New Mexico Trivia & Tidbits

The courthouse in which William "Billy the Kid" Bonney was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang in 1881 now houses a souvenir and gift shop in Mesilla (pop. 2,180). Nearby, at the Gadsden Museum, visitors can view the jail cell where the notorious outlaw was confined. After his sentencing, Billy the Kid was transferred to the jail in Lincoln, where he escaped and later was killed by Pat Garrett.

Opened in December 2008, Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park is the state's 34th and newest park. Located along the western bank of the Rio Grande southwest of Mesilla (pop. 2,180), the park features a variety of natural habitats including the Picacho Wetlands, a haven for migratory birds and other wildlife.

One of the oldest documented brick buildings in the state is located in Mesilla (pop. 2,180) plaza. Built in the early 1860s by a Frenchman using bricks from his own kiln, the building has served as a town hall, residence and saloon. It now houses a gift shop.

Volunteers and parishioners of the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos (pop. 2,390) give the 18th-century church a new coat of mud every June. Remudding the adobe church, a National Historic Landmark, can take up to three weeks.

For more than three centuries, from about 1250, the Puye Cliff Dwellings near Espanola (pop. 9,688) were home to 1,500 Pueblo Indians who dug rooms in the soft volcanic rock. They abandoned the cliffs in 1577 and moved into the Rio Grande Valley, most likely because of drought. Puye Cliffs' inhabitants are ancestors of the present-day residents of the Santa Clara Pueblo (pop. 980), 10 miles east of Puye.

The Chile Pepper Institute, in affiliation with New Mexico State University, has partnered with CaJohns Fiery Foods of Columbus, Ohio, to create "Holy Jolokia" hot sauce made from Bhut Jolokia chile peppers, certified by the institute as the world's hottest pepper.

More than 150 varieties of chiles, from the mildest bell peppers to the hottest habaneros, are grown in the Chile Pepper Institute's teaching and demonstration garden in Las Cruces (pop. 74,267). Garden employees also conduct tours for schoolchildren and tourists.

Buyers looking for ultra-high vacuum fittings, nuclear instrumentation modules or other unique devices can visit The Black Hole, also known as the Los Alamos Sales Co. Housed in a former Piggly Wiggly supermarket in Los Alamos (pop. 11,909), the store stocks surplus from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, birthplace of the atomic bomb. Among customers of its Nuclear Age castoffs are researchers, movie studios and even artists. Late owner Ed Grothus called the store a "museum of nuclear waste."

Actors Judy Garland and Clark Gable are among guests who've stayed at The Lodge in Cloudcroft (pop. 749). Originally built in 1899 by the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway, the lodge soon became a cool, mountain retreat for summer vacationers. Destroyed by fire 10 years later, the lodge was rebuilt in 1911.

A cattle drive sculpture 400 feet long and up to 21 feet high pays tribute to the ranching heritage of Jal (pop. 1,996). Titled "The Trail Ahead . . . ," the sculpture was conceived by Jal artist Brian Norwood and installed north of town in 2000. The 17 metal silhouettes include four mounted cowboys and 13 cattle.

Despite odds of 50-to-1, Mine That Bird, a gelding owned by Mark Allen and Leonard Blach, both of Roswell (pop. 45,293), won the 135th Kentucky Derby in May. His trainer, Bennie "Chip" Woolley, lives in Bloomfield (pop. 6,417).

It's hard to miss McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch, north of Alamogordo (pop. 35,582), where the world's largest pistachio sculpture stands. The 30-foot-high painted concrete nut was the brainchild of Tim McGinn, owner of the pistachio ranch, in honor of his father, Tom, who founded the pistachio and grape-producing farm.

New Mexico is the first state to adopt an official cowboy song. Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation in March giving the honor to "Under the New Mexico Skies" by Syd Masters of Edgewood (pop. 1,893).

In the 1860s, the U.S. Army forcibly moved thousands of Navajos and Mescalero Apaches from their homelands to the million-acre Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation surrounding the lonely outpost of Fort Sumner (pop. 1,249). The tragic story of the "Long Walk," which in some cases was 450 miles, is told in the Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner.

—On June 5, 1967, Reies Lopez Tijerina, a land-rights activist and former Episcopalian priest, led a small militia in a raid on the Rio Arriba County (pop. 41,190) Courthouse in the village of Tierra Amarilla. Their aim was to reclaim land grants given to ancestors of Hispanic residents in what is now northern New Mexico. Today, a billboard that reads Tierra o Muerte—land or death—serves as a reminder of that unsuccessful raid.

—Fans of the 1969 road film Easy Rider can dust off their love beads and head for Taos (pop. 4,700), which is celebrating the movie's 40th anniversary during the 2009 Taos Summer of Love, from May through September, with music, films, art exhibits and other events. Dennis Hopper, who wrote, directed and starred in Easy Rider, lived in Taos during the filming, and the town served as a backdrop for many of the movie's scenes.

—The ancient Spanish art of colcha, a form of thick, elaborate embroidery with wool yarn, was revived in the 1930s by a group of 12 women who formed the Arte Antigua colcha club in Espanola Valley near Espanola (pop. 9,688). Spearheaded by Teofila Ortiz Lujan, the club met monthly to socialize and invigorate the fading art form.

Born in Carlsbad (pop. 25,625), Barry Sadler was a war hero while a member of the Green Berets in Vietnam, and became an actor and successful novelist. He is best known, though, for his 1966 No. 1 hit song, The Ballad of the Green Berets.

—With 31 outdoor murals adorning the town, Tucumcari (pop. 5,989) bills itself as the "Gateway City of Murals." Artists Doug and Sharon Quarles created most of the outdoor artworks.

—Paul Moya, 21, of Los Lunas (pop. 10,034), is the 2008-09 president of the National FFA Organization, which has 500,000 student members interested in science, business and agricultural technology careers. The lowest temperature ever officially recorded in New Mexico was minus 50 degrees in Gavilan in Rio Arriba County (pop. 41,190) on Feb. 1, 1951.

—The Jemez State Monument Heritage Area near Jemez Springs (pop. 375) includes the stone ruins of a 500-year-old Indian village and the 17th-century Spanish mission, San José de los Jemez. A heritage center displays exhibits that tell the story of the site through the words of the Jemez people, and a 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the site ruins.

Every October, residents of Moriarty (pop. 1,765) hold the Pinto Bean Fiesta to honor the important role pinto beans have played in the Estancia Valley's agriculture.

–Ski history is celebrated at the New Mexico Ski Museum at the base of Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque. The museum features a 1960s gondola, photos dating from the 1800s, and ski equipment. It also honors 16 pioneers in the ski industry who are members of the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame. To commemorate the 75th anniversaries of the state park system and the New Deal, which started the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work relief program, the state unveiled a 6–foot bronze CCC worker statue at the Dam Site Recreation Area of Elephant Butte Lake State Park, near Truth or Consequences (pop. 7,289), last October. CCC workers built much of the park, including the restaurant, cabins, roads, rock walls and fish hatchery.

—The New Mexico Mining Museum in Grants (pop. 8,806) bills itself as "the only uranium mining museum in the world." A self-guided tour takes visitors underground into a replica of a mine, complete with drilling and blasting equipment. Uranium was discovered in the area in 1950, but the industry went bust by the 1980s, when the price of uranium plummeted. More than 50 wolves and wolf-dogs, most of which have been abused or abandoned, are housed in the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in the Candy Kitchen community near Ramah (pop. 407).

—The Dobson House bed-and-breakfast in El Prado, north of Taos (pop. 4,700), is constructed of dirt-packed recycled tires and aluminum cans packed in thick adobe and masonry walls that provide passive heating and cooling. Solar panels provide most of the 6,000-square-foot inn's power.

—A winding stone stairway leads to the Monjeau Peak lookout (pop. 7,698), a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, near Ruidoso. At an elevation of more than 9,500 feet, the peak offers panoramic views of aspen-covered hillsides.

—In 1963, the Circle Autoscope Drive-in opened in Albuquerque with individual 3-by-5-foot movie screens for each car. Pictures were projected by a series of lenses and mirrors from a central projector onto the 260 screens. The innovation didn’t catch on, and the drive-in closed a few years later.