Fragrance and Love can never be hidden.: Sunday Snippets by Connie Vines #Sunday Snips

Land of Enchantment

My featured novel, “Brede” is set in New Mexico. My family and I vacation throughout the state—and I love the vast landscapes, Indian Country, and culture.

I thought I would share snips of my vacation and you will mostly likely understand why “Brede” Rodeo Romance, Book 2 is set in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.

New Mexico is wine country.

Franciscan García de Zúñiga and a monk named Antonio de Arteaga started growing wine grapes along the Rio Grande around 1629. By the late 19th century, New Mexico was the wine growing region in the United States, producing over a million gallons each year. These are award-winning wines.

· Taos Pueblo has been inhabited for over a thousand years.

For at least 1,000 years, the people of Taos Pueblo have lived in their multi-story
apartment-like town. Human habitation of the area dates back perhaps 5,000 years, but
it wasn’t until around 1,000 AD that the current adobe dwellings were constructed by
two different groups of Tiwa peoples who came together to build the still-thriving
community.

· New Mexico has more PhDs per capita than any other state.

The state is home to more PhD holders per capita than any other state in the country. Why? Albuquerque hosts Sandia National Laboratories and a number of other research facilities. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Intel, and several land management agencies including the Forest Service and National Park Service, and of course, Microsoft was established in an Albuquerque garage.

Santa Fe

Denver might be the Mile High City, but Santa Fe, at 7,199 feet above sea level, is home to an unparalleled arts scene.

You can see five different states from the top of Capulin Volcano.

Capulin Volcano National Monument towers over the edge of the Great Plains in the northeastern corner of the state. An extinct cinder cone volcano, the formation once served as a landscape marker on the Santa Fe Trail. Today you can drive to the top of the 8,000ft cone for one seriously stunning view that takes in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, in addition to New Mexico.

New Mexico can proudly claim one of the most diverse landscapes in the world.

There is also a range of incredible outdoor adventures to match. Snow-capped 13,000ft peaks dressed in pines and spruce, brilliant wildflower fields and jungle-like riparian forests of towering cottonwoods, and white sand dunes and vast expanses of prairie.

A bout 75 % of all New Mexico’s road are unpaved.

New Mexico is the nation’s fifth largest state. Such a vast expanse is difficult, not to mention expensive, to fill with paved roads. Gravel and rutted dirt routes make this the perfect place for solitary back country exploration of our endless list of sweet spots. Just be sure to bring a shovel and jack…just in case.