. Karl Krainer, an Austrian geologist, for his many contributions during the last 20 years to our knowledge of the Permian of New Mexico. Gordodon has a surprisingly advanced (specialized) structure of the skull, jaws and
teeth that indicates it was a selective feeder on high nutrient plants. Other early herbivorous reptiles were not selective, chomping on any plants they came across, but Gordodon had some of the same specializations found in modern animals like goats and deer. “Previously, the oldest known animals with teeth as specialized as Gordodon were found in rocks no older than 205 million years ago, which is the Late Triassic period,” said Lucas. “Gordodon extends this advanced type of plant eating by 95 million years. Therefore, the discovery of Gordodon rewrites paleontologists’ understanding of the early history of reptilian herbivory.” Mary Ann Hatchitt represents the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and can be reached at mahatchitt@ outlook.com.
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10 • JANUARY 2019 We strongly recommend gallery patrons call locations before visiting as gallery hours are subject to change and do so often. Contact Desert Exposure at 575-680-1978 or editor@ desertexposure.com to update listings. All area codes are 575 unless indicated otherwise. Silver City Alaska Mudhead StudioGallery, 371 Camino de Viento in Wind Canyon. By appointment, Letha Cress Woolf, potter, 907-783-2780. Anthony Howell Studio, 200 W. Market St. 574-2827. By appointment only. [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, second location at 60 Bear Mountain Road, 5348671. Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday. www. bluedomegallery. com. The Cliffs Studio & Gallery, 205 N. Lyon St., corner of Yankie and Lyon streets, 520-6220251. By appointment. Common Ground, 102 W. Kelly, 534-2087. During the months of September and October open by prior arrangement or chance. If the sign is out, the gallery is open. 575-534-2087. Cow Trail Art Studio, 119 Cow Trail in Arenas Valley, 12-3 p.m. Monday, or by appointment, 706-533- 1897, www. victoriachick.com. Creative Hands Roadside Attraction Art Gallery, 106 W Yankie, Silver City. 303916-5045 Hours are 10:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. By appointment at other times. Elemental Artisans, by appointment only, 215-5936738. Finn’s Gallery, 300 N. Arizona St., 406-790-0573 Francis McCray Gallery, 1000 College Ave., WNMU, 5386517. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday to Friday. The Glasserie Studio and Store, 106 E. College Ave., 590-0044. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. 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. 10 a.m.6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Contemporary art ranging from realism to abstraction in a variety of media. www. LeybaIngallsARTS.com, LeybaIngallsART@zianet.com. Light Art Space, 209 W.
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ARTS EXPOSURE
Gallery Guide Broadway. 520-240-7075, lightartspace.com. Lloyd Studios, 306 W. Broadway St. 590-1110. Sculpture, custom knives and swords. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Lois Duffy Art Studio, 211C N. Texas, 534-0822. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday or by appointment. Original paintings, cards and prints. www.loisduffy. com, loisduffy@ signalpeak.net. Lumiere Editions, 104 N. Texas St., 956-6369. Vintage and contemporary photography. Monday to Friday. The Makery, 206 N. Bullard St. 590- 1263. Freestyle weaving studio and school of fiber, book and paper arts, 11 a.m.4 p.m. Thursday to Monday, www.makerysvc.com. Manzanita Ridge, 107 N. Bullard St. 388-1158. Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery, 211-A Texas St., corner of Yankie and Texas streets, 3882646. Fine arts and crafts. Mimbres Regional Arts Council Gallery, Wells Fargo Bank Bldg., 1201 N. Pope St. 5382505, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday www.mimbresarts.org. Molly Ramolla Gallery & Framing, 203 N. Bullard, 5385538. www. ramollaart.com. Ol’ West Gallery & Mercantile, 104 W. Broadway, 3881811/313-2595, 8:30 -10 a.m. Monday to Friday. The Place at the Palace, at 201 N. Bullard St. 575-388-1368. Seedboat Gallery, 214 W. Yankie St., 534- 1136. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday or by appointment. info@ seedboatgallery.com. Soul River Gallery, 400 N. Bullard St. 303-888-1358; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Sterling Fine Art, 306 N. Bullard St. Silver City, 505-699-5005, sterlingnm.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. Syzgy Tile Gallery, 106 N. Bullard St., 388-5472. Tatiana Maria Gallery, 305 N. Bullard St. 388-4426. Tree Spirit Gallery, on-line only at www.cogan-cogan.com. 303-888-1358. 21 Latigo Trail, 941-387-8589. Sculpture by Barbara Harrison. By appointment only. Wild West Weaving, 211-D N. Texas, 313-1032, 10 a.m.-5
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p.m. Monday to Saturday, www. wildwestweaving.com. Wind Canyon Studio, 11 Quail Run Road off Hwy. 180, mile marker 107, 574- 2308, 619933-8034. Louise Sackett, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday and Wednesday and by appointment. Wynnegate Gallery, 1105 W. Market Street, 575-534-9717, noon – 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, also open for Red Dot Tour, artist showings and by appointment. Yada Yada Yarn, 621 N. Bullard St. 388-3350. 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. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays,.
Mimbres Chamomile Connection, 3918 U.S. Highway 35, 536-9845. Lynnae McConaha. By appointment. Kate Brown Pottery and Tile, HC 15 Box 1335, San Lorenzo, 536- 9935, katebrown@gilanet. com, www.katebrownpottery. com. By appointment. Bayard Kathryn Allen Clay Studio, 601 Erie St., 537-3332. By appointment. Northern Grant County Casitas de Gila, 50 Casita Flats Road, Gila, 535-4455. By appointment. gallery@ casitasdegila. com, www. galleryatthecasitas.com. Deming Deming Arts Center, 100 S. Gold St., 546-3663. Monday to Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Gold Street Gallery, 112-116 S. Gold St., 546-8200. Open noon-4 p.m. Monday to Saturday. 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. Columbus Village of Columbus Library, 112 Broadway, 531-2612, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Rodeo Chiricahua Gallery, 5 Pine St., 557-2225. Open daily except Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hillsboro Barbara Massengill Gallery, 895-3377, open weekends and by appointment. Mesilla Doña Ana Arts Council Arts and Cultural Center, 1740 Calle de Mercado, Suites B and D, 523-6403, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Friday. 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. Ouida Touchön Studio, 2615
Calle de Guadalupe, 6357899. By appointment. ouida@ ouidatouchon. com, www. ouidatouchon. com. The Potteries, 2260 Calle de Santiago, 524-0538, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Rokoko, 1785 Avenida de Mercado, 405-8877.
Las Cruces Big Picture Gallery, 2001 Lohman Ave, Suite 109, 6470508. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday to Friday. 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. 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. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Justus Wright Galeria, 266 W. Court Ave., 526-6101, jud@ delvalleprintinglc.com. 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. 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. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday to Friday; 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday. Mesquite Art Gallery, 340 N. Mesquite St., 640-3502. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday to Friday; 2-5 p.m. Saturday. M. Phillip’s Fine Art Gallery, 221 N. Main St., 525-1367. New Dimension Art Works, 615 E. Piñon, 373-0043. By Appointment. NMSU University Art Gallery, Williams Hall, University Ave. east of Solano, 646-2545, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Nopalito’s Galeria, 326 S. Mesquite, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Friday to Sunday. Quillin Stephens Gallery, behind downtown Coas Books, 3121064. 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, noon5 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday to Friday; 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday, and by appointment. Virginia Maria Romero Studio, 4636 Maxim Court, 644-0214. By appointment, agzromero@zianet.com, virginiamariaromero.com. Ruidoso Art Ruidoso Gallery, 808-1133, artruidoso.com, 615 Sudderth Drive, Ruidoso, 11a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday-Sunday. The Adobe, 2905 Sudderth Drive, 257-5795, 10 a.m.5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. DJ’s Jewelry, 618 Carrizo Canyon Road, 630-1514, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Specializing in turquoise, Native American traditional, New Mexican contemporary and estate jewelry. Earth-N-Stone, 2117 Sudderth Drive, Suite 14, 257-2768, 808-1157. Gazebo Potters, 2117 Sudderth Drive No. 7, 808-1157. Pottery
classes, workshops, wheel time, kiln firing and works by local potters. Josie’s Framery, 2917 Sudderth Drive, 257-4156. Framing, gallery representing regional artists and photographers. LongCoat Fine Art, 2801 Sudderth Drive, Suite D., 257-9102, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday Contemporary Masters and historical works of art. Mountain Arts, 2530 Sudderth Drive, 257-9748, www. mountainartsgallery.com, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. 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, Suite 1, 257-3989. info@ thunderhorsegallery.com, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Bronze sculpture by Rory Combs, Sarinova glass and fine art. The White Dove, 2825 Sudderth Drive, No. A, 575-2576609, 9:30 a.m-4 p.m. daily, 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. Capitan Heart of the Raven, 415 12th St., 937-7459, Functional and decorative pottery, classes. Carrizozo Malkerson Gallery 408, 408 12th St. in Carrizozo, 575-6482598. Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography, 401 12th St. in Carrizozo, 575-937-1489, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday to Monday; noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Exclusive exhibit venue for the winners of New Mexico Magazine’s photography contest and the largest photo gallery in the state. Lincoln Old Lincoln Gallery, 1068 Calle la Placita, across from the visitor’s center in Lincoln, 6534045. Coffee bar featuring 45 New Mexico artists, 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday San Patricio Hurd La Rinconada, NM 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. Porcelain pottery by Ivy Heymann.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 11
ON THE SHELF • MIKE COOK
Keeping Busy
Retired NMSU professor authors UFO nonfiction, Southwest horror fiction
R
MU
ERY
ALASKA AD PO DHE TT LV E
R C I T Y,
Letha Cress Woolf Artist-Potter
907-783-2780
N
M
SI
SHOWING AT RAMOLLA GALLERY, CORNER OF BULLARD AND BROADWAY IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN SILVER CITY. email: alaskamudhead@yahoo.com
Have a Happy New Year 2012
etired New Mexico State University journalism professor Frank Thayer has co-authored a nonfiction account of a UFO crash in northern New Mexico and has written novels about an alien invasion and other tales of horror in southern New Mexico. “It’s real,” Thayer said about the March 25, 1948 crash that is the basis of “The Aztec UFO Incident: The Case, Evidence and Elaborate Cover-Up of One of the Most Perplexing Crashes in History.” “I’ve been to the place where the saucer landed,” he said, referring to the crash site in Hart Canyon, about 12 miles northeast of Aztec, New Mexico, the county seat of San Juan County, 15 miles northeast of Farmington. “There’s a lot of solid research in there,” Thayer said about the book, published in 2015, which he co-wrote with researchers Scott Ramsey and Suzanne Ramsey of Charlotte, North Carolina. Thayer became involved with the project at the Ramseys’ invitation in 2009. “They researched, I wrote,” he said. The book reveals “the exact spot where the craft landed and show(s) how the 100-foot diameter saucer was moved to a secret laboratory,” according to www. theaztecincident.com. “Witnesses to the incident who were interviewed by the authors affirm that they were sworn to secrecy by the military. The authors also reveal the names of scientists who worked on the craft after its recovery.” “There is no question that an intelligently controlled extraterrestrial spacecraft was recovered by agents of the government … and taken for classified study and evaluation,” said retired nuclear physicist, professional ufologist and author Stanton T. Friedman. He wrote the preface to the Aztec UFO book, which he called “a fascinating and carefully done exposé well worth reading.” Friedman received international attention as one of the original investigators of the Roswell Incident, the alleged crash of a UFO near Corona, New Mexico in July 1947.
2 0 1 8
Author and NMSU professor emeritus Dr. Frank Thayer with his horror novel “The Whispering Darkness.” (Bulletin photos by Mike Cook)
Thayer is also co-author with the Ramseys of “The Aztec Incident: Recovery at Hart Canyon,” published in 2012. Thayer’s works of fiction include “Terror Tales of the Southwest” (2017) and “The Whispering Darkness” (2018), which is the story of an alien invasion that takes place in the circa-1880s gold- and silver-mining boom town of Mogollon, New Mexico, where Thayer once owned an art gallery. The book also includes some of his photography of the Mogollon historic district. Thayer said he has loved horror stories since his childhood in Grant County, New Mexico, just south of Mogollon. Thayer spent years exploring Mogollon, Silver City, Hillsboro and nearby Chino Mines and other places that would feature in his novels and short stories. “Almost every story has a hook from real experience, “Thayer said, and many of his characters are based at least in part on real people. Thayer lists H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe as major influences on his writing and said his interest in horror fiction began about the same time as that of Stephen King. “He became a block-buster suc-
cess and I got a day job,” Thayer said. Thayer’s teaching career included 11 years in Canada, which ended in 1977 when he began missing the desert and returned to New Mexico. Thayer worked for Silver Consolidated Schools in Silver City for four years before coming to Las Cruces to teach and complete his masters and doctorate degrees at NMSU. He retired in 2012 but remains on the university’s teaching faculty as a journalism professor emeritus. Retirement has given Thayer the time to pursue his newfound career as an author. “I’m loving it,” he said. “I’m not making any money, but I’m living the life of a writer.” Thayer said he has lots of ideas for more books, including the urge “to write the ultimate vampire story.” One of his abiding principals as a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, Thayer said, is that “mysteries are not made to be solved. They’re made to be experienced.” Thayer’s books are available at COAS bookstores in Las Cruces, on amazon.com and from the author. Contact Thayer at gticruiser@ aim.com and visit www.frankthayer.net.
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Exhibitions * Workshops * Lectures * Events
Silver City
lightartspace.com
Calling Artists • Book space available: Moonbow Alterations and Gift Shop, 225 E. Idaho No. 32, has space available to display and sell local books that have been published any time. Info: 575-527-1411 or alicebdavenport@gmail.com. • Exhibit space: One or two private rooms, approximately 12-by-15-feet with common greeting area, available in the Gallery on Mesquite Street in the Arts & Cultural District and on the Art Ramble route. Hours are determined by exhibiting artists. Cost: $175 a month per room for LCAA members, $200 a month for non-mem-
bers. No commission charged on sales. Info: Jack LeSage 575-5321046 or jacklsg1@gmail.com. • New Mexico artists are invited to apply for inclusion in “Happy Little Clouds: Skyscapes of New Mexico,” the Santa Fe Community Gallery’s summer 2019 exhibit. Artists interested in turning their creative focus to the sky and creating artworks inspired by New Mexico’s skies are encouraged to submit. “Happy Little Clouds” will run from June 7 through Aug. 29. Artists working in all media are encouraged to submit an online portfolio here: form.
jotform.com/82334719873163 . The deadline is 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 11. For information, call 505955-6707 or email rdlambert@ santafenm.gov. • Watercolor opportunity: 2019 New Mexico Watercolor Society Southern Chapter Spring Show is “Color and Light: The Joy of Watercolor” and will be held May 2019 at the Doña Ana Arts Council Gallery, 1740 Calle De Mercado, Las Cruces. The exhibit open to NMWS members only. For information on the exhibit and how to become a member of NMWS at nmwatercolorsociety.org.
ARTIST TALK
Alec Johnson . light painting
jan 10 @6pm . 306 n bullard st . free to the public
STERLING FINE ART
12 • JANUARY 2019
www.desertexposure.com
ARTS EXPOSURE • MIKE COOK
Healing Creations
The sun rises on a new Las Cruces interactive studio
D
uring her teaching career, Las Cruces artist Jan Hampton watched her students as they were creating. “Something calming happened in most of them as they drew or painted. I became very interested in what the creative process did for us and began studying art as a healing process.” A few years and a move to Las Cruces later, that creative spirit has guided Hampton to create an expressive arts studio at 537 N. Alameda Ave., where she is in the final stages of opening Desert Sunrise Studio. The studio, which opens in January, will provide space for local artists and would-be artists of all ages to draw, paint and create in a self-expressive and healing environment, Hampton said. Worktables and materials will
“Guiding Vision” “Morning Light”
be provided free of charge, she said, including pencils, pens, paper and other materials for drawing and painting (including
300 N. Arizona corner of Yankie & Arizona in Downtown Silver City
Thank you for ALL your support in 2018! Finns Gallery will be closed from January 6th-22nd, 2019 for minor repairs.
575-597-6922 • Finns406bullard@gmail.com or Facebook
drawing with your eyes closed), creating collages, tile painting with alcohol inks and scratch-off mandalas. rubbing alcohol and paint to create alcohol-ink tiles; materials to make archetypal collages; and meditation. The studio walls are already filled with art by Hampton, her mother and other artists to serve as inspiration to visitors. Artist friends will periodically offer classes for a fee at the studio. The classes will include art therapy, she said. And, at preset times, the space will be available as an open studio, Hampton said, to let artists “do the artwork they want to do.” Hampton and her husband, James, moved to Las Cruces from Sugar Land, Texas, in June, after four years of caring for her late parents, to whom she has dedicated her new studio. Her mother, Margaret Milz, was an artist, Hampton said, and her father, Elmer Milz, “took us all around the world.”
Yankie-Texas ART DISTRICT at the crossroads of Yankie & Texas Streets in Historic Downtown Silver City
Mariah’s Copper Quail Gallery 211A N. Texas 388-2646
Tues-Thurs & Sunday 11-4, Friday 11-5, Sat. 10-5, Closed Mondays
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Wild West Weaving
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Blue Dome Gallery 575-538-2538
Downtown: Thurs – Sat & Mon, 11-5 at 307 N. Texas St. The Lodge: Daily 9-5 at 60 Bear Mt. Ranch Rd.
“Art has been a part of my life since I was a child,” she said. Hampton worked as a designer and an illustrator in Tennessee and Texas during the 1970s and 1980s, learning the importance of “strong composition,” she said. “While my children grew during the 1990s, I painted portraits, murals and commissioned work in a variety of media.” She received teaching certification in 2003 and taught K-12 art for more than a decade before retiring to take care of her parents. “Watching my own children, my students and most recently my parents create artwork has shown me that art heals,” Hampton said. “I have a deep appreciation for the power of the creative act when I see people in groups I facilitate find peace as they create. My own artwork has changed during the past few years as my creative and my spiritual life expand.” As she has moved more into abstraction, Hampton said meditation has provided her with new subject matter. “Something’s coming through,” she said. “It’s not verbal. The images speak more clearly to me than words.” Coming to Las Cruces was “a mountain-calling thing,” Hampton said. Walking toward the Organ Mountains near her new home off Roadrunner Parkway at
“Summer Heat”
sunrise every morning gave her studio its name. Hampton has worked with residents of La Casa, Inc. domestic violence women’s shelter in Las Cruces and plans to contact other local organizations to share the benefits of art therapy, she said. “The soul speaks through imagery” when people make art, Hampton said. “We have our healing energies and they get to work when we create.” Hampton is a member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society, ArtsForms, the Las Cruces Art Association and the Doña Ana Arts Council. For more information, contact janhamp@gmail.com or visit desertsunrise537.blogspot.com and www.janhampton.com.
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Las Cruces Artist Jan Hampton. (Photos courtesy Jan Hampton)
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 13
SILVER CITY
ARTS EXPOSURE
Arts Scene
Upcoming area art happenings demingarts.org.
A Drawing Room Salon at Geisler Studio in Silver City begins in January every Sunday.
A Drawing Room Salon (limit 8) will commence on Sundays in January and February at Geisler Studio, 102 West Kelly in Silver City. For a brief interval between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. a facilitator will elucidate the five laws of linear perspective (Science, works the same every time); hatching and cross-hatching; scale; focal point and more. The rest of the time participants will draw. On breaks participants will practice “Art-Speak.” A formal critique will be held every other week.
DEMING/COLUMBUS • “Arts of the Old West” is at the Deming Art Center. Events all day Jan. 5 at the center begin at 9:45 a.m. and include jerky making, folk embroidery, bootmaking, a fashion show and more. Some of the events take place at the Deming Museum Transportation Room as well. Richard Gabriel, a native New Mexican artist, is featured in January. Currently living in Tijeras, Richard began working with tin in 1987. After a few years he began selling his work wholesale to a network of shops and galleries, in New Mexico, California and Colorado. His company, Tinworks, is the largest producer of traditional Spanish Colonial Tinwork in New Mexico. He has been teaching his craft for 13 years at New Mexico universities. Gabriel will be giving a talk at the Deming Museum on at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, and the public is welcome. He will also be teaching classes in tin punching, on Monday, Jan. 7, at the Deming Art Center. Visit the gallery to sign up for a spot in the class. The gallery is located at 100 S. Gold St. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. Info: 575-546-3663, www.
• The Columbus Village Library hosts a community show of self-portraits through Jan. 15. The library is at 112 W. Broadway in Columbus. Info: 575-531-2612.
Creations by Robert Widner and Kurt Van Wagner are featured at the Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery for January.
LAS CRUCES • The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, across from the historic Fountain Theatre, features two local artists for the month of January, Roberta Widner and Kurt Van Wagner. Widner is a native New Mexican. The state and its people have been frequent subjects for her varied media paintings. She has also gained inspiration from her travels in the Iberian/Italian and French regions of Europe. She also feels very fortunate to have had many fine classic and plein air instructors. Van Wagner has emerged as an accomplished self-taught digital artist. His artwork has gained international and local attention. The First American Bank, Mesilla, is well represented by gallery members who rotate their artwork on a monthly basis. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Info: 575-522-2933, www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com. • “Birds in Art” is the exhibit at the Las Cruces Museum of Art in conjunction with the Nature Center in Las Cruces on Main Street. Birds in Art is a traveling exhibition organized by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, and show-
Say “Hi”to Ivan, the blue-gold macaw!
cases international artists interpreting birds and related subject matter. The exhibition will be on display until Jan. 12. The museum is located at 491 N. Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays. Info: las-cruces. org/museums or 575-541-2137. • The Tombaugh Gallery is hosting an invitational exhibit in which artists were invited to submit artThe Tombaugh work that is Gallery in Las by Cruces is hold- inspired ing an exhibit or reflects the based on Phil song “What’s Ochs song That I Hear” “What’s That I by Phil Ochs. Hear?” The exhibit opens with an reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 11, featuring music, wine and refreshments. Awards will be presented, including 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and People’s Choice. A “soft” reception will be held on from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13. The Tombaugh Gallery is located at 2000 S. Solano. Regular hours are 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday,. The show closes Saturday, Jan. 26. • Dennis Lujan presents a one man show, “Traditional,” during December and January at Cafe de Mesilla, 2190 Avenida de Mesilla. Lujan’s new works are inspired by the southwest and of his relation to his close heritage of Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation. One of a kind fiber artworks can contain 1,000’s of French knots to create a picture of a sunlit image of the pueblo’s east side. A southwestern theme is throughout the show. The café is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Info: dennis_lujan@yahoo.com. • “Passing Through” exhibit, work by artist Jimin Lee, is open at the Branigan Cultural Center through Feb. 2. Lee transforms photo-based images of industrial landscapes, miniature sets, and other loci otherwise ignored, into central subjects through a series of techniques that incorporate technology and craft. Lee’s work speaks to the U.S./Mexico borderlands by eliciting conversation about cross-cultural and transnational exchanges occurring every
day. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Info: 575-541-2154. •Also at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St. in Las Cruces, “Lightning Field,” featuring artist Ken Morgan, continues through Feb. 16. “Lightning Field” is an interplay of light and dark that challenges the boundaries of painting mediums and brings the digital age to the forefront. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Info: 575541-2154. • “Dressed for the Occasion,” an exhibit at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, runs through March 3 in the museum’s Legacy Gallery. Learn about women’s clothing from the pioneer days of the 1870s to the Depression Era of the 1930s. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Info: 575-522-4100, www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org. • At the Farm & Ranch “Watercolors by Penny Thomas Simpson” is on display through March 31. This exhibit will be in the Arts Corridor and features 33 paintings of life around the farm and ranch, from fruits and vegetables to old cooking utensils.
Petroglyph Series Now Completed
Just a Little Off the Wall
Gallery Studio Stewart Grange International Printmaker + Painter www.stewartgrangeart.com Stewartgrange@yahoo.com 612-616-1843 • Silver City, NM Gallery Studio Open Upon Request.
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14 • JANUARY 2019
www.desertexposure.com
ON SCREEN
Winter Film Series
‘Hollywood’s Wild Women of the West’
T
he Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society will host an eight-part movie series, commencing on Thursday, Jan. 17, and continuing every Thursday evening through March 7. The title of the series is “Not Just a Man’s World: Hollywood’s Wild Women of the West” The venue for the showings is the Santa Clara National Guard Armory, located across the highway from the Village of Santa Clara, six miles east of Silver
City via US Highway 180. Admission is free and concessions are available. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with movies beginning at 7 p.m. The series schedule includes: Jan. 17: “The Plainsman,” starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur Jan. 24: “My Darling Clementine,” starring Henry Fonda Jan. 31: “Heller in Pink Tights,” with Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren
Feb. 7: “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” with Debbie Reynolds in the title role Feb. 14: “Cat Ballou,” starring Lee Marvin and Jane Fonda Feb. 21: “The Ballad of Cable Hogue,” starring Jason Robards Feb. 28: “McCabe and Mrs. Miller,” with Warren Beattie and Julie Christy Mar. 7: “Once Upon a Time in the West,” starring Henry Fonda For more information, call Doug Dinwiddie at 575-388-4862.
“NOT JUST A MAN’S WORLD: HOLLYWOOD’S WILD WOMEN OF THE WEST” 7PM JAN 17-MAR 7, 2019 WINTER FILM SERIES
Thursday Evenings @ Santa Clara National Guard Armory Presented byThe Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society Free Admission/Donations Welcome/Concessions Available
JAN 17
JAN 24
JAN 31
FEB 7
Cellist Zuill Bailey is a Grammy Award winner, distinguished soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, artistic directory and teacher. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich)
ON STAGE
The Romantics
FEB 14
FEB 21
Looking
FEB 28
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MAR 7
Grammy Award-winning cellist performs with El Paso Symphony Orchestra
C
ellist Zuill Bailey and the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Bohuslav Rattay, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 and 19 at the Plaza Theatre in El Paso. These concerts mark the 14th annual collaboration between the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and El Paso Pro-Musica — resulting in world-renowned artists performing on multiple stages throughout El Paso, reaching a broader audience. This program features two of the great composers of the Romantic period – Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvořák. The two composers had a relationship that is quite unparalleled in music history. The friendship began when Brahms served on a jury of the Austrian State Stipendium in 1874 that included a submission by then-unknown composer Antonin Dvořák. Brahms was taken by the talent of this undiscovered composer. As a result of Brahms’s support, Antonin Dvořák received the stipend in 1874 and then again in 1876 and 1877. Dvořák never forgot that he owed his international rise to Brahms’ interest. From the mid1870s on, Brahms and Dvořák were in regular contact with each other, the older composer, Brahms, offering advice and support. During Dvořák’s time in America, Brahms took an extraordinary step and served
as copy editor and proofreader for Dvořák’s submissions to Brahms’ publisher, Simrock, to facilitate their timely publication. Brahms even offered to leave his entire estate to Dvořák if he would move to Vienna, an offer Dvořák ultimately refused. Brahms was once quoted as saying that any composer would be honored to have the ideas that Dvořák discarded. The January performances begin with the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 by Johannes Brahms which highlights the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. The symphony premiered on Dec. 30, 1877, in a performance by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. It was enthusiastically received. The Second Symphony seems sunny, bright, and open, and it is often called Brahms “Pastorale” Symphony from the similarity in mood to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the “Pastorale.” Zuill Bailey will join the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in the second half in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, op. 104. This piece is considered the greatest cello concerto ever written and Dvořák’s best work. Concert tickets: $45, $40, $34, $21, $16 plus fees and $9 and $11 for students. Single tickets may be purchased by calling the El Paso Symphony office at 915-532-3776, online at www.epso.org or www.ticketmaster.com.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 15
ON SCREEN
Las Cruces Film Festival George Lopez to receive award at 2019 event
T
“Two of a Kind,” watercolor by Penny Thomas Simpson.
ARTS EXPOSURE
Penny Thomas Simpson Watercolor show puts rural kitchen scenes at forefront
P
enny Thomas Simpson’s search for a nostalgic look at the essence of farming and ranching brought her to the kitchen table. The Las Cruces artist’s show at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum features 33 watercolor paintings. “Around the Farm and Ranch: Watercolors by Penny Thomas Simpson” will be in the Museum’s Arts Corridor through March 31. “Finding images that center on farming and ranching was a welcome challenge,” she said. “Often, the New Mexico landscape is the first idea that comes to mind.” But Simpson’s search for agriculture in its purest form took her to “Grandma’s table, where the kitchen was the heart of the home, and fueling farm and ranch hands was a never-ending job.” Her realistic work captures pieces of time with dramatic lighting. Many of the paintings in this exhibit show fruits, vegetables and cooking utensils in the kitchen. Also part of the show are colorful images of cacti.
“Luckily, cacti are everywhere,” she said. “Their blooms shine for everyone’s enjoyment.” Penny Simpson has been a New Mexico artist since 1977. She studied graphic design at Prairie State College in Illinois but her real interest was illustration. Painting realistic fruit and flowers with dramatic lighting has become a passion. She has been honored with numerous awards both in state and nationally and is a signature member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society and the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies. 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.
he 2019 Las Cruces International Film Festival (LCIFF), presented by Visit Las Cruces and NMSU, Feb. 20-24, will honor George Lopez with the “Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment Award” at a VIP reception on Thursday, Feb. 21. The festival will also screen his film “The Chicano” at Allen Theatres Cineport 10 at 7 that evening. Lopez’s multi-faceted career encompasses television, film, standup comedy, late-night television, and Grammy Award nominations. Lopez just finished shooting “Walking With Herb” in which he stars opposite Edward James Olmos and Kathleen Quinlan. The film is inspired by Joe S. Bullock’s novel of the same name. He is currently starring in Cinedigm’s thriller “River Runs Red,” the LCIFF opening night film, with Taye Diggs, John Cusack, Luke Hemsworth and RJ Mitte. Lopez co-created, wrote, produced, and starred in Warner Bros. Television’s groundbreaking hit sitcom George Lopez, which ran for six seasons on ABC. In 2015, Lopez was seen in the Lionsgate inspirational drama, “Spare Parts.” Produced
by Lopez, the film is based on a true story about four undocumented Mexican-American teenagers from Phoenix who team up to build an underwater robot that wins the national robotics competition. He has voiced animated characters in a string of animated blockbuster films including Rafael in “Rio” and “Rio 2;” Grouchy Smurf in “The Smurfs” 1 and 2, and “The Beverly Hills Chihuahua” 1, 2, and 3. Recent film credits include the box-office hit “Valentine’s
Day” directed by Garry Marshall, “Swing Vote” and “Balls of Fury.” Lopez has also been featured in HBO and Showtime comedy specials. In May 2004, Lopez’s autobiography, “Why You Crying?” entered The New York Times Bestsellers List top 20. Lopez released his second memoir, “I’m Not Gonna Lie and Other Lies You Tell When You Turn 50,” in 2013 where he tells the unabashed and hilarious truth about aging – as only he can. Lopez was also the focus of the award-winning documentary “Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream.” In 2006, Lopez received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition, Time magazine named him one of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America, and the Harris Poll named him one of the Top Ten Favorite Television Personalities. Tickets for the 2019 Las Cruces International Film Festival are on sale now and can be purchased at www.LasCrucesFilmFest.com. Tickets for the 2019 Las Cruces International Film Festival are on sale now and can be purchased at www.LasCrucesFilmFest.com.
Saturday, February 9th Tickets on Sale Now mimbresarts.org (575) 538-2505 “Apple Pie,” watercolor by Penny Thomas Simpson.
16 • JANUARY 2019
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“Desert Blooms” scrylic by Marj Lenninger
“Respite along the trails” watercolor by Debra Vance
COLORFUL TRAILS
The Foundation for Las Cruces Museums is going into its fifth fundraising event with a Navajo rug auction on Feb. 2. (Courtesy Photos)
ARTS EXPOSURE
Navajo Rug Auction Las Cruces Museums benefit
T
he Foundation for Las Cruces Museums has scheduled its fifth fundraising Navajo rug auction Feb. 2 at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St. in Las Cruces. Approximately 250 lots of rugs and other Native American art will be offered for sale. The preview will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and the auction will begin at noon. Appraisals of Native American rugs, jewelry, and baskets (sorry, no kachina dolls or paintings) will be available the evening before the auction during the February
1 First Friday Art Ramble, from 5 to 8 p.m., for a donation of $10 per item. The auction is conducted by the R.B. Burnham Trading Post, who are well known for their work in trading Native art for five generations. Whether you are a collector or just interested in learning about rugs, the fast-moving, fun, and exiting auction is a great opportunity to view a wide variety of styles. Admission is free and proceeds from purchases benefit Navajo weavers and the Foundation for Las Cruces Museums.
Second Saturday Open Studios Las Cruces artists make themselves available
O
pening their studios once a month, some Las Cruces artists will be available from noon to 5 p.m. Jan. 12.
Sonoma Ranch Area Johnn Schooley and Ali (Keyes) Schooley: John is a watercolorist and Ali works in acrylics, photography and sculpts. 2287 Evening Star Ave. 214-906-6086 Marj Leininger is a gypsy sage artist who works in watercolors and mixed medias. 4116 Calle Bellez 575-520-9245 A woman examines a Navajo rug at the 2017 Las Cruces rug auction prior to bidding on it.
Do you live in T or C? looking for a part time gig? looking for a part time gi
back from the street. 575-523-1889 Kathleen Deasy is an artist who works in oils and with different materials to create sculpted figures on canvas. 625 Van Patten Ave 828-467-9060
North Roy van der Aa works in acrylics and mixed medias and features a local artist in his display area; for January the featured artist is Christopher Bardey. Studio is located behind 2645 Doña Ana Road. 575-520-8752
Central Las Cruces
Southwest Las Cruces
Penny Duncklee is a watercolorist who works plein aire and in her studio from photos and sketches. Larry Stocker will be playing acoustic guitar. 1201 Second Street: Take Picacho to Second Street. Go north two blocks and her studio sits
Debra Vance will be showing her watercolor paintings and cards that can be ordered or purchased at her studio. 2200 Union Ave. On Union just west of Highway 28 970-405-5784
TALKING BOOKS
Melzer in Fort Bayard Historian provides keynote address
T
Contact Desert Exposureʼs Distribution Coordinator Teresa Tolonen, at 575-680-1841 or Teresa@lascrucesbulletin.com
he Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society hosts its annual membership dinner on Saturday, Jan. 19. The event will be held at Cross Point Church, located at 11600 Hwy 180 East in Silver City. Doors open at 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m., program to follow. The keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Richard Melzer, who will be speaking on Captain Maximiliano Luna, a celebrated member of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. Melzer recently published a biography of Captain Luna. “Richard Melzer thankfully gives us Luna’s vibrant story for the first time in this thoroughly researched and important biography,” said author Mark Lee Gardner, an expert on the Rough Riders. Noted western historian Paul Hutton wrote in the book’s introduction, “Maximiliano Luna deserved to be rescued from historical obscurity – his legacy was indeed fortunate to be placed in the talented hands of Richard
Melzer.” Melzer is a Regents professor of history at the University of New Mexico’s Valencia campus. A former president of the Historical Society of New Mexico, he is the author of two dozen books and over a hundred articles on New Mexico history. The cost of the dinner is $20 per person, and reservations are required. To make reservations, call Dr. John Bell at 575-574-2573, no later than Wednesday, Jan. 16.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 17
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design • content Teri Matelson, to construction • support consult on a WordPress redesign for your TMatelson Website Development current Website, or ideas Silver City, New Mexico and plans for a NEW www.tmatelsonwordpress.com WordPress Website. t@tmatelson.com I 575.313.1388
Lorena Solares teaches in the Juárez colonia where Tarahumara live. (Photos by Morgan Smith)
SOUTH OF THE BORDER • MORGAN SMITH
Lorena, the Professor
Woman works in Mexico on behalf of Tarahumaras
“D
o you miss your famly?” I asked Lorena Solares, the profes-
sor. “My family? This is my family,” she said as she put her arms around two of the Tarahumara boys. “You know that I have been here seven years.” I’m stunned. I first visited this tiny school on the west edge of Juárez in 2015 and have stopped by sporadically ever since to bring shoes and fresh oranges but seven years seems impossible. This is a school for Tarahumara indians. Although the majority of the Tarahumaras live farther south in the Sierra Tarahumara (basically the Copper Canyon), in a situation of tremendous poverty, there is a small colony in Juárez next to the highway to Casas Grandes. I know the area because I’ve worked with several humanitarian organizations that are focused here. The colony is near Vision in Action, the mental asylum founded by Pastor José Antonio Galván that I visit every month. Many of the houses here are green or yellow, meaning that they were built by a unique El Paso non-profit named Siguiendo los Pasos de Jesus (SPJ). Using funds that were raised in memory of my deceased wife, Julie, they built a home for a woman named Elvira Romero and her grandkids, Hector and Yeira Beltrán who I have been helping for years. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Santa Fe has teamed up with Missions Ministries from Colorado and they too build homes. Missions Ministries also has a medical clinic. Despite this assistance, the “colonia” is full of houses that are just shacks made of chunks of plywood tacked together. The streets are dirt and there is no drainage. There is no evidence of any support – road improvements, for example – from local government except for the police presence. Notwithstanding the women’s colorful dresses, the Tarahumara are the poorest of the poor here.
Located 1810 South Ridge Rd., Silver City, NM next to Chevron
Tarahumara students in Mexico.
The school itself is tiny – just one room – but it is new. There’s a concrete pad in front where the kids can play, a new outhouse and a small two-room casita
where Elena lives. The buildings are protected by a strong fence. This small but neat and clean
LORENA
continued on page 18
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Growing Connectivity
Tularosa network gets $18 million loan from USDA
A
ssistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett has announced the United States Department of Agriculture is investing in infrastructure projects in a dozen states to improve e-connectivity in rural communities. “In the modern economy, rural broadband is a lifeline to quality of life and economic opportunity,” Hazlett said. “With that impact, USDA is fiercely committed under the leadership of Agriculture Secretary Perdue on expanding access to e-Con-
nectivity in rural America.” According to a 2018 report by the Federal Communications Commission, 80 percent of the 24 million American households who lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet are in rural areas. USDA’s investments in broadband infrastructure are helping transform rural America, providing innovation and technology to increase economic competitiveness and opportunities. USDA is investing $91 million through the Telecommunications Programs. The 19 projects
will benefit more than 27,000 businesses and households in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. Here in New Mexico, the Tu-
larosa Basin Telephone Company Inc. will use an $11.8 million loan to improve telecommunications for nearly 10,000 customers in the Carrizozo, Cloudcroft and Tularosa exchanges. Tularosa will build 176 miles of fiber-optic facilities, con-
struct new fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) facilities, and upgrade digital subscriber line (DSL) and FTTP electronics. The improvements will enhance the company’s services and provide subscribers voice and higher broadband speeds.
A group of Tarahumaras stand near a highway near Juárez. (Photos by Morgan Smith)
LORENA
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DEMING ART CENTER 100 South Gold, Deming, NM Mon thru Sat 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Exhibit for January "Arts of the Old West" Lectures and demonstrations at the Transportation Room of the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum, 301 S Silver, Deming NM, on Saturday, January 5, 2019 by the exhibiting artists. We will have a schedule at the Deming Arts Center closer to the exhibit and posted on Facebook and on our website: demingarts.org Artist Reception: Sunday, January 6, 2019 - 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Exhibit: January 5, 2019 through January 30, 2019 Tin Punching by Master Tin Worker Richard Gabriel January 7, 2019. Cost of $15.00 due in advance and is non refundable. Stop by the Art Center to sign up. Three classes will be given during the day. Children's Free Art Class January 12, 2019 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Must sign up as space is limited
Deming Arts Center, 100 S Gold St, Deming NM 88030
575-546-3663 Check us out on Facebook
This project is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs
www.demingarts.org
Corner Florida & Columbus Hwy. PO Box 191, Deming NM 88031 (575) 546-3922
complex is like a shining star in a sea of shacks and muddy streets. When I first visited there were 16 students and they all had uniforms except the two oldest girls. For many, school is doubly hard. the Tarahumaras have their own language and many of the students, therefore, must learn Spanish in addition to their regular courses. This heroic teacher, Lorena was born in the city of Chihuahua and studied at a university in Guachochi in the southern part of the state of Chihuahua. She is now 28 years old. When I visited in 2015, she didn’t have a car; if she wanted to buy food or other necessities she had to walk to the highway and use the bus system. If she wanted to visit her family in Chihuahua, she had to take a local bus east towards Juárez then come back west towards Chihuahua in the long-distance bus. Water comes in a water truck. Although there were many people living in the area, I felt that she was totally isolated and wouldn’t be able to last. She now has a car which at least gives her some freedom of mobility. There are 27 Tarahumara families in the colony. Some are friends of Lorena’s and will invite her over for dinner; others have little interest in education. To them it doesn’t matter whether or not their children go to school. For the Tarahumara students it’s a miracle to have a teacher like her. Bringing oranges seems like a tiny gesture until you see the looks on these kids’ faces when they have fresh fruit. My question for someone like
A Tarahumara woman stays in a colonia near Juárez, far from Copper Canyon where the Indians usually make their homes.
Lorena is “How can you keep doing this year after year?” Obviously, she has a sense of dedication and commitment that is far above the ordinary, especially in Mexico where the education system has for years been run by the unions. But this is not uncommon along the border – individuals like her make extraordinary efforts to help others. The second question – one that is not her responsibility – is what happens if you get these kids through high school? What is next for them? Are there jobs? In the case of Elvira’s grandchildren, Hector and Yeira, both dropped out and went to work briefly in maquilas earning less than $40 a week. Since then, Hector has gotten by with a series of short-term, part-time jobs taking care of livestock and driving a truck. Yeira has gone off with a loser of a boyfriend. In Palomas, I’ve been helping the grandkids of Reyna Cisneros. Enrique, the oldest at 18 and very smart and handsome, dropped out and is now totally adrift. There are no jobs in Palo-
mas. His younger brother, Rubén and his sister, Bethzaida are both talented and studious. Will there be anything for them when they graduate? La Casa de Amor Para Niños, based in Santa Fe, recently took the lead in building the first public high school in Palomas, a dramatic improvement in the educational system there. On Dec. 1, Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador was inaugurated. He campaigned on a platform of creating jobs and improving the educational system and won an overwhelming victory. Can he fulfill those promises? If so, the dedication of teachers like Lorena Solares will have been worth it. If so, there still may be a chance for her students, for Rubén and Bethzaida in Palomas, and for Hector in Juárez. Morgan Smith has been traveling to the border for many years in order to document conditions there and assist various humanitarian organizations as well as several families. He can be reached at 505-982-9620.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 19
ON STAGE
Carmina Pax
Oñate High School Choirs to perform at Carnegie Hall Oñate High School Choral Department has been accepted to sing with other auditioned choirs in a premiere performance of a new piece by Z. Randall Stroope, Carmina Pax. The performance will take place April 5-9 at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall. This will be the first time that a musical ensemble from Oñate High School will perform at the world-renowned venue. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group of talented students,” said Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Greg Ewing. “I’ve often heard the Oñate choirs perform and have been blown away by their abilities. There is no question that they are deserving of this honor.” A panel of choral clinicians associated with Manhattan Concert Productions selected Oñate for this performance opportunity after hearing a recorded performance sent from the previous year. The singers are currently fund-
January 4 – 10 The Second Time Around January 11 – 17 Beautiful Boy (OC) January 18 – 24 At Eternity’s Gate (OC) January 25 -31 Liyana
NOTE: Saturday, Jan. 26 No matinee. Thursday, Jan 31 1:30 matinee; no evening show.
2469 Calle de Guadalupe, Mesilla • www.mesillavalleyfilm.org • (575) 524-8287
Mountain Music CHECK US OUT ON CRAIG’S LIST
The Oñate High School Choir performs at the fall meeting of the New Mexico School Boards Association, Region VII, meeting on Oct. 23 in the Oñate High School Commons. (Courtesy Photo)
raising in a variety of different ways, from selling chocolates and collecting sponsorships to babysitting and dog-walking. The cost of the trip is currently set at $1,189 per singer, Oñate High School Choral Director Ryan Fellman said. “Year after year, the choirs at Oñate set the tone for a new level of excellence and I am delighted that, after last year’s
successful tour of Hollywood, we were able to crescendo into another realm of choral distinction,” Fellman said. “I am looking forward to seeing our forty singers represent Oñate and our community on a national level.” Those interested in helping the group raise funds for this experience are asked to contact Fellman by email at rfellman@ lcps.net.
WESTERN HERITAGE
Pat Garrett Festival
Famous lawman and Billy the Kid remembered
P
at Garrett Western Heritage Festival, presented by the Doña Ana Historical Society and the Rio Grande Theatre, invites the southern New Mexico community to explore the life, controversies, and legacy of Pat Garrett, the Wild West’s most famous lawman. All events are free. Best remembered for killing Billy the Kid, Garrett lived in Doña Ana County for 12 years, served as county sheriff for four years, and was killed in the county on Feb. 28, 1908. Events planned include an exhibition of images from the early days of movie theaters in Las Cruces at the Rio Grande Theatre downtown, opening with a reception at 5 p.m. on Feb. 1. The festival itself begins at noon Saturday, Feb. 2, at Rio Grande Theatre with “Sing the Legend,” a live musical presentation by Dan Crow, John Wood, and Scott Galbreath. Crow and company will perform nine historic western songs. For each song, the presenters will give a history of the song, including information such as the artists who created the work, what historic western characters or events are addressed in the song, the circumstances in which it was first performed and the popular reception. Songs include “The Owlhoot Trail,” “Jesse James,” “Sam Bass & the Wampus Cat,” “Billy the Kid,” “Joel & Josie,” “Lawdog Lament” and “Sidekicks & Saddles Pals.” At 1:30 p.m. begins the movie “Four Faces West,” made in 1948 and directed by Alfred E. Green. This film is based on a story by Eugene Manlove Rhodes and features Charles Bickford as Pat Garrett.
Fountain Theatre
Featuring the best independent, foreign and documentary films in the southwest!
Historian and local author David Thomas will talk about events leading up to the killing of Pat Garrett at 4 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. reenactments begin with the preliminary examination of Wayne Brazel, the March 4, 1908 event that led to Brazel’s indictment for killing Garrett. The reenactment uses the actual words of the courtroom hearing. Then Thomas will talk about Brazel’s trial and the outcome. At 6 p.m. Karla Steen will read love letters in a program called “Querida Esposa: Travel Back in Time on a Journey of Love.” Steen will read and discuss the affectionate and informative letters written by Patrick F. Garrett to his wife, Apolinaria Guiterrez-Garrett, between the years 1889 and 1896. These letters, scripted to Apolinaria and the Garrett children, show Pat Garrett the man, rather than the legend. These letters demonstrate his deep efforts to stay connected to his “Dear Wife” and family throughout his daily life on the road as he fought to make ends meet. Finally, at 7:30 p.m. a “History of Movie Theaters in Las Cruces” and “Billy the Kid,” the movie is a history of the theaters of Las Cruces and introduction to the film “Billy the Kid.” The original world premiere of the film was held in the Rio Grande Theatre in Las Cruces on Oct. 12, 1930. “Billy the Kid” was directed by King Vidor, and stars Johnny Mack Brown as Billy, and Wallace Beery as Garrett. The cost for this final event is $5. All the others are free. The Rio Grande Theatre is located at 211 Main St. Las Cruces and can be reached at 575-541-2290.
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523-0603
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Pat Garrett
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299 E. Montana • Las Cruces, NM 88005 www.mvhospice.org
Contact us at 575-523-4700 or visit our website mvhospice.org
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Coots paddle around in the quiet pond at Outlaw Clubhouse pond in Alto. (Photos by Yvonne Lanelli)
WINGING IT! • YVONNE LANELLI
Winter Bird Count
It’s not just the partridge in a pear tree
W
hen bird clubs around the U.S., Canada and many countries in the Western Hemisphere conduct their annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC), every bird visible to keen-eyed birders gets counted. For Lincoln County Bird Club (LCBC), raptors, bluebirds, waterfowl, ravens, blackbirds, juncos, grosbeaks, robins and more took center stage at the 2017 CBC. “CBC is an early-winter bird census, conducted during a three-week period every year between Dec. 14 to Jan. 5, inclusive dates,” said Anita Powell, LCBC co-founder. Bird clubs pick one day during that three-week period and go out to count species and individuals. We chose the last Saturday in December for our CBC day which resulted in good and bad results, depending on location. Members sorted into teams with novices mixed with experts. As the most novice, I volunteered to drive so sharp-eyed experts could spot and ID birds more easily. The good news: away from Ruidoso, LCBC members rejoiced in warm sunny, windless weather that brought out hundreds of birds, especially at ponds and lakes. The bad news: Ruidoso
A solitary coot paddles in the quiet pond at Rainmakers Golf Course pond in Alto.
itself was full of visitors and few birds ventured out. I was lucky; my team – leader John Morton, Paula Midrales, John Pajovac and myself – was assigned the lakes and ponds of Alto’s three country club golf courses – Alto Lakes, Outlaw and Rainmakers – and a stock tank off a hiking trail in the Fort Stanton Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area. At the golf course ponds, waterfowl splashed and dived in abundance. Those ponds plus the stock tank attracted flock after
flock of numerous other thirsty fliers and flitters. Dozens of species and hundreds of individuals filled our lists. So, what did we see? “Waterfowl and Western bluebirds dominated the species and individual count,” said John Morton, my team leader. American widgeons alternated between “grazing” on the fairways and dabbling in the water. At the Outlaw Clubhouse pond, we heard them whistling. American coots, sometimes referred to as mudhens, resemble ducks but
are not, according to the Cornell Lab website. With their scrawny feet and pointed bill, they are more closely related to rails than ducks. When swimming, they look like small ducks, but on land, they resemble chickens. “And baby coots are red,” pointed out John as we counted the brown and black adults. Since nearly every water bird was brown or black with white, I relied on John’s explanation of field marks for accurate counting. Canvasback ducks proved
easy to count, their white bodies and rusty head and necks providing easily recognized field marks. Canvasbacks are diving ducks, so when one dived, we were careful not to count it again when it surfaced. Ring-necked ducks are also black and white, but, despite their name, do not show a ring around their necks but rather a small white ring near the distal edge of their bills. Likewise, black and white bufflehead ducks required a close look at their distinctive head markings. Far easier to spot and count were mallards, the males’ iridescent emerald green head and neck their signature field mark. Lacking distinct color and adorned in drab brown, female mallards would have been difficult to ID. But, since they always followed their mates, even a novice birder such as I could easily count them. At small ponds just off Little Creek Road in Rancho Ruidoso, a pair of red-winged blackbirds flitted among dry phragmites. Although I see occasional Western bluebirds and mountain bluebirds around my house in Alto, I saw dozens of them at the ponds and stock tank. Mountain
COOT
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JANUARY 2019 • 21
CYCLES OF LIFE • GABRIEL ROCHELLE
Opening Adventure What’s new, exciting in recent years
F
irst off, gravel bikes are in. They are also known as adventure bikes. They are a relatively new hybrid bike on the market and they fall into a place between cyclocross and road bikes. If you’ve ever been pedaling down an asphalt or concrete road on a standard road bike and noticed a dirt country lane or gravel road turning off and heading in a new direction and you wanted to follow it, a gravel bike is for you. They’re built on a slightly expanded diamond frame and the drive train is equipped with a smaller compact crank and, often, multiple cogs on the rear cassette. For off-road riding they offer a higher bottom bracket and a slanting top tube, and the head tube angle is a bit more pitched than on a road bike. These features allow for more upright riding than on a standard road bike. Braking is usually via disc brakes and the tires are bigger and knobby for multiple-surface riding. The gravel bike offers high speed like a road bike but at the same time give you the sturdiness and maneuverability necessary for off-road cycling. Most of them come equipped with racing or drop handlebars. If you go online you can find reviews of good gravel bikes under $1,500, but they can be found as low as $500 and as expensive as $4,000 plus. The versatility of these
bikes allows you to use them for touring or for commuting as well, and they are the go-to bike for bikepacking. I wish I would have had one of these long years ago when I was pedaling on old cobblestone streets of Philadelphia, particularly on rainy days when it was treacherous to be riding with skinny tires. Now that I’ve got you thinking about it, locally you can ride your gravel bike – or any other sturdy bike you’ve got in your garage with wider tires than your road bike – with the Gravelerxs. This pick-up group of varying size rides regularly in the Las Cruces area from April through September on Thursday nights for rides that top out at 30 miles with varying levels of difficulty. Check in through Pablo Lopez at Outdoor Adventures. If you want to stretch that ride out for days and nights, then bikepacking is for you. This is the way to combine mountain biking with camping and most bikepacking routes range from twenty-five to seventy-five miles a day, a manageable parameter for most experienced cyclists. The go-to web site that will answer most, if not all, of your questions is quite simply bikepacking.com, which lists almost one hundred routes worldwide with accompanying online journals. This will give you all the info you want about purchasing lightweight gear, outfitting your
bike, preparing for the ride and so forth. When you go to that website you will want to check out our local phenomenon, the Monumental Loop, 328 miles of terrain that incorporates the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region and the Chihuahuan Desert. It’s a toughie, however, rated at level nine out of a possible ten in difficulty. You may have seen the Monumental Loop highlighted locally when a young woman from Great Britain named Ella Raff ran the loop over eight days. The go-to guys for this Loop are Matt Mason and the folks at the Southern New Mexico Trail Alliance, whose website is accessible at the pages for the Loop. There is now also a Bikepacking Journal, published twice annually, to which you can subscribe through the web site. I invite you to check all of this out. Even at my advanced age, I begin to spy some new horizons for my own cycling.
said triumphantly. Another first for my Life List. Gray-eyed juncos also flitted from tree to tree, their distinctive “flap-swoop” flying pattern that shows their white tail feathers only in flight making them easy to spot. Common ravens and American crows also made appearances. How to tell them apart? Crows are smaller; ravens bigger. Crows typically travel in groups (called a “murder of crows”); ravens generally pair up. Crows’ tails are a short fan shape; ravens’ tails are long and wedge-shaped. Raven heads are large with massive beaks. I spotted a medium-sized dark bird with a reddish breast and longish legs running along the fairway. ‘My gosh, that looks like a robin but it’s not spring yet!” “American robins frequently stay in the same place yearround, so you’ll see them all winter here,” John said. Wow — another bird myth busted. Sharp-eyed Paula Midrales spotted an American Kestrel on a power wire, then a bit farther down the road, two more perched. North America’s smallest falcons didn’t appear all that predacious as they perched perfectly still on their individual
wires. Even when we stopped the car right under them, they stared straight ahead, ignoring us completely. “I’m surprised we haven’t seen any hawks,” I mused as we returned to our parked car. As if on cue, an adult male redtailed hawk appeared a hundred yards ahead. We watched it for a second or two before it disappeared. Teams assigned to Alto Lake and to Ruidoso reported more hikers, dogs and bikers on the trails than birds. “We did see a great blue heron at Alto Lake,” verified Craig Cathey, partnering with his wife Barbara. “But the usual species and numbers simply weren’t there.” Neither was the partridge in a pear tree. Care to join your local bird club at their CBC this year? Most bird clubs welcome extra pairs of eyes, so give your club a call, polish your binoculars, bone up on local species and enjoy contributing to a national conservation effort.
Fr. Gabriel Rochelle is pastor of St Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Mission, Las Cruces, an avid cyclist and chairman of the Hub (community bike shop of Las Cruces) steering committee. Email at: gabrielcroch@aol.com.
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continued from page 20 bluebirds are smaller than Western bluebirds and their coloration is brighter blue. Western bluebirds are a deeper blue with a distinctive rust-colored “vest” that extends to the back. Females are mostly gray with paler orange vests and paler blue wings. At the ponds and stock tank, they flitted from juniper tree to juniper tree in unison, frequently perching on a topmost branch to survey. Their “posing” made it easy to ID them. At the stock tank, a flash of black and white from a fast-flying flock grabbed my attention. When they settled in a large piñon, we scanned the branches for individuals. “Evening grosbeak!” announced an exultant John. “We don’t usually see them at this altitude.” I trained my binoculars on an individual. His bright yellow, black and white markings stood out even partially hidden in shade. “A first for my Life List,” I said quietly, wanting to shout with excitement. Perched atop a dead bush was a solitary bird. We trained our binoculars on it. “Gray body with dark wing--wait, is that a white line on the wing?” John asked. We focused tightly. “Yes,” we answered. “Townsend’s solitaire!” John
Novice birder and freelance writer Yvonne Lanelli (www. evlanelli.com) enjoys adding new birds to her Life List, which so far does not include the partridge in a pear tree. “But I’m still looking,” she said.
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22 • JANUARY 2019 SUNDAYS Archaeology Society — First Sunday of every month, field trip. 536-3092, whudson43@yahoo.com. MONDAYS AARP Widowed and Single Persons of Grant County —10:30 a.m., second Monday, Cross Point Assembly of God Church. All singles welcome. Contact Sally, 537-3643. Al-Anon family group, New Hope —12:05 p.m. First Presbyterian Church, corner of 20th and Swan Streets, Silver City. Open meeting. Contact: 313-7891. Meditation for Beginners — 5:30 p.m., Lotus Center, 211 W. Broadway. Jeff, 9566647. www.lotuscentersc. org. Silver City Squares — Dancing 6:30-8:30 p.m., Methodist Church Santa Rita Street entrance. Kay, 3884227 or Linda 534-4523. Southwest New Mexico ACLU – noon, first Monday (except September when it’s the second Monday), Little Toad Creek, 200 N. Bullard St. in Silver City. Bob Garrett, 575-590-4809. TUESDAYS Alzheimer’s/Dementia Support —1:30 p.m., First Tuesday, Senior Center. Margaret, 388-4539. Bayard Historic Mine Tour —9:30 a.m., Second Tuesday, meet at Bayard City Hall, 800 Central Ave. $5 fee covers two-hour bus tour of historic mines plus literature and map. Call 537-3327 for reservation. Figure/Model Drawing — 4-6 p.m. Contact Sam, 3885583. First Tuesday, 6 p.m. at the headquarters, next to the Chevron/Snappy Mart in Arenas Valley. Dan Larson, 654-4884. Multiple Sclerosis Support Group — 11:30 a.m., first Tuesday at a local restaurant; email for
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BODY • MIND • SPIRIT
Grant County Weekly Events this month’s location: huseworld@yahoo.com. PFLAG Silver City — First Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3845 N. Swan. Confidential support for LGBTQ persons and their families. 575-590-8797. Republican Party of Grant County — 6 p.m., second Monday, 3 Rio de Arenas Road (the old Wrangler restaurant). Slow Flow Yoga — 11:30 a.m.- 12:45 p.m., Lotus Center, 211 W. Broadway, Becky Glenn, 404-2345331. Southwest New Mexico Quilters Guild – 9:30 a.m., first Tuesday, Grant County Extension Office, 2610 N. Silver Street, North entrance. Newcomers and visitors are welcome. 3888161. WEDNESDAYS ACA Meeting (Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families) — 7-8:15 p.m. meets every Wednesday at the New Church of the Southwest Desert, 714 N. Bullard St. (new location). Athena, 575590-8300. Al-Anon family group — 6 p.m., Arenas Valley Church of Christ, 5 Race Track Road, Arenas Valley (the old radio station). Contact: 313-7891. Archaeology Society — 6 p.m., third Wednesday every month, OctoberApril at 2045 Memory Lane, Silver City; MaySeptember meetings begin with a pot-luck dinner at 6 p.m. at Roundup Lodge in San Lorenzo-Mimbres, convening for business at 7 p.m. Visit www.gcasnm. org, or email webmaster@ gcasnm.org, or call 5363092 for details.
Babytime Sing & Play — 1 p.m., Silver City Public Library, 515 W. College Avenue. Stories, songs, rhymes and movement for infants 0-12 months and their caregivers. Free, no registration necessary. 5383672 or ref @silvercitymail. com. Back Country Horsemen — 6 p.m., second Wednesday, WNMU Watts Hall, opposite CVS Pharmacy, Hwy. 180. Subject to change. 5742888. A Course in Miracles — 7:15 p.m., 600 N. Hudson. Information, 534-9172 or 534-1869. Future Engineers — 4-5 p.m. Silver City Public Library, 515 W. College Avenue. Free creative construction fun with Lego, K’NEX, and Strawbees! For children ages 6-12, no registration necessary. 538-3672 or ref@silvercitymail.com. Gilawriters — 1:00-3 p.m., Silver City Food Co-op’s Market Café Community Room, 615 N. Bullard St. Contact Trish Heck, trish. heck@gmail.com or call 534-0207. Gin Rummy —1 p.m. at Tranquilbuzz, corner of Yankie and Texas Streets in Silver City. Grant County Democratic Party —5:30 p.m., potluck; 6:20 p.m., meeting, second Wednesday, Sen. Howie Morales building, 3060 E. Hwy. 180. 654-6060. Grant County Federated Republican Women – 11:30 a.m., Third Wednesday, WNMU Cafeteria, Sunset Room. 313-7997. Ladies Golf Association — 8 a.m. tee time, Silver City Golf Course. Prostate Cancer Support Group — 6:30 p.m., third Wednesday, Gila Regional
Medical Center Conference Room. 388-1198 ext. 10. Storytime — 10:30 a.m., Silver City Public Library, 515 W. College Avenue. For children ages 0-5, no registration necessary. 5383672 or ref@silvercitymail. com. THURSDAYS ARTS Anonymous —5:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3845 N. Swan St. Artists recovering through the 12 Steps. 5341329. Blooming Lotus Meditation — 5:30 p.m., Lotus Center, 211 W. Broadway. 3137417, geofarm@pobox.com. De-stressing Meditations — Noon-12:45 p.m., New Church of the SW Desert, 1302 Bennett St. 313-4087. Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society —6 p.m., second Thursday, 2045 Memory Lane, Silver City. Anita, 907-830-0631. Historic Mining District & Tourism Meeting — 10 a.m., second Thursday, Bayard Community Center, 290 Hurley Ave., Bayard. 537-3327. 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. 538-3672 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, 404-2345331. 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 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:313-7891. 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, 404-2345331. All phone numbers are area code 575 except as noted. Send updates to events@ desertexposure.com.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 23
TALKING HORSES • SCOTT THOMSON
Nature vs. Nurture
It is possible for a horse to overcome a bad start in life
R
ecently, I was given a fascinating horse challenge that became more interesting when it brought back memories of some of my favorite courses in college. It brought to mind the old argument, is nature more important than nurture in the development of an individual of any species. Are factors like genetic makeup and health during pregnancy more important than the life one is born into? In fact, my senior thesis was wrapped around this very discussion. What made this particular situation even more educational was during the time I was involved with this horse, I also had the opportunity to see horses with near perfect nature – in terms of breeding, bloodlines and health during pregnancy – combined with equally thorough and natural nurturing during the all-important early years of life. These horses were truly inspiring – mature, calm, easy to train and willing partners, even at very young ages. During my years with horses and all the hundreds of horse/ human relationships I’ve encountered, I’ve experienced all sides of this question. I’ve seen horses that have had everything going for them the day they were born, only to fall into the hands of cruel, ignorant or just plain incompetent owners or trainers. Many of these horses failed miserably at being the kinds of horses people wanted, were labeled as problems, dangerous, stubborn or stupid and were kicked down the road to an unhappy life. Despite the promising “nature” at the start, the “nurture” they received after entering our world overrode their potential. I’ve also seen situations where the mare’s health during pregnancy was not considered, nor the impact that would have on the development of the foal, or where no attention was paid to the characteristics and genetic backgrounds of the horses that were bred to produce a foal. When a horse born under these circumstances was fortunate enough to get the right kind of nurturing and competent handling from day one, in many cases the horse was able to grow and develop into a useful equine partner. In situations like this it seems intelligent nurturing could override nature’s input. I was faced with a horse literally dealt a bad hand from the day it was conceived. The mare was starved throughout her pregnancy, to the point where it was amazing she could carry a foal to term and both would survive the birth. The mare was also show-
ing signs of various cancers. No one knows if this was planned breeding or just an “accident” out in a field somewhere, but clearly nobody cared about the whole process. There was absolutely no way the foal received even close to proper nutrition during the gestation period. As we know with virtually every species, nutritional deprivation during pregnancy can lead to permanent developmental or physical issues after birth. At birth, this young horse didn’t exactly fall into a situation where thoughtful nurturing and competent care and handling would give her a chance. The mare was so starved she couldn’t produce milk for the foal, so the early nutritional needs of a young horse from her mother’s milk could not be met. The mare was weak and not engaged given her physical condition and there was no herd with experienced mares and other young horses to teach the filly important lessons about how to behave, body language between horses, boundaries, and no chance to experience play with horses her own age. Her start to life was really the worst of both nature and nurture. When looking closely at her conformation, it appeared that things just didn’t come together perfectly in the womb. At times her behavior, with hyper-sensitivity to certain sounds and explosive behavior when she seemed to be surprised by the appearance of something unexpected, made me wonder about both her hearing and her vision. No way to know for sure about these senses, but we do know for sure that nutritional health during pregnancy has a strong influence on how they develop. This young horse was really a textbook case of whether nurture could trump nature in a horse that was born with two strikes against it. How do you give a horse like this a chance? Obviously, there would be an immediate need for proper nutrition and probably supplementation to address the shortfalls during development. Likewise, the most important early activity for mental and physical development would be a herd with other foals and experienced mares, but unlike nutrition, that is simply not possible if the herd hasn’t already been established. In my experience, the most important steps to take are these: First, you need to have a competent horse person who understands they must play the role of the experienced mare. From the earliest possible interaction, the
young horse needs to be taught about space, boundaries, respect and yielding to pressure. This is exactly what happens in the herd, and if it isn’t done, then very quickly you end up with an 800 lb. two-year-old animal that doesn’t understand the basic rules of being a horse in the human’s world – which is what this horse was when I met her. This is a very different role from that of the caring, kind, loving human who wants to help the horse with soft words and treats, blurring all the lines while trying to do good. Yes, there needs to be a lot of love and caring with a horse like this, but not at the expense of the horse not learning how to be a horse. Who else will teach her? During my recent travels I had the chance to sit and watch three mares with their three foals, all between the ages of one week and two months, all moving freely in an open space. What I saw was constant training from seasoned mares that was as good as any quality human trainer could give. With a swift bite, maybe a light kick or some pinned ears, each foal was getting schooled in what was acceptable and what wasn’t. They were learning about body language and pressure/release, and I saw that it all translated to the relationship with a human when I had the chance to join their little herd. You have to be willing to assume this role to give a disadvantaged horse a chance to be a horse someone wants. The second step is to make sure you teach to the capabilities, mental and physical, of the horse. In this case I used some of the brilliant facial profiling work of Linda Tellington-Jones to help me understand how this horse would learn, how quickly she would put things together and what kind of reactions I might get if the horse was confused. I felt the horse would be a slow learner with a short attention span, and that her reactions could be explosive and out of proportion to the request if she didn’t understand. I had to break every new thing down into very small pieces, and I could never progress to any next step, no matter how small, if all preliminary steps weren’t in place first. I also had to be willing to make working sessions very short, always keeping an eye open for the point where I’d lost her mentally. In my mind, the pace at which I had to go and the rate at which she learned could be attributed to the nature she was born with and her initial introduction to our world. However, she made enormous strides on the basics
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and at times was actually fun to play with in our sessions. I think her conformation and her mind will limit what she can do longterm as a good riding horse, but I think there could be other things she can do. I hope someone recognizes this and has the patience to help her get there. For me, the best part of this experience was that it convinced me that it is possible, at least in the horse world, to use competent, thorough, patient and consistent nurturing to overcome a terrible start given to an animal by nature. Such a
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horse may be limited in what it can achieve, but it doesn’t mean it’s of no use. Good skills, realistic expectations and a serious commitment can give any horse a chance. Scott Thomson lives in Silver City and teaches natural horsemanship and foundation training. You can contact him at hsthomson@msn.com of 575-388-1830.
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24 • JANUARY 2019
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BACK TO THE GARDEN
Cabbage Heads Kids grow green across the nation
K
ids across America are growing, and some are earning, a lot of “green” participating in the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. This year, more than one million third graders in the 48 contiguous states have gotten hands-on gardening experience, growing colossal cabbages with high hopes to win “best in state” and receive a $1,000 scholarship towards education from Bonnie Plants. Each year Bonnie Plants, the largest producer of vegetable and herb plants in North Amer-
ica, with 80 greenhouse facilities across the country, trucks free O.S. Cross, or “oversized,” cabbage plants to third grade classrooms whose teachers have signed up for the program online at www.bonnieplants.com. If nurtured and cared for, kids can cultivate, nurture and grow giant cabbages, some much bigger than a basketball, tipping the scales, often over 40 pounds. “The Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program is a wonderful way to engage children’s interest in agriculture, while teaching them not only the basics of gardening,
accomplishment.” A great way to get kids started in the garden is the National Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program, it’s free to any thirdgrade classroom in the 48 contiguous states. To see the 2017 winners as they come in and learn more about the 2019 contest, visit: www.bonnieplants.com Why a cabbage? Coincidental-
ly, cabbages were the first profitable plant sold by Bonnie Plants in 1918 and are known to be a hearty vegetable. The cabbages provided to the 3rd grade program are “O.S. Cross” cabbages; this variety is known for producing giant, oversized heads, making the process even more exciting for kids.
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Chloe Aguilar of Artesia’s Yeso Elementary School grew a 30-pound cabbage and was randomly selected by New Mexico’s Agriculture Department as the winner of the Bonney Plants cabbage contest. Aguilar will receive a $1,000 saving bond towards education from Bonnie Plants. (Courtesy Photo)
How to grow a colossal cabbage Growing a colossal cabbage may seem like a giant undertaking for young kids, but it’s easier than you think. All you need to do is: • Let the Sunshine In: Cab-
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but the importance of our food systems and growing our own,” said Stan Cope, president of Bonnie Plants. “This program exposes children to agriculture and demonstrates, through hands-on experience, where food comes from. The program also affords our youth with some valuable life lessons in nurture, nature, responsibility, self-confidence and
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bages need at least six hours of full sunlight, more if possible. • Survey Your Space: Bonnie O.S. Cross cabbages need at least three feet on each side to spread out. If you don’t have that much space, use a large container. • Supplement Soil: Work some compost into the soil – cabbages love nutrient-rich soil. • Feed Your Food Plant: Start your cabbage off right with an all-purpose vegetable fertilizer, then fertilize it according to label directions to keep it growing strong. • Water Wisely: Your cabbage needs at least one inch of rainfall each week. If it doesn’t rain, use a watering can or garden hose to gently water your plant at soil level. • Tend to Trouble: Keep weeds out of the
cabbage patch – they compete for the food and water your cabbage needs. Be on the lookout for brown or white moths – these come from worms that love to munch on cabbage. If you see any, get rid of them right away. Cold weather can damage your cabbage. If the weather gets below 32° F, cover your cabbage with a bucket or cloth covering. • Hefty Harvest: In just 10 to 12 weeks, you should have a huge head of cabbage you can be proud of. Green thumbs and perseverance can pay off, providing participating children with a great sense of pride and accomplishment, a humongous cabbage, and for the lucky state winner, the beginning of an educational fund for college.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 25
TUMBLEWEEDS • STATIA BUTTON DOUGHERTY
Exploring the Past
The forgotten cemeteries of hidalgo county a journey to the corner of the state
H
out, and most of the railroad tracks pulled in the early 1960s, the population began to relocate, sometimes dismantling and taking their homes with them, or selling the building materials to be repurposed. Cities and towns became living ghost towns, with miniscule populations. Some left little or nothing, other than perhaps a cemetery. At last census, the entire county had a population of less than 5,000. I invite my readers to join me now as I visit the remains of yesterday – the last telltale evidence of the rich history and exciting frontier days of Hidalgo County’s prime. Our journey begins in Steins, the first New Mexico jump off from Interstate 10. You can see what is left of the ghost town
idalgo County of New Mexico, also referred to as “the bootheel” was part of Grant County, until 1919 when the population and commercial enterprise was ample enough to support the division. The county seat was in Lordsburg. With silver mining, ranching and the railroad linking the towns and cities of Hidalgo County, it became a bustling area at the beginning of the 20th century. But as the mines played
Virden 92
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Steins
Steins Cemetery
Gila National Forest
10 20
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Cotton City 338
Chenowth Family Cemetery
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Animas Village Cemetery
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Animas
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from the freeway, its skeletal remains diminishing rapidly as each year passes. The story as told by the present property owners goes something like this – Steins was once an active train town serving the local mining operations in the Peloncillo mountains. Its only water supply came from the water subsidies the railroad provided for the town and their steam engines. In 1944, the railroad announced it would no longer deliver water to Steins, with the nearby mining operations recently shut down. Anyone wanting to leave Steins could obtain free passage, but residents had very little time to gather possessions. Homes and belongings were abandoned with most of the population, and much of the town remained intact. Later, a fire destroyed much of the town. While the town lies on the North side of the freeway, few are aware of the tiny cemetery that served the town, just on the south side. If a cemetery were ever a melancholy place, this particular one has to be the saddest. Overgrown and abandoned, many of the head stones have been vandalized. Next, we head to Rodeo, New Mexico on Highway 80 to Cienega Ranch. Homesteaders settled here believing they were in Arizona. They filed a legal homestead claim, but it wasn’t until years later when the property was surveyed that it was discovered they were actually just east of the Arizona border in New Mexico. The Chenowth family homesteaded this land for many years, acquiring neighboring homesteads as others gave up and quit after proving up. Back in the 1800s it was common for travelers to stop at ranches to rest up and take a meal with the residents. This is how three cattle rustlers came to rest in the Chenowth family cemetery. A posse was traveling
Rodeo
Hidalgo County
Popeet Family Cemetery C001
Animas Mountains
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Coronado National Forest Cloverdale
Cloverdale Cemetery
Antelope Wells
The grave of Uncle Bob’s arm keeps folks guessing at the Chenowth Family Cemetery. (Photos by Statia Dougherty)
The grave of William “Bill” Mitchell is one of the few at Steins Cemetery that is still in good repair.
through with three cattle rustlers, two were shot dead and their bodies thrown over their horses, and one shot but still alive. The dead rustlers were buried in the corner of the family cemetery, while the other would convalesce in the ranch house. A week later he would join his friends in the corner of the family cemetery. In more recent years the local Border Patrol would arrest drug smugglers from Mexico on the ranch. The smugglers were using a burro to carry their goods, and the burro was left on the Cienega Ranch when its owners were taken for deportation. The burro still remains on the ranch and is living out a happy life of leisure. There is one other grave of unusual curiosity in the family cemetery. This is the grave of Uncle Bob’s arm. The story told to me by Lynn Chenowth goes like this: The boy was crawling underneath a barbed wire fence when his .22 rifle went off and the slug went into his arm. He later developed gangrene, and his father amputated the arm. Unfortunately, he did not remove all the poison, and more had to be amputated. The surgeries were crudely preformed at home. This is also the homestead where Geronimo took his last meal with General Miles before boarding the train for prison. Although the ranch was lost to the Chenowth family for some
years, it is once again owned by Chenowth descendants. The cemetery is on private property, but a house on the property is available for rent to vacationers. If you’d like to experience a little bit of wild west history, this might be your ticket. There are a more stories to be heard by the owners who reside on the property. Traveling farther south on Highway 80, nestled in the foothills of the Peloncillo Mountains, is the family cemetery of the Popeets. The Popeet family migrated to Rodeo as homesteaders with high hopes for their future. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in Rodeo, the deadly 1918 flu pandemic hit the San Simon Valley hard, and several members of the family succumbed within a short period of time. This was the beginning of the family cemetery. More family members died before they Popeets decided to leave the valley for good. This cemetery is on private property and not open for public viewing. Traveling east on New Mexico Highway 9, we come to the corner of Animas Road and Hwy 9. Here lies a tiny cemetery with little remaining knowledge of its internments. Oral history from locals tells a tale of a man leading a wagon train west when they were attacked and slaughtered by Apaches. However, the
CEMETERIES
continued on page 26
26 • JANUARY 2019
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Animas Village Cemetery. (Photos by Statia Dougherty)
CEMETERIES
continued from page 25 one remaining headstone that hasn’t succumbed to the elements or been trampled by cattle tells a different story. This is the marker of Willard Arnold. Willard’s monument reveals many clues, the first being the date of his death, 1915. Since the days of wagon trains and Indian raids were over by then, it is impossible to claim that the cemetery is full of victims of an Indian massacre, or that this man was a trail boss. There is no documented history of the cause of Willard’s death at the tender age of 23, but there is one more clue on his headstone. Toward the bottom of the obelisk, there is the emblem of the Woodmen of the World. I was also able to find out that this small cemetery was called Animas Village Cemetery, and was located in Animas Station, now just Animas. Locals say there are other grave markers hidden under years of accumulated dirt, many of them belonging to children. Efforts to uncover these forgotten markers are under way. Our last destination, Cloverdale, is situated on the Gray Ranch, now the Diamond A
Cloverdale Cemetery.
Ranch. Taking Highway 9 east to CO01, I will travel south almost to the border of Mexico. As I travel the 30-some miles I am happy that on this day I’ve decided to wear my snake boots, although I’m not ready to put them to the test. Four times I’ve passed rattlesnakes on the road. I also have to stop for other animals, such as black tail deer, pronghorn and free-range cattle. The mature Cottonwood Trees and Oaks mark the path of a meandering creek. Browsers take the shade that they offer and gorge themselves on lush gamma and bear grass. There are no
fences here and I have a total sense of freedom. As I approach the area where the town of Cloverdale once was situated, the valley opens and offers spectacular views of the spacious, green grasses and the rugged mountains that shelter it. I drift off into a day dream about the early days when Cloverdale was a real town. In 1913, the first annual Cloverdale barbecue and dance began. People would show up from miles around, traveling this very road in their buggies, buckboards, and tin lizzies. They were ready for the giant barn
A headstone at Steins Cemetery is kept from disintegrating by the protection of a cholla cactus.
dance and dinner that awaited them. The beef was provided by the Diamond A Ranch, and the cowboys would tend it for hours. After a day of fun and feasting, the women would change into their party dresses and they’d dance and play music into the wee hours of the morning. Today, the only remaining building of the once-bustling town is the general store. A Redtail hawk swoops down in front of my car, only noticing the meal he’s after, and paying no attention to me. My phone alerts me, “Welcome to Mexico, you are now using international
The Chenowth Family Cemetery.
calling.” I wasn’t really in Mexico, but close enough to confuse my phone. I open the gate that leads to the cemetery and pass through, noticing how tall the lush grasses are; I’m understanding why this valley is perfect for cattle grazing. Finally, I see the headstones of the small cemetery poking over the tall grass. Cautiously I make my way to the gate to photograph the markers of some of the revered cattlemen and pioneers of the territory. The Cloverdale Cemetery is on private property and requires permission in order to gain entry.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 27
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 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-nation-
al-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; 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-todate, 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 a note to Red or Green? c/o Desert
GRANT COUNTY
house. JUMPING CACTUS, 503 N. Bullard St. Coffeeshop, baked goods, sandwiches, wraps: B L. KOUNTRY KITCHEN, 1700 Mountain View Road, 388-4512. Mexican: Tuesday to Saturday B L D. LA COCINA RESTAURANT, 201 W. College Ave., 388-8687. Mexican: L D. 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.
Silver City ADOBE SPRINGS CAFÉ, 1617 Silver Heights Blvd., 538-3665. Breakfast items, burgers, sandwiches: Sunday B L, all week B L D. CACTUS JACKS, 1307 N. Pope St. 538-5042. Gluten-free, healthy groceries, grill fast foods and beverages. Monday to Friday B L D, Saturday and Sunday L.
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.
DIANE’S RESTAURANT, 510 N. Bullard St., 5388722. 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 until 7 p.m. FRY HOUSE, 601 N. Bullard St. Suite C. 388-1964. Seven days L, Sunday L, D. GIL-A BEANS, 1304 N. Bennett St. Coffeeshop. Monday to Saturday 8 a.m.-noon. 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. JALISCO CAFÉ, 100 S. Bullard St., 388-2060. Mexican. Monday to Saturday L D Sunday B. JAVALINA COFFEE HOUSE, 117 Market St., 388-1350. Coffee-
LITTLE TOAD CREEK BREWERY & DISTILLERY, 200 N. Bullard St., 9566144. Burgers, wings, salads, fish, pasta, craft beers and cocktails: Monday to Sunday L D. MEXICO VIEJO, Hwy. 90 and Broadway Mexican food stand: 956-3361. 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: Tuesday to Saturday B, L. NANCY’S SILVER CAFÉ, 514 N. Bullard St., 388-3480. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B 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: Tuesday to Saturday L D.
REVEL, 304 N. Bullard, 388-4920. Elevated comfort food. Weekdays LD, weekends BD, closed Wednesdays. SILVER BOWLING CENTER CAFÉ, 2020 Memory Lane, 538-3612. American, Mexican, hamburgers: Daily L D.
SUNRISE ESPRESSO, 1530 N. Hudson, 388-2027. Coffee shop: Monday to Saturday B L, early D. SUNRISE ESPRESSO, 1212 E. 32nd St., 5349565. Coffee shop, bakery: Monday to Friday B L, early D, Saturday B L only. TAPAS TREE, 601 N. Bullard St. in The Hub. 597-8272. Monday to Thursday L, Friday and Saturday L D (closes at 4 p.m.). TASTE OF VEGAS, 303 E. 13th
or Southwest New Mexico’s
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Exposure, 1740-A Calle de Mercado, Las Cruces, NM 88005, or email editor@desertexpo-
sure.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!
St., 534-9404. Daily L. VICKI’S EATERY, 315 N. Texas, 388-5430. www.vickiseatery. com. 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. TRANQUILBUZZ CAFÉ, 112 W. Yankie St. Coffee shop, coffee, home-made pastries and ice cream, fresh fruit smoothies.
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: Saturday D. EL SOMBRERO PATIO CAFÉ, 363 S. Espina St., 524-9911. Mexican: 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. THE GAME II: EXTRA INNINGS SPORTS BAR & GRILL, 4131 Northrise Drive, 373-4263, Live music on weekends. American, Southwest, now serving weekend brunch 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays: L D GARDUÑO’S, 705 S. Telshor (Hotel Encanto), 532-4277. Mexican: B L D. GO BURGER DRIVE-IN, Home of the Texas Size Burrito, 1008 E.
Lohman Ave. , Las Cruces, NM 88005, 575-524-9251. Monday Saturday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Specializing in Relleno Burritos and Other Mexican Food 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 Avenida de Mesilla, 652-4953. Steaks, barbecue, seafood, sandwiches, salads, pasta: L D.
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, 527-2483, 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. BURRITOS VICTORIA, 1295 El Paseo Road, 541-5534. Burritos: B L D. Now serving beer. CAFÉ DON FELIX, 2290 Calle de Parian, 652-3007. Mexican, street tacos, mini-burgers: Wednesday to Saturday L D, Sunday brunch only 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 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, 523-8665. 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. DICK’S CAFÉ, 2305 S. Valley Dr., 524-1360. Mexican, burgers: Sunday B L, Monday to Saturday B 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. JOSEFINA’S OLD GATE CAFÉ, 2261 Calle de Guadalupe, 5252620. Pastries, soups, salads, sandwiches: Monday to Thursday L, Friday to Sunday B L. KEVA JUICE, 1001 E. University, 522-4133. Smoothies, frozen yogurt: B L D.
5-9 304 N. Bullard St. EatDrinkRevel.com Weekdays: lunch 11-4 • dinner Closed Weekends: brunch 9-3 • dinner 3-9 Wednesday 575-388-4920 Silver City, NM closed Wednesday
Craft Beer Craft Spirits Fine Pub Food 200 N. Bullard, Downtown Silver City 575-956-6144 littletoadcreek.com
open seven days a week
your local craft boozery
28 • JANUARY 2019 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. LOS MARIACHIS, 5600 Bataan Memorial East, 373-0553. Mexican, L D. MESILLA VALLEY KITCHEN, 2001 E. Lohman Ave. #103, 5239311. American, Mexican: B L. METROPOLITAN DELI, 1001 University Ave., 522-3354, www. metropolitandeli.com. Sandwiches and catering: L D. LA MEXICANA TORTILLERIA, 1300 N. Solano Dr, 541-9617. Mexican: B 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., 5321042. 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
www.desertexposure.com 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. 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, 575-6806394. www.picachopeakbrewery. com 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. RASCO’S BBQ, 125 S. Campo St., 526-7926. Barbecued brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausage, ribs. 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, 5242408. 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. TERIYAKI BOWL, 2300 N. Main St., 524-2055. Japanese: Mon.Sat. L D. TERIYAKI CHICKEN HOUSE, 805 El Paseo Rd., 541-1696. Japanese: Mon.-Fri. L D. THAI DELIGHT DE MESILLA, 2184 Avenida de Mesilla, 5251900. Thai, salads, sandwiches, seafood, steaks, German: L D. TIFFANY’S PIZZA & GREEK AMERICAN CUISINE, 755 S. Telshor Blvd #G1, 532-5002. Pizza, Greek, deli: Tuesday to Saturday B L D. VINTAGE WINES, 2461 Calle de Principal, 523-WINE. Wine and cigar bar, tapas: L D. WOK-N-WORLD, 5192 E. Boutz, 526-0010. Chinese: Mon.-Sat. L D. ZEFFIRO PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA, 136 N. Water St., 525-6757. “Owner Gary Ebert and his very attentive and efficient staff serve up gourmet-style pizza on handtossed crusts.” (August 2009) Pizza, pasta, also sandwiches at adjoining Popular Artisan Bakery: Mon.-Sat. L D. ZEFFIRO NEW YORK PIZZERIA, 101 E. University Ave., 525-6770. Pizza: L D. 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. CHINA RESTAURANT, 110 E. Pine St., 546-4146. Chinese: Tuesday to Sunday L D. EL CAMINO REAL, 900 W. Pine St., 546-7421. Mexican, American: B L D. ELISA’S HOUSE OF PIES AND RESTAURANT, 208 1/2 S. Silver Alley, 494-4639. Southern soul food: Tuesday to Sunday L D. EL MIRADOR, 510 E. Pine St., 5447340. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D. “FORGHEDABOUDIT” pizza & wings, 115 N. Silver Ave., 275-3881. Italian, pizza, wings: Monday to Sunday L D. GRAND MOTOR INN & LOUNGE, 1721 E. Pine, 546-2632. Mexican, steak, seafood: B L D. IRMA’S, 123 S. Silver Ave., 5444580. Mexican, American, seafood: B L D. LA FONDA, 601 E. Pine St., 5460465. Mexican: B L D. LAS CAZUELAS, 108 N. Platinum Ave. (inside El Rey meat market), 544-8432. Steaks, seafood, Mexican: Tuesday to Saturday L D. MANGO MADDIE’S, 722 E. Florida St., 546-3345. Salads, sandwiches, juice bar, coffee drinks. MANOLO’S CAFÉ, 120 N. Granite St., 546-0405. Mexican, American: Monday to Saturday B L D, Sunday B L. PATIO CAFÉ, 1521 Columbus Road, 546-5990. Burgers, American: Monday to Saturday L D. PRIME RIB GRILL (inside Quality Inn), I-10 exit 85, 546-2661. Steak, seafood, Mexican: B D. RANCHER’S GRILL, 316 E. Cedar St., 546-8883. Steakhouse, burgers: L D. SI SEÑOR, 200 E. Pine St., 5463938. Mexican: Monday to Saturday B L D, Sunday B L. SUNRISE KITCHEN, 1409 S. Columbus Road, 544-7795American, Mexican, breakfasts: Monday to Thursday B L, Friday B L D. TACOS MIRASOL, 323 E. Pine St., 544-0646. Mexican: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday B L D, Tuesday B L. TOCAYO’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT, 1601 E. Pine St., 567-1963. Mexican, dine in or take out: Monday to Saturday B L D, Sunday B L. Akela APACHE HOMELANDS RESTAURANT, I-10. Burgers, ribs, etc.: B L D. Columbus IRMA’S KITCHEN, B L D, Highway 11, 575-694-4026, Mexican food. LA CASITA, 309 Taft, 575-531-2371. B L D, Mexican food. PATIO CAFÉ, 23 Broadway, 5312495. Burgers, American: B L.
HIDALGO COUNTY
Lordsburg EL CHARRO RESTAURANT, 209 S. P Blvd., 542-3400. Mexican: B L D. FIDENCIO’S, 604 E. Motel Dr., 5428989. Mexican: B L early D. KRANBERRY’S FAMILY RESTAURANT, 1405 Main St., 542-9400. Mexican, American: B L D. MAMA ROSA’S PIZZA, 1312 Main St., 542-8400. Pizza, subs, calzones, salads, chicken wings, cheeseburgers, shrimp baskets: L D. RAMONA’S CAFÉ, 904 E. Motel Dr., 542-3030. Mexican, American: Tuesday to Friday B L D, Sunday B mid-day D. Animas PANTHER TRACKS CAFÉ, Hwy. 338, 548-2444. Burgers, Mexican, American: Monday to Friday B L D. Rodeo RODEO STORE AND CAFÉ, 195 U.S. Highway 80, 557-2295. Coffee shop food: Monday to Saturday B L. RODEO TAVERN, 209 U.S. Highway 80, 557-2229. Shrimp, fried chicken, steaks, burgers, seafood: Wednesday to Saturday D.
CATRON COUNTY
Reserve ADOBE CAFÉ, Hwy. 12 and Hwy. 180, 533-6146. Deli, American, Mon. pizza, Sunday BBQ ribs: Sun.-Mon. B L D, Wed.-Fri. B L. BLACK GOLD, 102 Main St., 5336538. Coffeehouse, pastries. CARMEN’S, 101 Main St., 5336990. Mexican, American: B L D. ELLA’S CAFÉ, 96 Main St., 5336111. American: B L D. UNCLE BILL’S BAR, 230 N. Main St., 533-6369. Pizza: Monday to Saturday L D. Glenwood ALMA GRILL, Hwy. 180, 539-2233. Breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, Mexican: Sunday to Wednesday, Friday to Saturday B L. GOLDEN GIRLS CAFÉ, Hwy. 180, 539-2457. Breakfast: B. MARIO’S PIZZA, Hwy. 180, 5392316. Italian: Closed Friday, Monday and Wednesday. Other Catron County PIE TOWN CAFÉ, Pie Town, NM, 575-772-2700, Open Friday to Monday.
SIERRA COUNTY
Arrey ARREY CAFÉ, Hwy 187 Arrey, 575-267-4436, Mexican, American, Vegetarian, B L D. Chloride CHLORIDE BANK CAFÉ, 300, Wall Street, 575-743-0414, American, Thursday-Saturday L D, Sunday L. Elephant Butte BIG FOOD EXPRESS, 212 Warm Springs Blvd., 575-744-4896, American, Asian, Seafood, B L. CASA TACO, 704, Hwy 195, 575744-4859, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, Thursday to Monday L D. HODGES CORNER, 915 NM Highway 195, 575-744-5625. American, Mexican, B L. IVORY TUSK TAVERN & RESTAURANT, 401 Hwy 195, 575-744-5431, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, Seafood, Daily L D, Sunday Buffet. THE CLUB RESTAURANT, 101 Club House Drive, 575-744-7107, American, Seafood, L D. Reservations recommended. Hatch B & E BURRITOS, 303 Franklin, 575-267-5191, Mexican, B
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 29
Chala’s Wood Fire Grill is located at 2790 Avenida de Mesilla in Las Cruces. (Photos by Mike Cook)
Wishing You a Happy New Year 2019! Cheers!
TABLE TALK • MIKE COOK
Wood Fired and ¡muy fabuloso!
H
aving eaten recently at Chala’s Wood Fire Grill in Mesilla, may I just say, “yum!” (Sadly, it’s pronounced “yum” in Spanish too, so that rather trite means of capturing local flavor in a single word in language other than English isn’t going to work for this review. ¡Mira!) I was at Chala’s the other day for lunch with my good friend Eddie Binder from Doña Ana Community Colleghe. Like the company, the meal – and the service – couldn’t have been any better. I had the ground-beef tacos, which, now that I’m remembering them, I’m hungry for again. They were soooo good! Chala’s has a pretty simple but absolutely excellent menu that includes salads (organic greens, chicken and barley, beans and quinoa and steak – and you can also add chicken or steak to any salad; tacos (carnitas, chicken, veggie, pastor and ground beef); burritos (fajita, chile con carne, carne al pastor, ground beef, bean ‘n cheese and green chile sausage); sandwiches (honey ham, turkey,
hamburgers – the A Mountain Burger includes green chile and “thick cut, house-made bacon” – sausage cemita and the “Hefty Cuban”); plates (chilacas – corn masa boats with whole beans, chile con carne and garnish –
L. Closed on Sundays. PEPPER POT, 207 W Hall, 575267-3822, Mexican, B L. Closed on Sundays. SPARKY’S, 115 Franklin, 575-2674222, American, Mexican, Thursday-Sunday L D. VALLEY CAFÉ, 335 W. Hall St. 575267-4798, Mexican, American, B L. Hillsboro HILLSBORO GENERAL STORE, 10697 U.S. Highway 152, 895-5306. American, Southwestern, Vegetarian, Friday-Wednesday B L. BARBER SHOP CAFÉ, 200 Main St., 895-5283, American, Mediterranean, sandwiches, Monday-Saturday L. Truth or Consequences A & B DRIVE-IN, 211 Broadway, 894-9294, Mexican, American, Vegetarian, B L D. BAR-B-QUE ON BROADWAY, 308 Broadway, 894-7047, American, Mexican, B L. CAFÉ BELLA LUCA, 303 S. Jones St., 894-9866, Italian, American, Vegetarian, Seafood. Wednesday to Monday, D. CARMEN’S KITCHEN, 1806 S. Broadway, 575-894-0006, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, Monday-Friday B L D, Saturday, B L. EL FARO, 315 N. Broadway, 575894-2886, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, Monday-Friday B L D, Saturday, B L. GRAPEVINE BISTRO, 413 Broad-
way, 575-894-0404, American, Vegetarian, B L. JOHNNY B’S, 2260 N. Date Street, (575-894-0147, American, Mexican, B L D. LA COCINA/HOT STUFF, 1 Lakeway Drive, 575-894-6499, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, L D. LATITUDE 33, 304 S. Pershing, 575-740-7804, American, Vegetarian, Asian. Tuesday to Sunday L D. LOS ARCOS STEAK & LOBSTER, 1400 N. Date Street, 575-894-6200, American, Seafood, D. MARIAS, 1990 S. Broadway, 575894-9047, American, Mexican, Vegetarian, Monday-Saturday B L D. PACIFIC GRILL, 800 N. Date St., 575-894-7687, Italian, American, Vegetarian, Asian, Seafood, Tuesday-Thursday-Friday L D, Saturday D, Sunday L. PASSION PIE CAFÉ, 406 Main, 575-894-0008, American, Vegetarian, B L. POINT BLANC WINERY, 820 Cedar St., 575-894-7467. Monday to Saturday D, Sunday L. SUMTHINS, 902 Date St. 575894-1040, American, Thursday to Tuesday L. SUNSET GRILL, 1301 N. Date, 575-894-8904, American, Mexican, Thursday-Monday B L D. THE RESTAURANT AT SIERRA GRANDE LODGE, 501 McAdoo, 575-894-6976, American, Seafood, B L D. TURTLEBACK OASIS MARKETPLACE, 520 Broadway, 575-
Dollar-Off Pints Happy Hour Sundays and Mondays 5-7 P.M. Live Music by local and touring artists Every Thursday and Saturday Night! Full menu and Specials served daily! Try our famous nachos! Download music calendar & menu at www.highdesertbrewingco.com!
Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-Midnight • Sun Noon-11pm 1201 West Hadley Ave. Las Cruces, NM 575.525.6752 www.highdesertbrewingco.com gorditas, enchiladas, chile con carne and fajitas); family meals with larger portions of tacos, fajitas and enchilada casseroles; sweets like empanadas, brownies and biscochos and sides. The menu includes gluten-free (¡muy bueno!) and vegetarian dishes. I’ve never eaten anything from Chala’s that I didn’t like. And with this review written, I’m hungry again and I wish was there again right now! For more information on Chala’s, call 575-652-4143. 894-0179, American, Vegetarian, Monday-Saturday B L. YOUR PLACE, 400 Date St., 575740-1544, American, Monday-Saturday L D, Sunday L. Williamsburg MEXICAN GRILL, Shell Gas Station 719 S. Broadway, 575-894-0713, Mexican, Monday-Saturday B L.
LINCOLN COUNTY
Ruidoso CAN’T STOP SMOKIN’ BBQ, 418 Mechem Dr., 575-630-0000: Monday-Sunday L, D CASA BLANCA, 501 Mechem Dr., 575-257-2495: Mexican, Monday-Sunday L, D CATTLE BARON STEAK & SEAFOOD, 657 Sudderth Dr., 257-9355: L, D CHEF LUPE’S FAMILY RESTAURANT, 1101 Sudderth Dr., 2574687: Mexican, Monday-Sunday B, L, D CIRCLE J BBQ, 1825 Sudderth Dr., 575-257-4105: Monday-Sunday L, D COMAL MEXICAN RESTAURANT, 2117 Sudderth Dr., 258-1397: Monday-Sunday L, D EL PARAISO, 721 Mechem Dr., 257-0279: Mexican, Monday-Saturday, B, L, D THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA RESTAURANT, 2913 Sudderth Dr., 257-2522: Tuesday-Sunday L, D
untain Lodg o M r a e Be
JANUARY AT THE LODGE SATURDAYS, SUNDAYS, AND MONDAYS Chef Jose Guerra creates a chef table • 6pm STARTERS A soup of pumpkin, leeks, tomato, and fennel topped with a parsley pesto or Savory tart of goat cheese, thyme, kale, and pumpkin served with a puree of caramelized onions and goat cheese INTERMEZZO Sorbet SALAD COURSE Apple Cabbage Slaw MAIN COURSE Roast Leg of Lamb served with mint jelly and glazed carrots or Pappardelle Pasta with wild mushrooms and green beans in truffle butter DESSERTS Tiramisu or a Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Cream $50 with wine, $45 without wine Wine list also available.
TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS MAIN COURSE Chicken seeped in Coconut milk with onions, garlic, and veggies served in a half of an acorn squash and topped with roasted red pepper, basil, and mango served with a side salad with a Bear Mountain Lodge cracker and fresh homemade bread Or Fresh Corn Chowder served with a side salad with a Bear Mountain Lodge cracker and fresh homemade bread DESSERTS Desserts baked daily $34 per person Reservations a must! 575 538 2538.
575.538.2538 • 60 Bear Mountain Ranch Rd. P.O. Box 1163 • Silver City, NM 88062 info@bearmountainlodge.com
www.BearMountainLodge.com
30 • JANUARY 2019
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THE STARRY DOME • BERT STEVENS
Cassiopeia, the Queen A cautionary tale
T
wo thirds of the way up in our northern sky there is a W-shaped grouping of stars forming the constellation Cassiopeia, The Queen. Four of the five stars that mark the points of the W are second magnitude. Only the easternmost star is a fainter third magnitude. This eye-grabbing constellation was first cataloged by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century along with 47 other constellations. Cassiopeia is in a cluster of constellations in the northern sky connected by a common story from Greek mythology. Cassiopeia was the queen and the neighboring constellation to the west, Cepheus, was king of Aethiopia. Their daughter, Andromeda (just south of Cassiopeia), was so beautiful that the boastful Cassiopeia claimed that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. The enraged sea nymphs complained to the seagod Poseidon, who sent the sea monster Cetus (nearby, but not adjacent to Cassiopeia) to ravage the land. To alleviate the suffering of their people, the king and queen consulted an oracle who directed them to chain their daughter to the rocks at the seashore to be devoured by Cetus. They did as they were bid and as Cetus was approaching, the hero Perseus happened to fly over on his winged horse Pegasus. Spotting Andromeda chained to the rocks, he was instantly smitten by her. He fought Cetus and vanquished the beast. He unchained Andromeda whom he later married. Everyone ended up in the northern winter sky. The four bright stars have names, from west to east, Caph, Schedar, Navi and Ruchbah, while the fainter fifth star is only designated Epsilon Cassiopeiae. Schedar (Alpha Cassiopeiae) is the brightest star in the constellation, shining at magnitude +2.2. This star glows with a red color indicating its surface is much cooler than the Sun. The
With a figure like the letter “W”, Cassiopeia, the Queen, is easy to recognize high in our northern sky. This constellation has a rich section of the Milky Way running though it, providing many deep sky objects to view. These include a number of open clusters, the Heart Nebula and the Soul Nebula. Also in Cassiopeia is the brightest radio source in the sky, the Cass A supernova remnant. There are no records of this supernova that should have appeared in our sky three hundred years ago. Most likely, its light was completely blocked by interstellar dust.
Calendar of Events – JANUARY 2019 (MST) 02 05 05 13 20 21 27
10 p.m. 6:28 p.m. 10 p.m. 11:45 p.m. 10:16 p.m. 10 p.m. 2:10 p.m.
Earth closest to Sun for this year. New Moon-Partial solar eclipse visible in Asia. Venus greatest distance west of Sun (47 degrees) First Quarter Moon Full Moon-Total Lunar Eclipse Venus two degrees north of Jupiter Last Quarter Moon
color and associated spectral lines point to a spectral class of K0. The star is five times the mass of the Sun and it has been glowing for one hundred million years, which is elderly for a star of this size. Over most of its life, Schedar has been fusing hydrogen into helium in its core as a hot blue-white star. The helium accumulates in the core as the hydrogen is used up. Finally, the core is mostly helium and becomes more compact as the fusion diminishes. Hydrogen fusion continues in a shell around the core, generating more ener-
Interdenominational
Valley Community Church
19-A Racetrack Road, Arenas Valley, NM Phone: 575-538-9311 Website: www.vccsilvercity.com We are a community of faith called by Jesus to practice love of God and neighbor and boundless compassion for all. Sunday Worship at 10 A.M.
Quaker Meeting for Worship Sundays 10-11a.m. Temporarily meeting at 1507 Combs Circle, Silver City, NM
For more info: 575 590-1588 fevafotos@gmail.com
gy than was produced from the hydrogen fusion in the core. The extra energy forces the surface of the star outward, allowing it to cool. The cooling causes the star’s surface the turn red, marking Schedar entry into its red giant phase. Back on November 2, 1572, a new star appeared just a little north of Kappa Cassiopeiae. By November 16, it had reached a maximum brightness rivaling Venus, around magnitude -4.0. This was the first time a new star appeared in the sky during the scientific era. Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe used room-sized, non-telescopic instruments to measure the position of the new star (in Latin, nova). The nova’s position never changed even as it slowly faded showing it was not a planet. He was unable to find any shift in the position of the nova whether he measured it in the eastern or western sky. If it had been roughly the distance of the Moon, the nova would have shifted back and forth as Tycho measured it from either side of the Earth, just like an object appears to move back and forward as we alternately close each eye. Brahe realized that this object must be much further away,
out among the other stars. This meant that the ancient Greek view of an unchanging starry firmament was untrue. This added another nail in the coffin of the Aristotelian view of an unchanging sky. Astronomers also realized that new objects could appear in the sky and that they needed better ways to measure their position in the sky. Because of his dedicated observations of it, this star became known as Tycho’s Star. Modern observations have shown that Tycho’s Star was really a Type Ia supernova, a white dwarf that had been accumulating hydrogen stolen from a companion star until the hydrogen weighed so heavily enough on white dwarf’s core that it began fusing oxygen and carbon, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. In just a few seconds, this fusion explosion blows the white dwarf apart. With this discovery and the discovery of the remnants of Tycho’s Star first in radio and later in visible and x-ray light, this object was promoted from Tycho’s Star to Tycho’s Supernova.
The Planets for January 2019 With Saturn too close to the Sun to be seen this month, only Mars remains in the evening. Moving eastward from southwestern to eastern Pisces during the month, Mars is 50 degrees above the southwestern horizon as it gets dark. The God of
War has faded to magnitude +0.7 with a disc that is just 6.7 seconds-of-arc across. It sets around 11:15 p.m. For the first two-thirds of the month, the next planet to rise will be Venus, followed shortly by Jupiter. Jupiter passes Venus on Jan. 23, when it will become the next planet to rise. At midmonth, Venus rises around 3:45 a.m. in the east-southeast with a 55 percent sunlit disc that is 22.4 seconds-of-arc across. The Goddess of Love moves from central Libra across the northern panhandle of Scorpius to southeastern Ophiuchus. It will be 26 degrees above the southeastern horizon as it gets light, glowing at magnitude -4.3. The King of the Planets moves from western to central Ophiuchus during the month, shining at magnitude -1.9. It rises around 4:15 a.m. in the east-southeast with a disc that is 32.5 secondsof-arc across. Jupiter will be 23 degrees above the southeastern horizon as it gets light. Mercury is still visible in the morning sky after reaching its high-point last month. On January 1 it rises around 6 a.m. and is just six degrees above the east-southeastern horizon as dawn breaks. Mercury’s disc is ninety percent illuminated and it is 5.2 seconds-of-arc across. During the month, the Messenger of the Gods moves from southeast Ophiuchus, through Sagittarius and into western Capricornus. Mercury will exit the morning sky around Jan. 10. The Moon will be immersed in the Earth’s shadow Sunday night, Jan. 20, in a total lunar eclipse. The Moon enters the Earth’s shadow at 7:36 p.m., but it will take more than half an hour before you can detect the gentle shading of the penumbral phase. At 8:33 p.m., the Moon edges into the full shadow, being completely in the Earth’s shadow by 9:41 p.m. The middle of the eclipse is at 10:12 p.m., when the Moon will likely be a reddish color as it is lit by all the sunrises and sunsets all around the world. The Moon begins to exit the shadow at 10:43 p.m. It will be completely out of the full shadow at 11:50 p.m., with the eclipse coming to an end at 12:48 p.m. The entire event will occur in the eastern sky, so enjoy this spectacular event 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
JANUARY 2019 • 31
PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK • RICHARD COLTHARP
Bipedal Perambulation What would you walk a mile for in New Mexico?
A
t New Year’s Resolution time, what is the longest amount of time you are willing to walk to get somewhere? If you are the average New Mexican, you’re only willing to walk for 21.1 minutes, which likely will only get you 1.1 miles. That’s according to a recent survey by GearHungry.com, which surveyed 2,200 citizens and learned, among other things, more than 10 percent of Americans would not exercise more if our lives depended on it. At least we’re more walkative than our neighbors in Texas (18.6 minutes) or Arizona (15 minutes). Farther north, Utahns (23) and Coloradans (24.2) are more inclined to stride the inclines. How willing are you to walk up one flight of stairs if there is an elevator handy? One third of your fellow Americans will hit the button instead the stairs. If the choice were the elevator or four flights of stairs, I’m sure the vast majority would bypass the stairwell for the sliding doors. Those folks in Colorado, who seem to always top the nation among surveys of the most active citizens, will walk a mile for no reason at all, just to exercise. They will also run, swim, bicycle, kayak, whatever to get that workout buzz. We New Mexicans, though, sometimes need motivation to walk that mile. For a New Mexican, what could be more motivation than our signature culinary delight, the green chile cheeseburger? Would you walk a mile for one at Sparky’s in Hatch? Or the Tiger Burger at Hi-D-Ho in Alamogordo? Or the Owl Bar & Café in San Antonio? I know I would. So, I wondered. If I walked that mile, would it burn off the calories consumed? Since none of those places have their nutritional infor-
mation online, I checked out Whataburger’s site. Their Green Chile Double burger clocks in at 980 calories. Since a person who weighs 180 pounds, as I do, burns about 100 calories a mile, I’d have to walk 10 miles to dissipate that burger. Maybe that’s why the Coloradans exercise for the sake of exercise: It’s too depressing to do that math. So here are some great walks in New Mexico that take your focus off food and calories. • Walk around Big Daddy’s Flea Market in Las Cruces. Finish with some carne asada tacos at one of their food stands. • Walk barefoot through the gypsum dunes at White Sands National Monument. • If it’s feasible, walk to your place of employment. Or maybe bicycle. • Stroll all around downtown Silver City. • Walk up and down the Las Cruces Downtown Farmers and Crafts Market on Saturday or Wednesday. • Hike in Dog Canyon near Alamogordo. • Plan to participate in the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range this March. • Hike the Gila. • Walk the shops, stores and restaurants in midtown Ruidoso. • Next December, walk into the Gila National Forest, or the Lincoln National Forest, to cut down your own Christmas tree. I could go on forever, but you get the picture. We live in a beautiful part of the world, and generally have very cooperative weather. Get out there and experience it. See if you’re willing to more than 1.1 miles. Richard Coltharp is publisher of Desert Exposure and the Las Cruces Bulletin. One July
day, he and his daughter walked way more than 1.1 miles in the rain in the Sacramento Mountains after a sudden downpour hit the forest halfway into their hike. He can be reached at richard@ lascrucesbulletin.com.
We Understand Care, We Practice Compassion. Offering a Continuum of Care in the Las Cruces Community! We continue to build on our time-proven reputation for quality care, state-of-the-art rehabilitation and recovery protocols. Our modern facilities form a continuum of care to meet all of your needs. Independent Living • Senior Living • ShortStay Care • LongTerm Care • Specialized Alzheimer’s Care • Rehabilitation Services • Physician Services
Casa Del Sol Center 2905 East Missouri Las Cruces, NM 88011 Phone: 575-522-0404
Casa De Oro Center 1005 Lujan Hill Road Las Cruces, NM 88007 Phone: 575-523-4573
The Village at Northrise 2880 N. Roadrunner Parkway Las Cruces, NM 88011 Phone: 575-522-1110
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February Deadlines Tuesday, Jan. 15, noon:
Space reservation and ad copy due EDITOR Elva K. Österreich 575-680-1978 editor@desertexposure.com
Wednesday, Jan. 16, noon:
All stories and notices for the editorial section
DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING COORDINATOR SILVER CITY SALES Teresa Tolonen Pam Rossi Pam Rossi 575-680-1841 575-635-6614 575-635-6614 teresa@lascrucesbulletin.com pam@lascrucesbulletin.com pam@lascrucesbulletin.com
RUIDOSO AREA SALES Aaron Adams 214-673-9254 aaron@desertexposure.com
32 • JANUARY 2019
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The High Desert Humane Society
3050 Cougar Way, Silver City, NM • 575-538-9261 Lobby open Tuesday–Friday 8:30am–5:30, Saturdays 8:30am–5:00pm Animal viewing is from 11:00am to close of business. Closed Sunday and Monday.
ADOPT-A-PET
Monthly Vaccination Clinic Second Saturday 9-Noon
Sponsored by your Local Pet Lovers SPONSORED BY
Bert Steinzig
SPONSORED BY
Arenas Valley Animal Clinic
Silver Smiles Family Dental
Athena
Bridgette
Carole
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
THE GUITAR SHOP
Cisca
Heeler X female about 7 months old
DLH female 6-7 months old
Pit X female 1-2 years old
—
Pit spayed female 1-2 years old —
SPONSORED BY
Desert Exposure
SPONSORED BY
Board of Directors High Desert Humane Society
SPONSORED BY
Gila Animal Clinic
SPONSORED BY
High Desert Humane Society
Kay
Lolly
Nadia
Sammie
—
—
Hound X spayed female 12 years young Heeler X female about 7 months old — — SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
Desert Exposure
Dr. Rhonda Van Dran Optometrist
Courtney
Yves
Flame Point Siamese, female 1-2 years old
—
DSH male 2-3 months old
—
DSH female about 2-3 months old Shepard X neutered male about 1 year old — — SPONSORED BY
Diane’s Restaurant & The Parlor
Hero
Shepard/Catahoula X male 1-2 years old —
SPONSORED BY
Diane’s Restaurant & The Parlor
William
DLH neutered male about 3-4 years old —
OUR PAWS CAUSE THRIFT SHOP
108 N Bullard, SC NM, Open Wed-Sat 10am to 2pm • Call for more information Mary 575-538-2626. Donations needed! We want to expand and build a new Adoption Center. Please help. CONTACT PAM AT 575-635-6614, PAM@LASCRUCESBULLETIN.COM IF YOU WANT TO JOIN THE PET PAGE.
501(C3) NON-PROFIT ORG
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 33
40 DAYS & 40 NIGHTS
What’s Going on in January Desert Exposure would like to include your special events, from any southern New Mexico community, in our listing. Please submit your event title, time, location and contact information to editor@ desertexposure.com; Desert Exposure 1740-A Calle de Mercado, Las Cruces, NM 88005; or call Elva at 575-680-1978.
Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County First Day Hike over Elephant Butte Dam — 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on elephant Butte Dam, Lakeshore Road, Elephant Butte. Info: New Mexico State Parks.
Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County Kirtan with Katie Wise & Bhakti Explosion — 7-9 p.m. at Mothership Yoga Lounge, 500 Austin St. Truth or consequences. Boulder-based mantra-rock group for a sacred and soulful kirtan. Info: shayna@mothershipyogalounge. com. Ruidoso/Lincoln County Christmas Bird Count — All Day, all around the county. Conducted by the Lincoln County Bird Club, this is an annual census held under the direction of the National Audubon Society. Members and anyone else are welcome to participate. Info: 575-937-5416.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
Las Cruces/Mesilla First Friday Art Ramble — 5-9 p.m. Downtown Las Cruces. Galleries and restaurants open and holding receptions. Info: 575-5412150.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
Deming/Luna County Stars-N-Parks Program — 6:257:55 at Rockhound State Park near Deming. Mike Nuss is the presenter. Mars is in the southwest, Orion in the East. Sirius and Procyon are rising. Info: 575-635-0982. Ruidoso/Lincoln County INTOCABLE — 7-10 p.m. at the
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17
Silver City/Grant County Free Film: “The Plainsman” — 7 p.m. at the Santa Clara National Guard Armory, six miles East of Silver City on U.S. Highway 180. This film is part of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society movie series “Not Just a Man’s World: Hollywood’s Wild Women of the West,” and stars Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur. Info: 575-388-4862.
Throwback Thursday movie: “Pretty Woman” — 7 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. Cost: $5. Info: 575541-2150.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 1
THURSDAY, JANUARY 3
Cost: Free. Info: www.daphotoclub. org.
Introduction to Photography — 9 a.m.-noon at the SW Environmental Center, 275 N. Main St. Las Cruces. Introductory course to photography including camera basics presented by the Doña Ana Photography Club. Cost: $5. Info: www.daphotoclub.org.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13
The Big Ditch Crickets play in Silver City on Jan. 12 to raise money for Gila Mimbres Community Radio. (Courtesy Photo)
Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. Tejano/Norteño music with group out of Zapata, Texas. Info: innofthemountaingods.com/ event/intocable.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 6
Deming/Luna County Jam Session — 2-4 p.m. at Morgan Hall, 109 E. Pine St. Deming. The Jammers play and serve coffee and cookies. Info: 575-546-2674.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8
Alamogordo/Otero County Coffee with a Cop — 10 a.m.noon at Patron’s Hall, 1104 New York Ave. Opportunity to encourage communication and positive interactions between law enforcement agencies and the public. Ask questions, voice concerns and get to know the faces of the officers. Las Cruces/Mesilla/ Doña Ana County GriefShare Support Group starting up — 6:30-8 p.m. at Morning Star United Methodist Church, 2941 Morning Star Drive in Las Cruces. This is a 13-week program with videos and workbook. Cost: $25. Info: 915-525-2575.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10
Las Cruces/Mesilla “Killing Games: Wildlife in the
Crosshairs” — 6-8 p.m. at the Las Cuces High School Theater. A film whicd examines the graowin plague of wildlife killing contests. Info: 575-522-5552.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12
Silver City/Grant County Just Words at the Tranquilbuzz — 2 p.m. at the Tranquilbuzz Coffee House, 112 W. Yankie St. Award winning mystery writer Kris Neri reads and discusses writing, followed by open mic for poetry and prose. Info: sigriddaughter@ gmail.com. Big Ditch Crickets — 6-9:30 p.m. at the Old Elks Lodge, 325 N. Texas St. in Silver City. Benefit for Gila Mimbres Community Radio. Info: 575-535-2151. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County Second Saturday Art Hop — 6-9 p.m. in Downtown T or C along Main, Broadway, Foch, and Austin streets. Galleries, studios, shops and restaurants open late for exploration. Info; promotion@ torcmainstreet.org. Old Time Fiddlers Dance — 7-9 p.m., New Mexico Old Time Fiddlers Playhouse, 710 Elm St., Truth or Consequences. $4 Info: 575-744-9137. Las Cruces/Mesilla
Deming/Luna County Jam Session — 2-4 p.m. at Morgan Hall, 109 E. Pine St. Deming. The Jammers play and serve coffee and cookies. Info: 575-546-2674.
MONDAY, JANUARY 14
Silver City/Grant County Widowed and Single Persons of Grant County — 10:30 a.m. at Cross Point Assembly of God Church, 11600 U.S. Highway 180. Entertainment to be announced. Info: 575-537-3643.
MONDAY, JANUARY 14
Las Cruces/Mesilla Doña Ana Photography Club — 7 p.m. at the SW Environmental Center, 275 N. Main St. Las Cruces. Ann Chase presents a program on places and photo opportunities in New Mexico. Also covered will be travel information and lodging.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18
Silver City/Grant County Know the Trees II: Twigs, Cones and Fruit — 7 p.m. in Western New Mexico University’s Harlan Hall, Room 219 on the corner of 12th and Alabama streets. Richard Felger and Bull Norris conduct a Gila Native Plant Society workshop. Info: www.gilanps.org/events/programs.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County Old Time Fiddlers Dance — 7-9 p.m., New Mexico Old Time Fiddlers Playhouse, 710 Elm St., Truth or Consequences. $4 Info: 575-744-9137.
Las Cruces/Mesilla Children’s Matinee: “Minions” — 11 a.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. Cost: $1.
Spay / Neuter Awareness Program Financial Assistance for Low-Income Pet Owners in Grant, Catron, and Hidalgo Counties
388-5194 or 297-9734 in Mimbres 519-2762 email: snap@q.com www.snap-sw-nm.org Sponsored by Diane’s Restaurant Sponsored by Diane’s Restaurant • Silver City, NM
Bear Creek Motel & Cabins
Fabulous getaway nestled in the tall pines of Pinos Altos •Fireplaces • Secluded Balconies • Porches • Telephone & WiFi • Satellite TV • Barbeque Grill • Hot Tub in Cabana • Meeting Room • Cabins with Kitchens are available • Gift Shop • Pet Friendly • Venue for Events
From Ireland, We Banjo 3 performs with more than banjos at Western New Mexico University in Silver City. (Courtesy Photo)
34 • JANUARY 2019
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Info: 575-541-2150. Classic Film: “The Godfather: Part II” — 8 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. Cost: $5. Info: 575-541-2150.
troupe’s 58-year history. Cost: $25. Info: 575-541-2150.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County Old Time Fiddlers Dance — 7-9 p.m., New Mexico Old Time Fiddlers Playhouse, 710 Elm St., Truth or Consequences. $4 Info: 575-744-9137.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 20
Deming/Luna County Jam Session — 2-4 p.m. at Morgan Hall, 109 E. Pine St. Deming. The Jammers play and serve coffee and cookies. Info: 575-546-2674.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22
Alamogordo/Otero County The Phil Leas Writer’s Group: all writers welcome — 11:30 a.m. at Desert Lakes Golf Course, 19 Hole Restaurant, 2351 Hamilton Road in Alamogordo. Enjoy lunch together and bring some of your work to read after dining. Info: 575-5855545.
with the planet and its inhabitance. Cost: $20. Info: 575-538-5862.
On Jan. 31 the Booze Bombs hit the Truth of Consequences Brewing Company. (Courtesy Photo)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23
Silver City/Grant County Flor de Toloache in concert — 7-9 p.m. at WNMU Light Hall Theater, 1000 W. College Ave., Silver City. Latin Grammy-winning all female mariachi band. Info: mariachinyc.com. Cost: $15, free for students. Info: 575-538-6469.
Las Cruces/Mesilla Movie night: “The Gaze of the Explorer: Humboldt in Mexico” — 7 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. Explorer and scientist Alexander von Humboldt tells of his 1803 journey to New Spain. Cost: free. Info: 575541-2150.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
Silver City/Grant County Free Film: “My Darling Clemen-
tine” — 7 p.m. at the Santa Clara National Guard Armory, six miles East of Silver City on U.S. Highway 180. This film is part of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society movie series “Not Just a Man’s World: Hollywood’s Wild Women of the West,” and stars Henry Fonda. Info: 575-388-4862. Vocal Trash — 7-9:30 p.m. at WNMU Fine Arts Center Theater, 1000 W. College Ave., Silver City. Urban themed Broadway style production that reconnects the viewer
Deming/Luna County Jam Session — 2-4 p.m. at Morgan Hall, 109 E. Pine St. Deming. The Jammers play and serve coffee and cookies. Info: 575-546-2674.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29
Silver City/Grant County Stars-N-Parks Program — 6:408:10 at City of Rocks State Park. Bill Nigg is the presenter. Mars is in the West, Orion in the East. Canopus is rising. Info: 575-635-0982.
Silver City/Grant County President’s Chamber Music Series: Horn Quintets — 7-9 p.m. at WNMU Light Hall Theater, 1000 W. College Ave., Silver City. Cost: $15, free for students. Info: 575538-6469.
Ruidoso/Lincoln County Chris Lane live — 7-10 p.m. at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino. Popular Country music singer. Info: innofthemountaingods. com/event/chris-lane/
Las Cruces/Mesilla The Black Market Trust, live jazz — 7:30 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. Cost: $20. Info: 575-541-2150.
Las Cruces/Mesilla The Best of the Second City — 7 p.m. at the Rio Grande Theatre in Downtown Las Cruces. The Second City Touring Company performs some of the best sketches, songs and improvisations from the
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
Silver City/Grant County Free Film: “Heller in Pink” — 7 p.m. at the Santa Clara National Guard Armory, six miles East of Silver City on U.S. Highway 180. This film is part of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society movie
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DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 35
TUMBLEWEEDS • DAVID BURGE
The Mysteries of Dripping Springs Here’s what you need to know before you go
Ruins along the trail going up to the springs provide a scenic backdrop to a jaw-dropping hike. (Photos by David Burge)
T
he foot of the Organ Mountains outside of Las Cruces has one of the region’s best-kept secrets – Dripping Springs Natural Area. Even for long-time residents of Southern New Mexico, Dripping Springs is a hidden gem – that’s just a short drive from the center of Las Cruces. The Bureau of Land Management has administered Dripping Springs for years, but it was incorporated into the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Na-
tional Monument when it was created by President Barack Obama in 2014. Dripping Springs gets its name from a spring that drips water most of the year, even in this dry desert climate. In fall and winter temperatures are cooler, making it nice to do the main 3-mile loop trail up to the springs, said ranger Rico Smith.
DRIPPING SPRINGS
continued on page 37
Dripping Springs usually just drips on most days, but after a rain, it can flow like a small waterfall.
Location: Located at 15000 Dripping Springs Road. It is located 10 miles east of Las Cruces, on the west side of the Organ Mountains. From Exit 1 on Interstate 25, take University Avenue/Dripping Springs Road east to the end. Fee: There is a $5 fee per carload. Only cash or checks are accepted. Pets: Pets are allowed on the Dripping Springs Trail up to the Crawford Trail intersection. Pets are not allowed beyond that point. They must take the Crawford Trail. Dogs are allowed on the Fillmore and La Cueva trails. All dogs must be on a leash. Hours: Starting in November, hours shorten to 8 a.m. to sunset. The visitors center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can pay the fee at the visitors center or one of the selfserve “iron rangers.” Tips: Bring plenty of water, even on cool days. Wear athletic or hiking shoes. A hat and long-sleeved shirts can help protect against the desert sun. Information: Visitors center, 575-343-2492; Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces District Office, 575-525-4300; and www.blm.gov/ visit/dripping-springs-natural-area.
Mariache women, Flor de Toloache preform in Silver City Wednesday, Jan. 23. (Courtesy Photo)
series “Not Just a Man’s World: Hollywood’s Wild Women of the West,” and stars Anthony Quinn and Sophia Loren. Info: 575-3884862. We Banjo 3 — 7-9 p.m. at WNMU Light Hall Theater, 1000 W. College Ave., Silver City. Artists from Ireland features banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, percussion and harmonies. Cost: $15, free for students. Info: 575-538-6469. Truth or Consequences/ Sierra County The Booze Bombs — 8-11 p.m. at the T or C Brewing Company, 410 N. Broadway, T or C. Epic German rockabilly band returns. Info: 575297-0289.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Silver City/Grant County Springs ecosystems in southwest New Mexico: assessing
conditions and restoration opportunities — 7 p.m. in Western New Mexico University’s Harlan Hall, Room 219 on the corner of 12th and Alabama streets. Audubon monthly meeting features John Money, environmental scientist with the NM Environment Department. Cost: free. Info: swnmaudubon@ gmail.com. Las Cruces/Mesilla First Friday Art Ramble — 5-9 p.m. Downtown Las Cruces. Galleries and restaurants open and holding receptions. Info: 575-5412150.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Deming/Luna County Stars-N-Parks Program — 6:508:20 at Rockhound State Park near Deming. Mike Nuss is the presenter. Mars is in the West, Orion in
On Jan. 3 the community of Lincoln County begin counting birds for the Christmas Bird County. (Photo Courtesy of the Audubon Society)
the East. Canopus is rising. Info: 575-635-0982. Las Cruces/Mesilla Navajo Rug Auction — Preview 9-11:30 a.m., auction begins at noon at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St. Las Cruces. Fundraiser for Las Cruces Museums. Approximately 250 lots of ruts and other Native American Art will be offered. Info: foundationalcm. com. Sing the Legend — Noon, at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival: A live musical presentation of nine historic western songs with presenters talking about the history of the song. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150.
“Four Faces West” — 1:30 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival: 1948 film based on a story by Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150. Killing Pat Garrett — 4 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival: Presentation by David Thomas of the events leading to the killing of Pat Garrett. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150. Wayne Brazel Preliminary Examination — 4:30 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150.
The Wayne Brazel Trial — 5 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150. Querida Esposa: Travel Back in Time on a Journey of Love — 6 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival: reading and discussion of Pat Garretts love letters to his wife. Cost: free. Info: 575-541-2150. History of Movie Theaters in Las Cruces and “Billy the Kid” (1930) movie — 7:30 p.m., at the Rio Grande Theatre, Downtown Las Cruces. Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival. Cost: $5 Info: 575-541-2150.
36 • JANUARY 2019
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KEEP LEARNING
In-state Tuition Available out of State
New Mexico Tech offering deal to grad students from Western states
N
ew Mexico Tech recently enrolled all its graduate programs in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). This permits graduate students from 60 other universities to enroll at NMT and pay resident tuition. NMT Graduate Dean Dr. Lorie Liebrock said she expects this new offering to recruit more students from Western states. Liebrock said the tuition break for Western students is especially attractive recruiting tool because of the quality of NMT’s graduate programs. Several graduate programs have been ranked nationally, including mechanical engi-
neering, masters of science for teachers and engineering management, to name a few. “This is a great deal because Western students get low tuition in our outstanding programs,” Liebrock said. “The primary reason we are doing this is to attract more graduate students, but this also calls out our high rankings for our graduate programs.” New Mexico residents pay $4,029 per semester for graduate school tuition and fees. The non-resident cost is $11,790 per semester. The new program could save students $15,522 per year. Liebrock pointed out that tuition in
California and Colorado is significantly higher than in New Mexico, creating even more savings for graduate students. Visit wrgpsavingsfinder.wiche. edu for a list of partner institutions and eligible graduate programs. Participating universities don’t offer all of their graduate programs at the discounted WRGP tuition rate. If the program you want to enroll in is eligible, apply directly to the university’s graduate studies department and identify yourself as WICHE WRGP applicant. WRGP applicants must meet the university’s WRGP admission requirements and deadlines.
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The trail up to the springs have three sets of ruins dating from the 1800s – with interpretive signs. It is a great way to learn some history about the area.
DRIPPING SPRINGS
continued from page 36 The fall and winter also can bring some wet weather, which causes the springs to go from a mere drip on most days to absolutely gushing with water. Smith said the big attraction of Dripping Springs is its easy accessibility – from Las Cruces and the rest of Southern New Mexico. “You come in from town (Las Cruces) and just drive straight up the road,” Smith said. “There is nothing twisty, nothing windy. It’s not a long drive.” The springs are at the far point of the loop trail. Along the trail, there are plenty of opportunities to view desert cacti, flowers and other plants and if you are lucky, some wildlife, like deer. Of course, in a high desert environment, you always need to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes, especially on warmer days. Also, along the trail are three sets of ruins dating back to the 1800s – a tuberculosis sanatorium, a mountain camp and a livery stable. Dripping Springs includes several other trails.
The 1-mile La Cueva trail leads to a cave where an eccentric hermit – an Italian priest – once lived in the 1800s. The trail can be started at the picnic area or at the Dripping Springs visitors center. A more strenuous 2-mile hike heads out to Fillmore Canyon. There is the possibility of seeing a waterfall along this trail, but the area needs to get about a week’s worth of rain for it to flow, Smith said. Still, the hike is worth it, even when the waterfall is not running, he said. “As you are coming up (on the drive in), these mountains loom before you and they just get larger and larger,” Smith said. “As you get closer, you look to the left and there are the mountains. You look to the right, and there’s the mountains. By the time you arrive here, you are engulfed by this view of this beautiful mountain. I think that’s a big draw.” David Burge is a news producer with ABC-7 in El Paso. He has more than three decades of experience working at newspapers in California, New Mexico and West Texas.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 37
ANIMAL WELFARE • KRISTI GARCIA
Working for Health
New Mexico Livestock Board has a mission to protect an industry
F
or well over a century, the New Mexico Livestock Board has regulated the health and identification of livestock throughout the state of New Mexico. With a mission to maintain the integrity of the state’s livestock industry. Aside from performing daily inspections to ensure that livestock are free from disease, the law enforcement agency handles everything from emergency situations involving the transportation of livestock to theft and animal welfare cases. Formerly identified as the Cattle Sanitary Board, the state agency merged with the Sheep Sanitary Board in 1967 and formed what is now known as the New Mexico Livestock Board. A total of 50 inspectors are employed full-time with the NMLB, 26 of which are certified police officers. Each inspector is trained to ensure the safety of livestock, one of New Mexico’s most precious commodities.
Animal cruelty cases are listed among the many responsibilities of NMLB inspectors. According to NMLB Deputy Director Shawn Davis, the process of handling such situations usually begins with a call of concern. “Reports of animal cruelty are often received with the caller wanting to remain anonymous,” Davis said. “Callers will give us the details of the situation they’re seeing so that we can start an investigation.” The investigation process involves contacting either the owner of the animal or the property on which the animal is being kept, as well as obtaining permission to step foot on that property. If access isn’t granted by the owner, a possible search warrant may be issued. “If the inspectors feel like what they’re seeing isn’t good, they will apply for a seizure warrant with the magistrate or district court,” Davis said. “The warrant is then signed by a judge, and
once they have possession of the animal, the court has 30 days to decide if the animal was being treated cruelly.” The seizure is a civil matter, while the criminal case – if charged – is separate. In the civil matter, the court then has 30 days to give a deposition in order to declare whether the animal was in fact neglected. Charges often range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on the severity of the individual case. Meanwhile, the NMLB will sometimes request that the court assigns the animal to a rescue where it can receive proper care and treatment. The New Mexico Equine Rescue Alliance includes six rescues located throughout the state. “Many recent cases have gone to horse shelters,” said Davis. “Some of the horses may stay there and some may be rehabilitated, but with most cases, the horse will stay at the rescue for a minimum of one year. If the horse becomes healthy enough, they may be able to ride and adopt out.” Larceny cases are also included in the NMLB inspectors’ long list of duties. In 2018, two men stole 25 head of livestock from a quarantined ranch in Eddy County. The case went to a grand jury, which resulted in both men facing over 26 felony counts, including transporting
stolen livestock, larceny, conspiracy and exporting livestock out of the state without inspection. While theft is always a potential culprit for missing livestock, the NMLB claims that the number of animals found wandering away from their herd is relatively high. In 2018 alone, the NMLB has returned 1,236 head of livestock worth $1.1 million to their rightful owners. On many occasions, inspectors will find the animals ‘where they aren’t sup-
posed to be,’ and upon returning them, realize that the owners of the missing livestock were never aware that they were missing in the first place. Fortunately, with proper brand identification, they are returned without incident. Because the dairy and cattle ranching industries rake in the highest cash receipts for the state of New Mexico, it’s no surprise that with a large inventory
MISSION
continued on page 39
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BRANIGAN CULTURAL CENTER, SATURDAY, FEB. 2, 2019 Macy, a sorrel mare, was one of two neglected horses seized by the New Mexico Livestock Board in Eunice earlier this year. Macy is shown before she was seized by the New Mexico Livestock Board. (Photo courtesy of the New Mexico Livestock Board)
Friday, Feb. 1, 2019
JEWELRY SALE AND APPRAISALS: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Native American rugs, baskets, jewelry. Sorry no Kachina dolls or paintings)
APPRAISALS $10 EACH ITEM Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019
AUCTION PREVIEW IS AT 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Auction by R.B. Burnham & Co. There will be approximately 250 lots of rugs and other Native American Art offered. Proceeds benefit Navajo weavers, Las Cruces Museums and the Foundation for Las Cruces Museums.
Admission is free. AT THE BRANIGAN CULTURAL CENTER, 501 NORTH MAIN, LAS CRUCES
AUCTION STARTS AT NOON
For Information go to www.foundationlcm.com www.facebook.com/FoundationLCMuseums/ This is a fundraising event to support the Las Cruces Museums: Branigan Cultural Center, Museum of Art, Museum of Nature and Science and Railroad Museum. For information call (575) 541-2154.
Macy after she had spent several days at an equine rescue in Roswell. (Photo courtesy of the New Mexico Livestock Board)
38 • JANUARY 2019
www.desertexposure.com
LIVING ON WHEELS • SHEILA SOWDER
Squirrel Wars
Or as the squirrels call it, ‘Free Food!’
W
hat makes you crazy? What is that one thing that can turn you into a quivering mass of madness? For Dean Maxwell, who lives here at Rose Valley in his RV, it’s squirrels. It all started this summer when Dean decided to do a little gardening on his site. He planted a variety of quite lovely flowering plants – marigolds, begonias and petunias – in large flower pots. Now Dean lived most of his adult life in Alaska, and yes, Alaska has its share of squirrels, even in the frozen tundra. But apparently, he never decided to garden up there. During the first couple of weeks after Dean’s gardening spree, his plants thrived, blossoming with an abundance that made him proud. Then one morning, while
watering, he noticed a few empty stems. The following day there were more, and the third day half his flowers were missing. “There are three of the little devils,” he told me, “two locals and a friend. They recognize the sounds of my truck and run away before I can even get out. I tried shooting one with an Airsoft, but the darn squirrel was too fast.” At my look of horror, he explained, “It wouldn’t have hurt him, just stung.” Still. Now I’ve heard Dean’s side of this conflict ad nauseum and it usually ends with him muttering the words “little bastards” as he vows to never give up. I decided I needed to hear the other side and set up an interview with another longtime Rose Valley resident, Al the Squirrel.
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Dean’s collection of plastic snakes and lizard made the squirrels giggle. (Photo by Sheila Sowder)
A squirrel looks for seeds under a bird-feeder at an RV Park. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich)
“So, Al,” I said, “I recently watched a PBS Nature program called The Squirrel’s Guide to Success. Your species in its current form has been around some 36 million years, making you one of the most enduring animal families on the planet. By comparison, the modern human has only been here about 200,000 years. To what do you attribute this success?” “Well, we’ve got a lot of variety. Not just your standard tree squirrels and ground squirrels, but all these subgroups, like your prairie dogs and chipmunks and flying squirrels. We’ve got a 3-foot long Malabar giant squirrel in India, a giant wooly squirrel in Kashmir, ant-eating squirrels in Southeast Asia, pigmy squirrels in Gabon. I guess you could say we’re adaptable. “I learned on the program that a squirrel can bury as many as 10,000 nuts for winter, and then is able to find at least 90 percent of them. That’s incredible!” “Yeah, maybe a little too incredible.” Al shook his little head. “I gotta wonder about some of those studies. I mean, sure, we’re smart in general, though I know a few squirrels don’t know enough to head for the burrow when it rains. But did someone actually watch a squirrel all winter to
count how many nuts he dug up? And how did they know that same squirrel had buried them? I mean, start digging near any nut tree and you’re going to find nuts.” “I also heard that tree squirrels have larger brains than ground squirrels because they need the larger brain capacity to deal with their more complicated lives.” “Now that ticks me off,” Al said with a little squirrel frown. “Those tree guys will say anything to make themselves sound superior. Who decided it’s harder to build a nest in a tree than dig a complex series of tunnels and rooms? How would you like it if some researcher decided city humans had bigger brains than small town humans because it’s harder to drive in a city?” He kicked a nearby pebble. “My branch needs better PR.” “Al, you know the guy that lives down at the end of this row? The site with all the flower pots? You’ve been identified as one of the squirrels that ate all his flowers this summer.” Al gave a little squirrel dance. “That guy is great! Me and the guys voted him the human we most hope sticks around this place. Not only did he grow all those delicious flowers, he did a
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great job of entertaining us.” “Uh, I don’t think it was intentional.” “Oh, come on, why else would he hide those little plastic snakes in the pots? And that lizard? We thought about taking it back to the burrow. You know, as a decoration.” “Oh, Al, you all misunderstood what he was trying to do. Mr. Maxwell planted the flowers so he could look at them and enjoy them, and he put out the snakes and lizard to scare you away.” “You got to be kidding! First off, humans are the only animal dumb enough to just look at food. And you don’t have to be a genius to recognize the smell of plastic. Shish!” Al shook his head at the baffling behavior of the human species. “Something that puzzles me,” I said. “You ate his marigolds. I thought squirrels don’t like marigolds.” “That’s like saying all humans don’t like spinach. What about live worms and insects? You gonna say no humans eat live worms and insects? So, some squirrels don’t eat marigolds, some do. Big surprise.” “Then I guess Mr. Maxwell’s plan to plant flowers you don’t like next year won’t work?” “Well, it could work if he knew what I don’t like.” “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” “Lady, squirrels haven’t been around all this time by accident.” “Al, I want to thank you for taking the time for this interview. There’re always two sides to every issue. Although I don’t know what advice I can give Mr. Maxwell for next summer.” “Hey, that’s easy. Just tell him to move to Australia. We squirrels never made it to Australia, so all he has to worry about are wombats and wallabies.” 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.
DESERT EXPOSURE
JANUARY 2019 • 39
Two New Mexico Livestock Board inspectors set up pens at the Albuquerque International Sunport during a New Mexico Agriculture Livestock Incident Response Team training. The multi-agency exercise involved a simulation of a livestock transportation emergency. (Photo by Jane Moorman, New Mexico State University)
MISSION
continued from page 37 of beef cattle, calves and dairy cows comes the risk of emergency situations involving the livestock transportation. In a recent incident that occurred on Interstate 25 near Albuquerque, a semi-truck carrying 92 head of cattle rolled over due to a weight shift, killing two cows that were pronounced dead on arrival and injuring two others that were later euthanized due to severe injury. Davis said the low number of
casualties among the herd was partly due to the quick response time. “The initial call to us went out within 15 minutes of the incident,” said Davis. “I think because the response time was so fast, an impressive number of cattle survived.” The remaining cattle were taken to EXPO New Mexico where they were held before being rerouted. Emergency response within the agency also covers disease outbreak. In 2011, vesicular
New Mexico Livestock Board inspector April Gustin-Riggs takes a mock emergency call during a New Mexico Agriculture Livestock Incident Response Team training in July. (Photo by Jane Moorman, New Mexico State University)
stomatitis, a viral disease that primarily affects horses and cattle, broke out across the state. The NMLB was able to keep the disease from spreading to an uncontrolled state by quarantining the effected premises and monitoring the movement of the infected livestock. “The state vet at the time ordered to shorten the normally accepted range of 30 days for a Certificate of Veterinary Health Inspection to five days during the outbreak,” said Davis.
“Spot checks were done at rodeos and other gatherings for compliance. Most diseases of that sort are handled by quarantine and restriction of movement until the disease is under control.” With a mission to protect the integrity of New Mexico’s livestock industry, the NMLB has a great responsibility to the state and its livestock as a law enforcement agency. Daily inspections to ensure animal health and safety make up a mere frac-
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tion of the duties of an NMLB inspector. According to Davis, the hard work of these men and women often goes overlooked. “The biggest misconception is that the public assumes we’re an agency that solely deals with equine issues,” said Davis. “Even cruelty cases aren’t what keep the agency going day to day. Constant inspections are our first line of defense for New Mexico’s livestock industry, and they are the core activity of our agency’s mission.”
40 • JANUARY 2019
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WE HAVE THE SKILL TO TrEAT PULMONArY dISEASE. ANd THE COMPASSION TO HELP YOU BrEATHE EASIEr. Breathing is the foundation of life. But if you’re having trouble from COPD, emphysema, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, or other issues, call us. Our physicians and staff are trained in the most advanced testing and treatments available. Plus, their training is grounded in a compassion that’s unmatched. That’s what makes us unique and the right choice for your loved ones.
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(575) 538-4000
www.grmc.org
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