Friday Homestead Dispatch
Southern New Mexico, Pt. 2
My wife Connie and I are grateful for the many friends and family in our life and our good fortune in health and well being. We are also thankful we were able to gather yesterday with a few of those friends to share food and laughter for the afternoon into the early evening.
To continue the story of our short New Mexico adventure, who knew that some of the best green chili we’ve had would be cooked and served in a former gas station, with the nicest folks working the joint? One of my long-time pals, Dave Chandler along with his wife Shannon, took us to Burrito Caliente in Bayard, New Mexico Wednesday morning before we toured their off-the-grid home in the Arenas Valley. Them’s some good eats.
Dave and Shannon have been living full time in New Mexico for over a decade but my association with him goes back to the early 90s when he owned and ran a silkscreen business at 5th and Broadway downtown called Bannerman Graphics along with his sister Cindy. I rented a corner space from him at the time for a short-lived business I’ll tell you about in a future post…
After that very fine breakfast we headed up the valley to see their home. It took them three solid years to design and build the home and two carports. Shannon did the design work and also the calculations for rainwater harvesting that is their sole source of water. They have several tanks set up on the property catching enough rain during monsoon to last for several months between rain events.
The carport holds the solar panels and a room for the battery system which is the sole source of electricity. They live in a slice of paradise in those beautiful hills.
The next morning, our final full day, we decided to make the loop from highway 61 which connects with highway 35 to Mimbres. But first we just HAD to go back to Burrito Caliente in Bayard which was conveniently on the way to our destination. The waitress was different but she remembered seeing us from the day before.
After another satisfying round of green chili (on bean tostadas) we headed down to City of Rocks State Park which is halfway between Silver City and Deming. According to the linked website, City of Rocks is a geologic formation made up of large, sculptured rock columns, or pinnacles, rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets and encompasses a one square mile area.
Highway 61 from City of Rocks then takes you north through amazingly beautiful country including the Royal John Mine Road. Here’s a shot of the bridge and landscape after crossing the Mimbres River on that road.
Our next stop was stumbling across yet another trail, this one being the Purgatory Chasm Trail. It was one of those hikes where we walked and walked through brush and trees and were thinking, where’z da purgatory part? Where’z da chasm? Just as we were debating turning back we started seeing large rock walls through the trees on both sides. Then the walls started closing in and we were in a tight rock canyon that twisted and turned, on and on. OK…and it were good.
Last stop on the loop back to the cabin was Lake Roberts where we stopped and had a bite to eat.
I hope you enjoyed our brief travelogue…a nice break from the travails of political agendas and other such issues.
OK, I can’t help it. Take a minute to read this statement to Fuckleroy from Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Mexico City, November 26, 2024
Dear President-elect Donald Trump,
I am writing to you regarding your statement on Monday, November 25, concerning migration, fentanyl trafficking, and tariffs.
You may not be aware that Mexico has developed a comprehensive policy to assist migrants from different parts of the world who cross our territory en route to the southern border of the United States. As a result, and according to data from your country’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP), encounters at the Mexico–United States border have decreased by 75% between December 2023 and November 2024. Moreover, half of those who arrive do so through a legally scheduled appointment under the United States’ CBP One program. For these reasons, migrant caravans no longer arrive at the border.
Even so, it is clear that we must work together to create a new labor mobility model that is necessary for your country, as well as address the root causes that compel families to leave their homes out of necessity. If even a small percentage of what the United States allocates to war were instead dedicated to building peace and fostering development, it would address the underlying causes of human mobility.
On another note, and for humanitarian reasons, Mexico has consistently expressed its willingness to help prevent the fentanyl epidemic in the United States from continuing. This is, after all, a public health and consumption problem within your society. So far this year, Mexican armed forces and prosecutors have seized tons of various types of drugs, 10,340 firearms, and have detained 15,640 individuals for violence related to drug trafficking.
Furthermore, the Mexican Congress is in the process of approving a constitutional reform to classify the production, distribution, and commercialization of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs as a serious crime without bail. However, it is publicly known that the chemical precursors used to produce this and other synthetic drugs are illegally entering Canada, the United States, and Mexico from Asian countries. This underscores the urgent need for international collaboration.
You must also be aware of the illegal trafficking of firearms into my country from the United States.
Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country. We do not produce these weapons, nor do we consume synthetic drugs. Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours.
President Trump, migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs. What is needed is cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle these significant challenges.
For every tariff, there will be a response in kind, until we put at risk our shared enterprises. Yes, shared. For instance, among Mexico’s main exporters to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico 80 years ago. Why impose a tariff that would jeopardize them? Such a measure would be unacceptable and would lead to inflation and job losses in both the United States and Mexico.
I am convinced that North America’s economic strength lies in maintaining our trade partnership. This allows us to remain competitive against other economic blocs. For this reason, I believe that dialogue is the best path to understanding, peace, and prosperity for our nations. I hope our teams can meet soon to continue building joint solutions.
Make sure to mark your calendars for the last Dropped By Birds show of 2024 coming up Tuesday, December 10, 6-8pm. We’ll be back at the Tucson Hop Shop that night for your listening and dancing pleasure. Also mark your calendars, and make reservations, for a rare Birds appearance at Monterey Court on Thursday, January 23 from 6:30-9pm, featuring the illustrious Clay Koweek!
And now…
I did indeed enjoy the travelogue!