New Mexico holds many secrets just waiting to be discovered. While Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos have all gathered their share of tourists through the years, the real secrets are revealed a little further off the grid. A stay in Farmington can provide opportunities to visit incredible archeological ruins that are intact and well-preserved for thousands of years.

Doorways at Chaco Canyon

Northwestern New Mexico, part of the Colorado Plateau in the Four Corners Region, has been home to people for at least 12,000 years. Evidence shows that the Anasazi, ancestors to the Pueblo Indians, lived on the land as early as A.D. 1. Their settlements were connected by an amazing system of roads. Today, visitors can travel to the Chaco Canyon, Aztec ruins, and Salmon ruins.

At the Salmon Ruins Heritage Park, the Salmon Ruins were constructed between 1088 and 1090 A.D. Stones were cut to fit the structure, rather than just stacked. Some stone appears to have been hauled from four miles away. Trees were carried from fifty miles away. The masonry changes through the years to indicate what was available and what was important to the occupants. At the Salmon Ruins, visitors can take a self-guided tour around the actual ruins. In a separate area, there are replicas of buildings including a Wild West Trading Post, a Navajo sweat lodge, hogans, a Jicarilla Apache wickiup, and a Ute tipi.

It is a washboard dirt road drive to Chaco Culture National Historic Park, but well worth it to see the Pueblo Bonito and the great Kiva of Chetro Ketl. The National Park Service has maintained a visitor center here since 1959. The sheer size of the ruins is awe-inspiring, with most of the structures containing more than 200 rooms. The construction itself is also amazing, as everything lines up perfectly and symmetrically. Not to mention the fact that so much of it is still standing so many years later.

A walk through the Aztec Ruins National Monument north of Farmington takes visitors exploring through rooms built centuries ago. At the end of the half-mile walk, a reconstructed Great Kiva allows an experience what it would be like to be in the social and religious center of the community. These ruins are not Aztec, as the name would imply. They are Pueblo, but were mistakenly thought to be Aztec by early settlers and the name stuck.

While these three destinations are great examples of archeology, there is deep history all throughout the Four Corners Region. New Mexico is called the “Land of Enchantment” for a reason. After you leave, it beckons you back.

For more information contact: www.salmonruins.com, www.nps.gov/chcu, www.nps.gov/azru, www.farmingtonnm.org

Some experiences take you close to home, but can still stretch your imagination about different destinations around the world. I recently noticed a Twitter post from Nicole with “Pinch My Salt” who indicated an interest in baking a loaf of bread a week from the book “The Bread Bakers Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart. This intrigued me and I tweeted back that I would like to do that, too. Soon, there were at least 20 people interested and the whole thing turned from a whim into The BBA Challenge. The group now has 200 members from around the world, including New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Sweden, France, Italy, Israel, and Slovakia, as well as throughout North America. We will bake our bread every week and post our results.

baked loaf Anadama bread

Reinhart’s book is intended to teach, and the first third of the book is devoted to method. Therefore the first recipe to bake doesn’t show up until page 108, with Anadama Bread. This bread began with a starter developed the day before baking make with cornmeal and water and left to sit on the counter. The group had detailed discussions about which cornmeal to use and how to obtain if you live in parts of the world where cornmeal isn’t readily available.

The next day I combined my ingredients, including molasses, to make a dough. Some of our bakers had already reported difficulties with the bread rising properly, so I allowed plenty of time. However, I got lucky. Both the first rise and the second rise worked perfectly.

first rise

sliced bread

Sometimes on a press trip, I find myself trying things that I would never try on my own. While in Quebec on a food tour where we were following the Flavour Trail, my itinerary included ice canyoning. People on perfectly solid ground choose to rappel down a frozen waterfall.

In my case, we were with an experienced tour guide with Canyoning-Quebec. And when I say experienced, I really mean it. He has a diploma from the Ecole Francais de Descente de Canyon and had been exploring the Jean-Larose Falls for 26 years. Canyoning-Quebec has been recognized for excellent risk management, courteous customer orientation, and education and ecological philosophy.

Even when I knew they were experienced and considered very safe, I found none of that knowledge in my rational mind kept my knees from shaking and my heart beating in my ears as I climbed down. Before the falls, we had tried two test hills so we could learn the technique. The falls, however, were something else. While they were frozen, we were visiting on a day where the temperature was hovering right around freezing. Occasionally bits of ice would break off and fly by my head. This was not comforting. We had crampons on our boots to dig into the ice, but sometimes the ice was so slippery that my feet slid away.

Halfway down, I decided I was done. I didn’t need to go any further. I had enough to write a story. Too bad for me. The options were pretty limited. I could just stay there. I could try to climb back up (and that seemed like a tough option), or I could keep going. I guess I had to keep going.

I glanced down to see how much further. I shouldn’t have looked. At the bottom of the waterfall, the water was running, and a small lake had formed…surrounded by rocks. Okay, no more looking down.

Step, step, step, I slowly crunched my way down. It seemed like hours, but they tell me it was only twenty minutes. At the bottom, I was very glad to take off my harness and gear. I sat in a snowbank and rested. Everyone in the group who came after me thought it was an exciting and exhilarating experience.

Many wanted to try it again. Not me. Now that my legs had stopped shaking, I was ready to go back to the hotel. Which way? Up the 400 steps covered in ice.

Now that some time has passed, am I glad I did it?

Yes, I am.

Would I do it again? I’m still undecided. But clearly, many find it to be a thrilling experience. If you like a little thrill in your life, and ice canyoning sounds like your kind of activity, I do recommend going with Canyoning-Quebec. Their professionalism and patience was outstanding.

I continue to go out and see the world. I have two great posts coming up about my winter trip to Yellowstone with the Ken Burns crew, and following the Flavour Trail in Quebec. I have plenty of travel scheduled on the calendar.

Closer to home, I have started writing the Phoenix Farmer’s Market column for Examiner. com. This allows me to explore my love for food and food trends such as sustainable agriculture, organic gardening, locavores, and supporting regional economies.

Many people would be surprised at how much we grow in the Valley of the Sun. This weekend, I saw apples, pears, many types of citrus, squash, potatoes, carrots, radishes, rutabagas, turnips, tomatoes, multiple types of lettuces, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, baked goods, jams and jellies, cheeses, olives, nuts, granola, and organic meats and poultry.  Wine tasting and coffee roasted on-the-spot provided interesting opportunities as well. I am beginning to believe that we can find most of the food we need each week at the farmer’s market, supporting our local economies, reducing carbon footprints, and eating well.

My Examiner column is http://www.examiner.com/x-4203-Phoenix-Farmers-Markets-Examiner. Find more information on Arizona Farmer’s Markets at: http://www.arizonafarmersmarkets.com/ and http://www.foodconnect.org/phoenixmarket/.

On a magical night in December 2008, I watched Tom Chambers demonstrate some amazing control over a horse, and he never came within fifteen feet of the horse. The horse was in a small corral and he stood in the center. By just a nod of his head or a change in the way he looked at the horse, the animal would speed up or slow down, or even turn around and go the other way.

Chambers has worked with horses for over forty years and currently operates the Harmony with Horses program at the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson. While he is not comfortable with being called a “Horse Whisperer”, it is a moniker often used for his innate ability to work with horses.

As a boy, he was uncomfortable with the harsh ways of horse-breaking methods, and set out to find a softer approach. He found that often people didn’t have “horse problems” but that horses had “people problems.” By working together in a partnership, people and horses could thrive in their relationship.

Chambers is also a western singer/songwriter and often sings in the evenings at the Ranch.

http://www.horseyodeler.com/

http://www.tanqueverderanch.com/

Blue Bell Creameries, based in Brenham, Texas, opened in 1907. Visitors can take a guided tour on any weekday through the facility to watch how some of their favorite flavors get created. The day I was there I had the opportunity to watch them dump the cookies into the Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream. The tours last about 45 minutes and include a short video, a trip to an overlook to watch the workers mix the flavors and pack them into cartons, and, of course, a big finish with a scoop of ice cream. While Homemade Vanilla is the #1 bestseller throughout the country, other flavors rate high on the list depending on the region of the country or the time of year. Banana Pudding is more popular in the South, and Peppermint is requested most often around the winter holidays.

If you are in the area, stop in and visit. If you aren’t in the area, but are craving your favorite flavors, Blue Bell will ship Federal Express for next day delivery.

Blue Bell Creameries

1101 South Blue Bell Road
Brenham, Texas 77833

www.bluebell.com

When I find myself still obsessed with a dessert I was served over six months ago, I figure it is worth mentioning to as many people as possible. In June of 2008 I had the pleasure of dining at David Burke Fromagerie in Rumson, New Jersey. The entire meal was incredible. The pretzel crusted crabcake and the zucchini blossoms were followed by the soy honey duck and braised short ribs. But it is the desserts that wander in my dreams. Our table received a wave of desserts, including an apple galette, Tahitian vanilla bean creme brulee, warm chocolate lava cake, and the cheesecake pops pictured above. It was  beyond food. It was a culinary experience. If you are anywhere near Rumson, New Jersey, you should go!

http://www.fromagerierestaurant.com/

For dining in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ratcliffe on the Green provides an excellent choice for those dedicated to the local and organic food movements. Head chef Mark Hibbs strives to food that is “As local as we can get it and as organic as we can get it,” he said in a recent interview. In fact, Hibbs works so hard to obtain local food that he grows some of it on his own property at home. The menu at the restaurant changes every three to four days with the freshest food available. “We try to get everything we possibly can from North Carolina,” said Hibbs. “Everything is within 150-200 miles.” The restaurant opened January 17, 2007 and quickly gained a solid following and became an institution in Charlotte. Since the Johnson & Wales University Culinary School set up shop in Charlotte a few years ago, the culinary scene in Charlotte exploded. “In five years, Charlotte will be the culinary capital of the South,” said Hibbs.

This restaurant is well worth a visit. In fact, it is worth taking a trip to Charlotte!

www.ratcliffeonthegreen.com

While I was away on a press trip, at dinner with a long table full of writers, I received the following message from the editors at Red Coyote Press:

Wildseed Farms caught me by surprise.  Anyone with an ounce of nostalgia will find the drive through the Hill Country near Fredericksburg, Texas to the farm a thing of beauty. The long fields of flowers appear to call for people to come and play in them. As the largest working wildseed farm in the United States, Wildseed Farms is 200 acres of 88 varieties of flowers. With such gorgeous fields to dream in, over 350,000 people stop by to gaze at the fields and take photographs. The company developed a visitor center to welcome people with walking trails through the fields, and pick-your-own bouquet fields.  A Market Center provides a place to buy seed packets and garden tools. The Brewbonnet Biergarten provides a place to have a bite to eat and some liquid refreshment. It has now become a destination in it’s own right, rather than a stop along the way to somewhere else. But for me, the real delight was the Butterfly Haus. A 3,000 square-foot screed in structure provides a magical habitat for thousands of native butterflies and the plants that they like the best. An educational center provides a place to watch as eggs are laid, caterpillars spin into chrysalises, and then become beautiful butterflies. A trip to Wildseed Farms is worth the drive. In the end, Wildseed Farms was the big bloomer.

www.wildseedfarms.com

http://www.fredericksburg-texas.com/