Tom Handy

Franklin Mountains image from Texas Park and Wildlife In my previous article on hiking in New Mexico, I broke down the high-alpine routes north of 10,000 feet, taking on peaks like Wheeler Peak and Santa Fe Baldy where alpine lakes, thick aspen groves, and cold weather dominate the landscape. If you shift your focus to the southernmost edge of the state line, the environment undergoes a radical transformation. Right where Texas meets New Mexico sits El Paso. Running directly through the...

A few years ago, I was staying at a hotel in Albuquerque with my family and caught a lecture on Indigenous history in the Southwest. The speaker was a local tribal member whose family had lived on the same land for generations. Hearing him talk about the depth of that roots-and-branches history stuck with me. In a world where 50 years feels like ancient history for most American cities, New Mexico operates on a completely different timeline. When you look at the architectural landscape of the...

In 1926, the blueprint for American economic mobility changed forever with the designation of US Route 66. This year marks the official 100th anniversary of the historic highway, a milestone that highlights its transformation from a critical commercial artery to a global tourism asset. For decades, this 2,448-mile stretch served as the backbone of transcontinental travel. It was not just a road for family vacations. It was a critical logistics line that kept small-town economies alive and...