Table of Contents for the Haunted Southwest Series: Haunted Hotel: The Stanley Hotel, Colorado The Vulture Mine, Wickenburg, Arizona Haunted Hotel: The San Carlos, Phoenix, Arizona The Haunted Shores of the Great Salt Lake, Utah Haunted Tombstone, Arizona Haunted Mines: Ghost, Goblins and Tommy Knockers, Southwest Ghost Camels of the Southwest Haunted Dawson Cemetary, New [...]

Did you know that New Mexico’s state fossil is the Coelophysis? Pronounced “See-low-FY-sis,” Coelophysis was a small and primitive meat-eating dinosaur that lived in New Mexico 210 million years ago. It was one of the first dinosaurs to evolve. It lived on the ground, walking (or running) on its two, powerful hind legs and was [...]

As far back as 12,000 years ago, New Mexico drew early humans to its lands and bounty. Though the landscape changed radically over the years, the evidence of their presence has been well preserved in many locations throughout the state. 13000 – 10000 B.C. (or even earlier) The Sandia people left the earliest evidence of [...]

The remote region of New Mexico called the Salinas Basin has been home to a number of cultures for at least 2,000 years. Large pueblos and trade settlements of Tiwa and Tompiro speaking Puebloans grew up around the Estancia Valley and the communities thrived. In the 1580s, when Spain claimed the territory, Franciscan missionaries came [...]

Near Clovis, New Mexico, is the archeological site of Blackwater Draw. Nearly 13,000 years ago, large glaciers covered the North American continent including a large portion of the Rocky Mountains. The weather conditions during this era were cool and dry in the Southwest, but perfect for huge stands of grass to thrive. Such huge stands [...]

Fort Union, guardian of the Santa Fe Trail during its heyday, was established in 1851. In actual fact, three forts were built, one after the other, on the plains of northeastern New Mexico. The first was of green logs that warped in the sun and heat and lasted only 10 years. The second, built of [...]

Corn was a staple food for the ancient Native American people who first settled in what is now New Mexico. In fact, corn was a sacred plant for the Aztecs because they believed that the gods fashioned humans out of cornmeal dough. Corn was often made into favorite dishes to be consumed at special events [...]

Nearly 1,000 years ago, the Acoma people were being raided by their Apache and Navajo neighbors, particularly during harvest time or to take women and children for slaves. The Acoma abandoned their valley homes and built an impregnable barrier against enemy attack. Called Acoma Pueblo, the 70-acre mountain settlement means “Place of Readiness” or “Place [...]

In Spanish, it is called El Morro — the headland — because that is what is resembles, a headland rising above the desert rather than the ocean waves. In English, it is referred to as inscription rock because travelers throughout time have stopped to leave their mark on the stone. In either case, El Morro [...]

Pecos National Historic Park encompasses 12,000 years of history, from the ancient pueblo of Pecos, to Colonial Missions, Civil War Battles, the Santa Fe Trail sites, and the ranching history of Forked Lightning Ranch. Pecos National Historic Park was a home and place of trade for the Native American people, where the Pueblo people of [...]