Over the years many creatures have walked over New Mexico lands. Buffalo, Elk, Antelopes, Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Cattle, Horses, Mules, Goats, but there was an animal that caused locals to wonder if they were dreaming. In the 1850s the U. S. Army brought some Middle Eastern Camels to the southwest. Here is the story of Army Camels being used in New M…

New Mexico and Arizona have an entwined history. They started as one entity, the U. S. Territory of New Mexico in 1850. In that entity from Hobbs to Yuma and northward was all New Mexico. New Mexico and Arizona became separate territories in 1862 and then states in 1912 within six weeks of each other. The history of Arizona and New Mexico are conne…

New Mexico is known worldwide as the Land of Enchantment. It has a magnificent daytime and nighttime captivating countryside with beautiful vistas day or night. Half the great views you can see by - looking up. The sky above New Mexico is wonderful day and night. In the daytime you can see the Sun at a fun place to visit named the Sunspot Solar Obs…

I want to talk about the chile of old such as the Old West Southwestern chile and then the future of chile. I even want your views on what combination of flavors that isn’t being done right now could be the next big chile innovation since chile is now part of a many flavors such as Hatchup, the Hatch Valley red chile and ketchup. I will confess tha…

I spend some mornings at a wonderful coffee shop telling stories. Most of the stories might be true. It is lovely to drink coffee and laugh with friends. Without water we wouldn’t have coffee nor green chile. I love the Rio Grande. Today’s podcast has a little of this and that stories. When you hear people talking about how the West was won, it was…

I am told that an Iceberg is 10 percent visible and 90 percent below the water line. Las Cruces hasn’t seen an Iceberg in forever, except in Hollywood movies. What is the commonality of Icebergs and Las Cruces and most towns in New Mexico? What you see, the roads, buildings and houses are only a part of the entire story of building Las Cruces. When…

I had an interesting question from someone: “Why is everyone so taken by chile?” Most of us were born here in New Mexico and do not remember a time when we were not eating chile peppers. Yes, we had baby food, but then came green and red chile. We loved it. Let’s explore why people here and all over the world find New Mexico chile so very great. An…

When you see a new chile pepper salsa at the Fresh Chile Company, you know this didn’t happen by accident. It took lots of work and innovation to invent, yes, invent a new salsa. Well now there is a new one and I will tell you about what it took to create Randy’s Salsa. Fresh Chile Company owner Randy McMillan wanted to have a salsa with larger chu…

It was with sadness that I learned on Wednesday that former NMSU, St. Louis Cardinals and Denver Bronco quarterback Charley Johnson has passed at age 85. It wasn’t his intention to leave Texas and come to New Mexico. A couple things happened. He was raised in Big Spring, Texas. A super athlete in high school, he intended to play football in college…

In New Mexico we have what I’m going to call the New Mexico grown chile pepper plant. It’s central to our identity. We go to restaurants for their chips and salsa. The question: red or green is answered in New Mexico as both, in a blend, The official smell of New Mexico is roasting green chile. We have many chile peppers. There’s secrets of New Mex…

This weekend is the 52nd annual Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, New Mexico the Chile Capital of the world. Saturday and Sunday, August 31 and September 1st the small Southern New Mexico town will be brimming with good food, good people and good times. Learn about chile pepper tastes and different ways that the chile can be prepared. Be prepared for …

With some New Mexico towns and cities only the name is needed, not having to say, New Mexico. Example: Albuquerque, where there is no need for New Mexico. But some, like Las Vegas, need New Mexico or some people will make a 700-mile geographical error and an even worse cultural assumption. And Las Vegas, New Mexico was a booming town long before th…

New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment and Mystery. There is no greater mystery than the 1896 disappearance and obvious death of Albert Jennings Fountain and his 8-year-old son Henry. This is the third of three podcasts about Albert Fountain and this mystery that has gone on from February 1st, 1896 to today. Who killed Albert and his son Henry Fount…

In the last Enchanting Stories Podcast I talked about 15-year-old Jim White who discovered and explored and over the years promoted Carlsbad Caverns. Several people were surprised to find a 15-year-old was working on a cattle ranch. The Child Labor laws of 1938 set the early age at 14. Before that we had even younger boys working in New Mexico. And…

Once upon a time in the territory of New Mexico a 15-year-old cowboy was riding by himself looking for stray cattle. It was 1897. He is one of many youngsters in New Mexico history that changed our state, and we still remember him. This one teenage cowboy made a big change in New Mexico by himself. Teenagers are part of our New Mexico history, espe…

I was talking with an agricultural researcher some years ago. He said something that I still remember: this success we have in growing plants, it all came about from our many failures. Only by finding what didn’t work, did we discover what worked best. While it seems odd, all that great Hatch Valley chile that you enjoy, well now, came about first …

As Civil War battles go, the First Battle of Mesilla July 25-27,1861 was interesting but not right for a Hollywood movie, or was it? Could there be heroes and villains, brave men and cowards? There were mistakes made by both sides. Let’s explore this Civil War battle in New Mexico to see if it would make a movie. What to call it? The Civil War batt…

When as a young boy I was living in Japan, my father was stationed at Yokota Air Force Base. I saw the Japanese growing their rice crops both in the flat lands and on the sides of hills. Here in New Mexico, our farmers do flat land agriculture. Judging by the enthusiasm people for Hatch Valley chile, I would say that flat land growing of Hatch Vall…

In 1987 I moved from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Ventura, California. Imagine my surprise to find not many mile away a Las Cruces, California. But there are several towns where I have lived that are unique to New Mexico. Consider Albuquerque. Don’t need to say New Mexico. Another one that has lots of history and stories is the quaint New Mexico town …

In this second of three podcasts about Albert Fountain, his life and mysterious death, I want to point out the issue of salt. In today’s world salt doesn’t rise to the level of something to fight over or get in a gunfight or have say 30 to 50 people get killed. You can buy salt at the store cheaply. We are talking about the varied life of Albert Fo…

Rudyard Kipling said: The first condition of understanding a country is to smell it. Quite true. It applies to New Mexico. We have an official smell which I will talk about. More importantly, we have an official food. You don’t just smell the official smell of New Mexico, you have the official food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. Stand by…

New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment and Mystery as was said by writer Eugene Rhodes 110 years ago. As to mystery in New Mexico, there is none greater than the disappearance and obvious death of Colonel Albert Jennings Fountain and his 8-year-old son in 1896. The story has so many angles this is the first of three podcasts about Albert Fountain, a…

Someone asked me about the history of Las Cruces. I could talk for hours, but in the next 15 minutes I will mention some stories, good and bad that locals know and some that they do not. Certainly, Las Cruces has quite a history. When the Sun is rising or setting, it often looks like a picture in an art gallery. Las Cruces is a City of Enchantment …

Today I want to tell you how I learned to have a terrific day every day. It came from knowing Ed Foreman who served as a congressman twice, once from Texas and once from New Mexico. After politics he became a motivational speaker helping people live the good life. He grew up in Portales and maybe that is the secret of his success. He always started…

Every February the 8th we in Southern New Mexico specifically and all of New Mexico in general celebrate the establishment of the White Sands Missile Range which took a huge amount of cattle grazing area and taxes out of the local coffers but provided several interesting attributes including spreading the taste for Hatch Green and Red Chile over ou…

Let us talk about Mining and Mining towns of New Mexico. Let us look at the effect of mining in New Mexico from single miners to big operations. First off, mining is a completely different activity than agriculture. Let me give an example: I love Green Chile and can grow it and onions in my backyard. But I cannot grab a shovel and dig in my backyar…

Today I’m going to talk about a strange New Mexico story that happened forty some years ago involving two very popular politicians. One, Harold Runnels, died suddenly, and the other Joe Skeen had to run for the U. S. Congress in New Mexico’s Second Congressional District as a write-in against the replacement for Runnels, David King. Then the incred…

Today I want to do several stories about New Mexico. First up is about the company Kodak and New Mexico in 1945. Leaders of the company, Kodak, were not at the first Atomic explosion in New Mexico at Trinity Site July 16, 1945. The Kodak organization had to find out about the Trinity atomic explosion in an unusual way. Also here is a question: what…

Today is the Federal Memorial Day 2024, the designated federal holiday to honor those who died in defense of our nation. We should honor those who died and honor those who were left behind by the death of a loved one. Example: if you are driving in Las Cruces near Picacho Hills there’s Quesenberry Lane. For most people it is just a place name, but …

In Southern New Mexico, up on the Sacramento Mountains Southeastern slope is a small town or rather a hamlet called Weed, New Mexico. Founded in 1884, I think of it when I catch reruns of the television series Gunsmoke. Weed today has less than a hundred people. And there isn’t a monument to Gunsmoke, the twenty-year television series starring Jame…

I want to talk today about Fabián García. I think of him usually with a mouthful of Hatch Valley Green or Red Chile. He is often given the title, The founder of New Mexico Commercial Food Production. While we think of him for his work on Chiles Peppers, he was instrumental in the research on Pecans, Onions, Alfalfa, and Cotton. Importantly, he was …

After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848 Congress wrestled with the slavery issue. The compromise addressed slavery in the newly established territories. President Millard Fillmore signed five bills that first allowed California to enter the United States as a state without slavery. The state of Texas had its northern and western borders define…

This last weekend I was thinking about an interesting surprise in the history of New Mexico. Saturday, May 4th, the Kentucky Derby was run. There was a surprising Kentucky Derby fifteen years ago. New Mexico was front and center of that surprise. Let us look back 15 years to a tough little gelding named Mine That Bird that oddsmakers had at 50 to 1…

The Fresh Chile Company in Las Cruces, New Mexico, according to owner Randy McMillan, started from a culinary family tradition. One year it was Red Chile season in Hatch, New Mexico, and Randy’s father, Arnold McMillan, who loves food and loves to cook came up with the idea of using fresh, crisp Hatch Red Chile right off the Chile Vine instead of t…

Chile and Onion Farmers in Southern New Mexico have faith in many ways. I think of this fact as I munch on the world-famous Hatch Valley Chile and Onions. Day after day the farmers get up and do what has to be done, They have faith in several things beyond traditional religion. Don’t get me wrong, they are on their knees often in prayer to the good…

There are several stages of being a Chile and Onion farmer in the Hatch Valley, the Chile and Onion capital of the world. Many are multi-generational, so they were born into the farmer role from having a toy shovel when they were small to driving a real tractor as a teenager as part of their learning. I asked one what was the most important part of…

Most people visiting New Mexico are not aware that they are walking on Gold some of the time. It is true. Because of the volcanic activity for millions of years there is Gold all over the great state of New Mexico. What’s the problem? Finding it. Let us talk about “Get rich in New Mexico with gold” efforts. I am mostly talking about the second half…

Today I’m talking about Sid Gutierrez, who had a dream and then did so much more afterwards. What he knew was that he wanted to go into space as an astronaut and that there were steps which must be taken. First was to be the top of his high school class at Valley High School in Albuquerque and get an appointment to the Air Force Academy in Colorado…

For ten thousand years people have been walking in and around what is now Southern New Mexico. Paved roads are a luxury of less than a hundred years, but the improvement was great. The Interstates 10 -25 and 40 are just over 50 years and now Southern to Northern New Mexico is quick. Before that it was travel New Mexico on dirt trails. Some trips to…

There are some people who you know not so much individually but as both of them. Like my Mom and Dad. People referred to them as George and Joan. Or Randy and Carol McMillan, the owners of the Fresh Chile Company. They sponsor these podcasts and many Fresh Chile Company videos have both of them or Randy and daughter Jenna. In that manner I say form…

Think of how far growing Chile has come over the years. Today it is a major crop in New Mexico with thousands of acres. A long time ago it was a family garden staple that most families in Southern New Mexico grew, one family at a time. Long ago each family who year after year grew Chile in their garden did so by keeping some of the seeds from the l…

Here it is, my friends, April fifth and as you are listening to this Podcast, Chile Plants are going into the ground in the Hatch Valley Chile growing areas. In the growing areas, some of the Chile plants are started as seeds. That is happening right now and some Chile Plants were planted some weeks earlier in greenhouses since Chile (how should I …

While we are thinking about March madness, I think back to the most dominate coach in New Mexico high school Boys’ Basketball. Even though he died at age 80 in 1999, you still see the Ralph Tasker name since the Hobbs High School gymnasium is the Ralph Tasker Arena. And I have interviewed several of his former players who to a man started talking w…

It was 42 years ago today that the eyes of the world were on Southern New Mexico and the landing of STS-3 Columbia. Like much else in New Mexico, it wasn’t easy. The day of return from low earth orbit the Columbia was supposed to land in California but the weather there was such that landing Space Shuttle Columbia was not possible and while the Ken…

I’m talking today about Glen Campbell, the famed musical artist, television, and movie star. He was the seventh of twelve children in Arkansas living a sharecropper’s family life. Growing up he shared a bed with three brothers. When he was four years of age his Uncle Boo got him a $5 Sears Roebuck guitar and taught him some chords and they became a…

There are Southern New Mexico students in one town who can spell the word consequences with no trouble. The time was March 29, 1950, and the leaders of the New Mexico town of Hot Springs, New Mexico, decided to get national attention. The town of about ten thousand was mostly known for two things: the Elephant Butte Dam and the medicinal hot spring…

I want to tell you about Edwin Mechem who lived a full active life of service in New Mexico. He was born in Alamogordo on July 2, 1912, six months after New Mexico statehood. He died ninety years later after an extraordinary life. He was the first New Mexico Governor to have been born in the state of New Mexico, not territory. I have talked about m…

It was 108 years ago this week that Columbus, New Mexico in Southwestern New Mexico was squarely in the national and international news due to a raid by Mexican soldiers under the command of Pancho Villa in the middle of the night on the town of Columbus just over the border with Mexico and about 30 miles south of Deming, New Mexico. The title of t…

I’m talking today about New Mexico rural one room schoolhouses from the year 1900 to perhaps 1940 or so. It did several very important things in the Territory of New Mexico and then in 1912 we became a state. One-room schoolhouses did some things that are not talked about these days. First, it allowed very rural families to have education for their…

I got an interesting email from a listener planning a trip back to Southern New Mexico after almost 50 years of being away. His grandparents lived in Deming, New Mexico. He was able to visit while his grandfather was alive. He lives about forty miles east of Flint Michigan. He asked about the Chino Mines at Santa Rita and about the Gila Cliff Dwell…