Land of Enchantment

Fresh Upon 2024, Jesse and Khara found themselves exploring Southwest New Mexico. Resettled in our traveling house, we set about to learn a bit of the mythology of the town, Truth or Consequences. How did it come by this name? Was there really a choice? Could this be a game? And thus a series of magical stories revealed themselves to us, creating a portrait of this place to call home for a while.

At the Geronimo Springs Museum, we discovered that this area was originally known as Hot Springs, named for the geothermal aquifer that bubbled out of the earth. Such a unique place, even the indigenous people considered it a neutral territory, recognizing that all could benefit. The area ultimately changed many hands, as Spanish Conquistadors built the Camino Real, mostly parallel to the route carved by the Rio Grande, and American settlers came prospecting for mines and setting up ranches. The town grew exponentially after building a dam and forming a major reservoir at Elephant Butte. In 1950, the citizens entered a contest: if they renamed their town after the radio show, Truth or Consequences, the production team would record an episode there. Needless to say, they won; the host loved their fortitude and ended up developing a long relationship with the community. And the name stuck. Today visitors delight in the hot spring soaks and local art galleries, and T or C has drawn in an eclectic group of long term residents (many retired) seeking healing, desert beauty and a place off the beaten path to make their own.

Our wanderings around the small towns, desert valley and surrounding mountains found further enchanting experiences to fill in this portrait.

Turtleback Mountain: Rising above T or C are the Caballo Mountains. The most prominent northern peak is Turtleback Mountain, so named as the story goes, for the first mother turtle who made her home on the banks of the Rio Grande. As her offspring flourished, she knew she could leave them safely and watches over from above on the mountain top. While we love the sun setting glow upon this feature, we also took the challenge to ascend. Two plus miles and 2000 feet later, whew, we enjoyed the views of the town and beyond. Thank goodness for hiking poles!

Black Cat Poets: A local group of poets gathers once a month to share some of their work. It was such a treat for our first weekend in town to visit these artists at a coffee shop for their readings. What a collaborative and supportive group of writers!

Storylab at El Cortez: Led by inspired transplants, this monthly presentation at the local movie theater space seeks to help neighbors get to know the actual humans in their town (better). At each Storylab, six locals tell their story of how they got to now. Some spoke about how they came to love reading or how their life was like a film. Others spoke of tender subjects like parents passing, hitting bottom, and facing discrimination. And we also enjoyed humorous stories too about the evolution of a name, teaching high school English and how the Vortex of T or C can suck you in. Such courage to get up and share something so personal! And what an opportunity for the audience to see the richness of life behind each person, they may not yet know, while walking around their town.
Vicki Boynton’s Storylab about Being Drawn in to the Vortex

Architectural Mystery: A weekend trip took us up into the Black Range and our country’s very first National Wilderness: the Gila. The scenic drive was beautiful and we felt very fortunate to visit the Cliff Dwellings, seemingly remote enough to offer natural protection from humans who might cause them damage. We were permitted to walk through the 40 or so rooms built in a natural cave formation high up in the cliffs and view pictographs up close. To be that intimate with history was rather profound for us. The people who built these homes seemingly did so to escape a massive drought in the area about 700 years ago. The creek below was spring fed and brought plant and animal life to sustain them. And yet, curiously enough, they vanished about 25 years after establishing their community. Were there new obstacles to survival? Greener lands and adventure beckoned? We may never know this story’s end.
Enjoy this 15 minute film on the Archaeology Channel

Mosaic Art History: Just south of the Gila Wilderness, we found Silver City, named for that which they originally mined. Nowadays, they primarily seek copper for many a new cell phone or other tech ware. It is also an artsy town with great coffee (Cheers Tranquilbuzz!) and has a large university branch. We spotted some fantastic public mosaic art, relating stories of the town. The first describes a tremendous flood which traveled through Main Street in 1895. Grazing and deforestation had depleted the surrounding land and epic rains tore through the business district, destroying virtually all of it. Afterwards they dug the main thoroughfare down to create a ditch and park to manage future floods. Spot the piano going down the river?! Done as  a beautiful Dia de los Muertos altar, the second mosaic describes the Ailman House and honors the people who lived in it as a home, a business, the town hall, a firehouse and finally a museum.
Listen to the story of the Flood and the Big Ditch.

Piecing a Ghost Town Together: Described in the county newspaper as one of the best ghost towns in the area, Chloride made a nice day trip for us. (And yes it was named for the mineral mined there and saw its own boom and bust from a town of 3000 to 11). Here we wandered the street(s) to see the buildings which had held many functions over the years: bank turned saloon turned school turned law office turned dance hall… And at the Pioneer Store Museum, we met Ms. Edmund who shared stories about how her family came to the area, learned of its history through the “Old Timers” and then excavated the General Store which had been sealed as is and ready for reopening for over 70 years. After clearing the residents of rats and bats, they discovered treasures from another time and made it all available for visitors to see in what its original form likely was. She had so, so many good stories and a genuine love of history and preservation.
A deeper history dive on the Pioneer Store Museum website

Legend of Zia Tumbleweed: It was a bright and sunny morning at the end of February, when the west wind began to roll in. Jesse & Khara drove out to the Desert Haven Animal Rescue to volunteer some love and affection to the dogs and cats of Sierra County (living communal style till they find their forever homes). They met her in a cozy room she had all to herself, since the little Siamese cat had only recently found her way there. She had emerged from the dust of the desert to the House of Bess, who helped this little gal to the haven, as her own feline companions were unforgiving to new company. Well, she had lovingly charmed the staff until the fateful day she meowed, “Ramble on.” She settled in the big white truck, riding past dirt devils and through gusts of 50 miles per hour. Upon arrival at the homestead, they arrived to greet her: tumbleweed after massive tumbleweed blew through the park of modern wagons and piled up against the creosote hillside. The little cat sent her wrangler out to receive the giant traveling bushes, protect the house and send them on east to disperse their seeds. From then on, she was called after the sun symbol of the Pueblo which honors the four cardinal directions and the rambling thistles who rushed to welcome her home.

Thusly the two travelers became three. Their adventure continues for now amongst the stories of Southwestern New Mexico. But new horizons beckon, and more will be revealed as the tumbleweeds roam this spring. So glad to make your acquaintance, Land of Enchantment.