Rodeo
|
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Bosque del Apache with means "woods of the Apache", was named for the people who often camped in the riverside forest. Today it is known as one of the most spectacular Refuges in North America. This 57,331 acre refuge straddles the Rio Grande Valley in Socorro, New Mexico. It ranges in elevation from 4,500 to 6,195 feet above sea level. It receives approximately 8 inches of precipitation each year. Within the refuge's borders lie three wilderness area totaling approximately 30,850 acres and five research natural areas totaling 18,500 acres. Here, tens of thousands of birds--including sandhill cranes, Arctic geese, and many kinds of ducks-gather each autumn and stay through the winter. Feeding snow geese erupt in explosions of wings when frightened by a stalking coyote, and at dusk flight and flight of geese and cranes return to roost in the marches of the refuge.
MAGDALENA
Magdalena Old Timer's Festival
For the past 30 years, this annual event takes you back to the glory days of a livestock and mining town. The festival includes a mini-cattle drive, rodeo, barbeque, parade, Kelly walk/run, pancake breakfast, western dances, Indian Village, entertainment, and crowning of the Old Timer's Queen. Magdalena Old Timer's takes place the weekend following July 4th.
Magdalena London Frontier Theater
The London Frontier Theater was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1991. It came to Magdalena in 1996 and presents a wide variety of plays adapted to its western setting. It incorporates the area's multi-cultural history to create an entertaining theater experience. Presentations are held at Magdalena's historic WPA gym.
Magdalena Arts and Crafts Festival
The Arts and Crafts Festival and Studio Tour is held every year in the Spring and Fall. It features a great variety of unique creations such as fine art, woven rugs, decorated eggs, handmade quilts, pottery, sculpture, metal art, glass beads, holiday decorations, and hand decorated tiles.
DATIL
Very Large Array
The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical radio observatories consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Augustin a short distance east of Datil, New Mexico. Each antenna is 82 feet in diameter. The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the resolution of an antenna 22 miles across, with the sensitivity of a dish 422 feet in diameter. The first antenna was put into place in September 1975 and the complex was formally inaugurated in 1980, after a total investment of $78.5 million. In 1989 the VLA was used to receive radio communications from the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it flew by Neptune. It is not, despite depictions in popular culture, used to assist in the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) The image of the VLA has become nearly iconic in American culture, though most persons do not know where it is located or what exactly it does. But it has appeared in much of pop culture since its construction. It has been the setting of movies including 2010, Contact, The Arrival, Armageddon, Independence Day, and Terminator Salvation.
PIE TOWN
Pie Town Pie Festival
The Pie Town Pie Festival is held annually in the fall on the second Saturday of September. There are food and craft vendors, a pie baking contest, a High Plains Outlaws Gunfight Reenactment, pie judging, a crowning of the Queen, children's games, a horned-toad race, a pie eating contest, and raffle prized.
RESERVE
Catron County Fair
The Catron County Fair is held annually in Reserve, New Mexico. The fair boast a variety of animal shows, livestock judging contests, dummy roping contests, a rodeo, a dance, a junior livestock sale, a junior rodeo, team roping, and a parade of champions.
Southwest Annual Dutch Oven Cook-Off
The Dutch Oven Cook-Off has a large variety of set-ups like cowboy-camps, teepees and tents, and even mule-drawn wagons. The cooking begins in the morning, and then the cooks bring their pots to the Pavilion. Folks show up to purchase Tater Plates where they will receive a spoonful of each dish on their plate, and there are usually about 30 to 40 different dishes on the buffet line. Tables and benches are provided for the diners. Attendees are entertained with musicians and after everyone is served awards and prizes are presented to the winning cooks.
WINTSON
Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch/Dude Ranch
They say that there's nothing in New Mexico but the land beneath you, but for some people that's exactly what is needed. At Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch, some of the most beautiful pieces of it are found. The nearest stoplight from the ranch is found 85 miles away, making this ranch rich with seclusion-induced serenity. A day at the ranch is up to the guest. Horseback riding is a must, as the terrain carries visitors across open meadows, through majestic ponderosa forests, down into deep canyons with rugged cliffs and crystal clear streams, and up onto high hills where view stretch for miles across the Gila National Forest. Children's activities are also offered here-indoor and outdoor games as well as campfires. Hiking, mountain biking (bring your own bike) and fishing in the rivers that run through it are all within footsteps.
