FUN FACTS ABOUT NEW MEXICO
(YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW)
New Mexico is wine country. New Mexico is home to more than 50 wineries and tasting rooms. Many are award-winning and well worth your time. Our favorites within an hour drive are:
Noisy Water Winery
505 Burro Ave Cloudcroft, NM 88317
McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch & Arena Blanca Winery
Home of the World’s largest pistachio
7320 Highway 54/70 Alamogordo, NM 88310
Tularosa Vineyards
23 Coyote Canyon Rd Tularosa, NM
D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro
261 Panorama Blvd Alamogordo, NM 88310
Taos Pueblo has been inhabited for over 1,000 years.
New Mexico has more PhD’s per capita than any other state.
Santa Fe is the nation’s highest elevation state capital.
You can see five different states from the top of Capulin Volcano. From there you can see Texas, Kansas, Colorado & of course New Mexico.
New Mexico is more than desert. New Mexico has one of the most diverse landscapes in the world…everything from snow-capped mountains to lakes, hot springs and white sand dunes.
Santa Fe was founded 10 years before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. It is the oldest government seat in the U.S. and dates back to 1610.
We may have the oldest continuously inhabited towns on the continent and the oldest capital city in North America but we are one of the youngest states in the nation. New Mexico didn’t adopt statehood until 1912.
Doc Holliday was once a dentist in New Mexico and shot a guy. Doc came west in 1879 on his doctor’s recommendation. The soon-to-be gunslinger was dying of tuberculosis and was told that the high, dry air of New Mexico would help is condition. Dentistry morphed into a saloon and the hard drinking, smartly dressed womanizer quickly found himself at odds with a former Army Scout by the name of Michael Gordon. After an altercation over a dancer at the saloon, Gordon stepped outside, pulled his gun, and proceeded to shoot up Holliday’s saloon. Doc dropped him with a single bullet. The next year, Holliday sold the saloon and moved to Arizona with his friend Wyatt Earp.
Smokey Bear is from New Mexico. The living symbol of Smokey was actually a black bear cub found by firefighters from Taos Pueblo in southeastern New Mexico during the massive Capitan Gap fire of 1950. Smokey lived at the National Zoo in Washington, DC until is death in 1976. And yes, it’s Smokey Bear not Smokey the Bear.
The first atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico just down the mountain at the White Sands Missile Range which is now an historic site. Guided tours of the “Trinity Site” open to the public one Saturday in October.
Trinitite, also know as atomsite or Alamogordo glass, is the glassy residue left on the desert floor after the plutonium-based Trinity nuclear bomb test on July 16, 1945 near Alamogordo. The Trinity Site is the only place you can find it in the world.
White Sands National monument is over 275 square miles of gypsum dunes. Gypsum doesn’t absorb heat from the sun, so even on the hottest day of the year, the dunes are cool and comfortable to walk on.
The white sand is protected and not permitted to be removed. Guided moonlight tours are available during the summer. Call (575)479-6124 for dates and times.
The world’s largest Chile Pepper is located in Las Cruces, NM.
Idiots are not allowed to vote in New Mexico. The New Mexico Constitution officially bars “idiots” from voting.
You cannot legally dance while wearing a sombrero in New Mexico.
About 75% of New Mexico’s roads are unpaved. You probably figured this one out already.
Albuquerque NM is home to the world’s largest hot air balloon festival.
The Malpais lava fields and Valley of Fires is located near Carrizozo, NM. 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and covered the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 215 square miles.
There are 9 locations in New Mexico where you can find ancient petroglyphs. The closest to Cloudcroft is Three Rivers Petroglyphs outside of Tularosa. If you’re looking for a great day trip, you can visit the Malpais lava fields and Three Rivers.
Truth or Consequences was originally named Hot Springs. In an effort to publicize the popular game show for its 10th Anniversary, the game show had a contest asking for a small town to rename itself. The winner was Hot Springs, NM. Why?? Because it seemed to embody the same philosophy as Ralph Edwards and his show—namely, “A real friendliness for people and a desire to help mankind.
Hatch is the green chile capital of the world. The north prefers red, the south prefers green and a good number of us like Christmas.
When visiting the Four Corners you can put your hands and feet in 4 states all at once. Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah.
The Rio Grande runs the entire length of New Mexico and is the longest river in the state. It originates in south-central Colorado and flows to the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico. It is 1,896 miles long.
With the lowest water to land area of any of the United States, New Mexico’s lakes, and rivers account for just .002% of the states’ surface area.
Roswell, NM, the site of Area 51, has embraced it’s UFOology. Yes, that’s a word. Make sure to swing by the International UFO Museum & Research Center. They provide information on all aspects of the UFO phenomena as well as crop circles, sightings, abductions and more.
Roswell, NM is home to the New Mexico Military Institute. NMMI, founded in 1891, is the only state supported military college in the western United States. Actor Owen Wilson is an alum.
Carlsbad Caverns consists of more than 100 caves and the Carlsbad Cave National Monument was announced nearly 100 years ago in 1923. From Memorial Day-late August there is a spectacular bat flight every evening. An average of 200,000-500,000 but upwards of 1,000,000 bats fly out of the caverns looking for their dinner.
More than 150 ducks participate in the “Great American Duck Race” held in Deming, NM each year. Participants race on land and in the water.