Oh Fair New Mexico

I've been meaning to post for a while but well I'm not much of a blogger I guess. This is a two parter: one part film and one part travel.

This summer I've had the excellent fortune to go to several parts of the state that aren't normally on people's itinerary. A few of them stand out that I thought people should know about. Fort Sumner is a gem. My g.f. and I went camping at Sumner Lake and while it was pretty noisy from the motorized action across the lake, where we were it was beautiful. The primitive camping was well worth the scrapes to the underbody of the trusty Honda and the lake was incredibly refreshing. But the real score was Bosque Redondo outside of Fort Sumner. This is where the cavalry forced the Navajo and Mescalero Apache to march to where thousands died from the march or from the camp. This story is a story we should all know.

Oh and Billy the Kid's "grave" is in Fort Sumner.

The other place is Mesilla, NM, which is essentially old Las Cruces. This little plaza is fairly nondescript having recently been renovated after years of neglect. There's a little museum though that should be opening soon (part of my job was to visit it while they were setting it up). Like Bosque Redondo, this is a new mexico state monument and should make you a little happier about your tax dollars! This monument is well worth a visit, particularly if John Paul Taylor or one of his family takes you on a tour. It is a time capsule of New Mexico from the beginnings of Las Vegas, NM, and the territorial government.

The film part of this episode is a pitch for Imprint (which has a very cheesy website). This movie is made on the Pine Ridge reservation and it is a great thriller with some cool low budget effects and a twist. They are not going to distribute it widely so ask the Guild or the independent movie theater in your home town to try to get it. I saw it at the CCA here in Santa Fe.