Things to do / Travel Guide
The starkly beautiful, wide-open spaces of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado hide many overlooked attractions that are worth checking out. The attractions listed below are by and large in and around cities, or off main roads passing between them.
El Santuario De Chimayo
As the story goes, in 1815, a young friar spotted a light coming out of the ground on a hillside in the area, and while digging on the spot, he came across a crucifix. Soon after, a chapel was constructed on the site, and that's when the miracles began. A series of people claim to have been healed after visiting the area, and it slowly evolved into a place of pilgrimage leading to the construction of a full-fledged mission on the site. To this day, this small town, 90 miles north of Albuquerque, dubbed “The Lourdes of America” (well, at least by the local tourist board) attracts over 300,000 visitors a year intent on seeing the sacred chapel and also “El Posito,” the sacred sand pit where the crucifix was discovered.
The Burning of Zozobra
The annual fiesta, after Labor Day, in Santa Fe is the longest-running civic celebration in North America, having been started by the Spanish governor of the province in 1712. Since 1924, the burning of Zozobra, a mysterious 50-foot tall marionette bogeyman, has signaled the beginning of the fiesta celebrations. The nighttime torching of Zozobra is a wildly popular and one-of-a kind event in Santa Fe. The event, complete with fire-dancers and spirited music, is so popular that reservations should be made about a year in advance in order to guarantee a good seat for the spectacle. The city reports that annually, over 40,000 people come to see the burning effigy.
New Mexico's First and Only Electric Chair
A classic example of the roadside kitsch so common in the southwest United States, Santa Fe Trail Museum in Springer, New Mexico, houses the state's first and only electric chair. A mannequin is permanently placed in the chair, writhing in the throes of dummy agony. Also on display, for some reason, is a “giant's shoe,” worn by the late Robert Wadlow, who at one time was the world's largest man.
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