at a picnic table along the Rio Tesuque. Read more.

The Dog House
Albuquerque

The Dog House is the "best place" to get a foot-long chili cheese hot dog with onions (optional). The combination to order is a "hot dog, fries, and an orange drink (to cut the heat)." The chili is made with "New Mexican red chiles and not the Tex-Mex brown sauce." Nobody goes for the ambience--the restaurant is the size of a shoebox, and it's a "hole in the wall." Note: "newbies should eat inside." If you choose drive-in, you're likely to spill all over yourself.

Cloud Cliff Bakery, Cafe, and Artspace
Santa Fe

Cloud Cliff Bakery and Cafe serves "fabulous organic coffee" with a "breakfast menu that will knock your socks off!" A local's "mainstay in Santa Fe for many years," this "lively cafe" serves "generous" portions of "fantastic" food. Get a loaf of bread made from organic wheat flour, taste their homemade chorizo, or sample the rainbow trout wrap or the stir-fry. It is a "restful, interesting" atmosphere with art on display and entertainment during the weekends and some evenings. Read more.

Red Rock Balloon Rally
Gallup

The first weekend in December is when the Red Rock Balloon Rally is held. About 200 hot-air balloons are invited to fly. The scenery is "beautiful," with "the Red Rocks as a backdrop." There are walking and biking trails "set up in the Red Rocks" so you can "get different views of the balloons." In addition to the balloons, other attractions are the Native American dances and an open-air market, which sells arts and crafts. Read more.

Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials
Gallup

Gallup, a town west of Albuquerque, is a major Native American trading town and host to the annual August Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonials. During the first Thursday to Sunday in August, "20-50 tribes from New Mexico to Mexico City" gather for dancing and an all-Indian rodeo. The main objective is to "gain a better understanding of the Native American culture and what they do." You will also be able to participate in some of the festivities to "be a part of their culture."

Zozobra
Santa Fe

Zozobra (Spanish for "gloomy one") is a "three-story-tall puppet made by local volunteer artisans" and is part of the Fiesta de Santa Fe. Zozobra, a monster (some call him the "boogeyman") made of sticks, chicken wire, newspaper, and fireworks, is supposed to "represent the locals' gloom and their worries for the year." By burning the effigy, these worries are presumed eradicated. A "fun, somewhat bizarre local tradition" attracts about 30,000 spectators. Entertainment includes local musicians and dancers. Read more.

Tierra Wools
Los Ojos

Tierra Wools is "a weaving and retail wonder" owned and operated by a group of growers and hand weavers in Los Ojos, which sell "beautiful hand-woven textiles and spun yarn." The wool is locally produced and most of it is organic. It is also washed, spun, and woven on the site by local artisans. Tierra Wools is tucked away in a small village in the valleys of northern New Mexico, so you will get to "drive through Georgia O'Keefe country to get there." A trip there is "a perfect day's outing from Santa Fe or Taos." Autumn is an idyllic season to visit because "the aspen trees are golden, and the air is crisp." Read more.

The Blue Hole
Santa Rosa

Right in the heart of landlocked New Mexico is the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, known as "the scuba capital of the Southwest." The Blue Hole has been nicknamed "Nature's Jewel" because it is an 81-foot-deep well, full of "crystal clear" spring water. It "makes for wonderful summer diving" and for year-round diving because it maintains a steady temperature in the low 60s--even in the winter. Plus, it's an ideal dive training and recreational site for water lovers. Read more.

Pinto Bean Fiesta
Moriarty

The annual Pinto Bean Fiesta is a scholarship fundraiser that includes a pancake breakfast, parade, booths for food and crafts, live entertainment, a farmers market, a carnival, rodeo, horseshoe tournament, and naturally, a pinto bean cook-off. The fiesta captures the essence of a "small-town, with great food and entertainment." Representing "the heart of America, locals come out to enjoy the day." The event is truly multicultural, "a mixture of Spanish and Native Americans, cowboys and cowgirls, and ranchers and farmers--all enjoying the day together."

Frontier Restaurant
Albuquerque

For some authentic local charm, visit the Frontier Restaurant, where you'll enjoy green chile goodness and people watching (to see "the real local flavor of Albuquerque"). Located "right across from the University of New Mexico on the old Historic Route 66," the Frontier Restaurant serves the "world's best breakfast burritos with green chile stew." Also, their cinnamon rolls are the "gooiest," and the posole is "so traditional that the locals try to pass it off as their own." A trip here is "always an interesting experience."

Shidoni Sculpture Garden & Foundry
Tesuque

Located in an apple orchard only five miles north of Santa Fe, the Shidoni Sculpture Garden and Foundry is an "unusual garden that features bronze sculptures amidst lush, grassy lawns." The bronze pours occur on Saturdays, when "you can watch the complex process of turning a wax or clay sculpture into bronze." You can tour the foundry on your own and visit the gallery's "ever-changing shows, which make it a great place to visit again and again." Soak up the "peaceful ambiance" as you sit on a bench or