Episode 115– You can also listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google podcasts, and Amazon Music
About this Episode
In this episode of the “I Love New Mexico” podcast, the Bunny interviews Marc and Suzanne Rasic, co-founders of “Field Trip New Mexico,” a glamping destination in Pecos, New Mexico. They discuss transforming an old boys’ camp into a luxurious outdoor retreat offering comfortable accommodations and event spaces. The Rasic’s share insights into the amenities, including cozy tents, communal fire pits, and guided activities like hiking and fishing. They also highlight the property’s suitability for weddings, family reunions, and corporate events. The episode emphasizes the beauty of New Mexico and the unique experiences available at Field Trip.
Links
Field Trip website
Field Trip on Instagram
I Love New Mexico blog page
Bunny’s website
I Love New Mexico Instagram
I Love New Mexico Facebook
Original Music by: Kene Terry
About Field Trip: Marc and Suzanne Rasic
At Field trip, we believe in making it easy to experience the great outdoors. Our mission is to provide a comfortable and stylish setting where you can unwind, unplug, and reconnect with nature. Located on six acres in the Santa Fe National Forest, Field Trip offers a range of accommodations that balance the beauty of the natural surroundings with the comforts of modern living.
Whether you’re staying in one of our luxe tents or cozy cabins, our goal is to provide a seamless experience that allows you to fully immerse yourself in the outdoors. So come join us for an easy outdoors adventure at Field Trip.
In the 1950s to 1980s, Field Trip was home to Camp La Salle, a summer camp for boys from all over the US. From Texas to Louisiana, they came to escape the heat and immerse themselves in the magic of the Santa Fe National Forest. Today, we continue that legacy by providing a glamping experience that allows you to do the same.
Transcript
Bunny 00:00:03 Today’s a really exciting day on the I Love New Mexico podcast because I get to speak to Mark and Suzanne Razek. They are the, masterminds behind Field Trip, which is a camping glamping outdoor experience in Pecos. And the reason that I’m really excited to talk to you, Marc and Suzanne, is that I was supposed to go on a field trip, glamping event. you donated something to cooking with kids, I believe. And I was one of the buyers, and I couldn’t go. So some one of us got Covid. I can’t recall who it was or I don’t. I can’t remember what happened, but I didn’t get to go. So today I get to talk to you about what you’re doing and how incredibly cool it is. So welcome. Thank you. And and tell us. Tell our guests what, field trip is. Because I love the tagline that you have on your website, which is no permission slip required. Brought back some child. That’s very clever. And, tell us, tell us what you’re doing and, and give us, give us sort of a bird’s eye view and then a more concentrated view of, of what you’ve created.
Suzanne 00:01:26 Of course. well, this is our glamping vacation rental event space out on the banks of the Pecos River. We started with the idea of doing a glamping destination because we loved camping. But glamping is a lot easier and we, through some miracle, got connected with this amazing spot that used to be the old camp LaSalle, which was a boys camp out here. it used to be associated with, Saint Mike’s, and it had, you know, hadn’t been a summer camp for many, many years. But we, we found this location, which included houses and an amazing outdoor pavilion and riverfront property, and we put up tents and we remodeled some houses for vacation rentals. And it’s turned into a a year round destination. We’ve had a ton of, events and weddings and just like a great community meeting place, for people from all over the world. And it’s just been a dream come true.
Bunny 00:02:31 How long have you existed? We. What?
Suzanne 00:02:33 We got the. We closed on the property four years ago.
Suzanne 00:02:36 Next month.
Marc 00:02:38 Wow.
Bunny 00:02:39 Yeah. So I saw on your website because. Okay, okay, let’s just dispel some dispel some myths. because I, I hate to, confess this, but sometimes I think that roughing it is staying somewhere that doesn’t have a swimming pool. And so I wanted to I and I’m. And I grew up in the country. But, I want to dispel some myths. Glamping is exactly what it says. I mean, it’s kind of glamorous camping, isn’t it?
Suzanne 00:03:10 It is. It’s camping with all the amenities so you don’t have to sleep on the ground. We have excellent, really comfortable mattresses with heated mattress pads. We have we have a beautiful bathhouse with heated showers. We have electricity. We have all the comforts of home. But you’re in nature, so you get to experience the joys of camping without the hardships.
Bunny 00:03:35 And you do events because I’ve seen, pictures of what looked like some pretty amazing weddings.
Suzanne 00:03:42 We do. We had we had quite a few weddings this summer and, it was it was pretty magical to be a part of all these people’s lives and their families and, and just the connection that that people had.
Suzanne 00:03:56 And they got to eat Mark’s amazing food and enjoy our environment. And it was it was pretty neat.
Bunny 00:04:03 Well, well let’s talk. So I didn’t know about the food part. Talk about that.
Marc 00:04:07 Well, so I mean, I’m, I mean I’ve been in food for over oh my God I would say almost 35 years. So my background is hospitality and food. and so I, we build essentially the pavilion. We added the outdoor kitchen next to the pavilion to kind of provide that kind of all inclusive feel where we can do open fire cooking for our events. And so with the weddings, we do everything cooking right in front of the guests, right next to them. And it’s and then we’ll just serve it right from the, from the ovens over the open fire right to the gasoline table. And so the ovens are pretty massive. They’re big size. So we can we cook for up to 150 people on open fire.
Marc 00:04:50 . Yeah. So all the weddings have been have that feel. So you kind of out in the open with a bunch of fires going next to the river, so it’s kind of creates the experience. A very unique experience essentially for field trip.
Bunny 00:05:03 Wow, I love that idea. And I would think have you also had like family reunions or or corporate conferences?
Suzanne 00:05:10 Yep. All of the above.
Bunny 00:05:12 And so if I have a family reunion in mind, how what can you accommodate in terms of staying.
Marc 00:05:20 So we can sleep? 52 people in our lodging, which is the houses, the airstreams, the campers and the tents.
Bunny 00:05:30 There are airstreams.
Marc 00:05:31 Yeah. Yeah, we have answers to. Yeah, we go.
Speaker 4 00:05:35 We go. We’re missing a houseboat. But other than that, we got it all.
Marc 00:05:40 Wow.
Speaker 4 00:05:41 So. And then people can pitch their own tents for big buyouts. So, I mean, we had as many as 90 people sleeping on the property, which is a stretch. Not that I want to do 90, but we have done it well.
Bunny 00:05:54 So tell me this. Tell me. just give me a a sort of a, capsule description of maybe one of the coolest gatherings you’ve had. That was a surprise to you. Can you think of something?
Marc 00:06:09 I mean, I have to say, the weddings have been incredibly special because, we have people coming all over the from the state, from the US, essentially. And so it’s fun. And people coming from Chicago who are city, city people coming in the kind of environment in the mountains next to the river, sleeping in a tent. And all they have done really is kind of hotel weddings. So they kind of are a little bit, kind of, taken back. Not they’re not in the comfort zone at all.
Suzanne 00:06:39 When they’re, when they’re planning the trip, I think they get nervous about camping and glamping. And then when they arrive there, they realize that it’s got a lot more creature comforts than they’re used to. So getting them out of their comfort zone, but putting them in a different kind of comfort zone has been a pretty cool experience to see people who haven’t gone through something like that.
Marc 00:06:59 Before, and.
Speaker 4 00:07:00 Then seeing the transition where they come being somewhat uncomfortable to at the end be getting hugs and kisses and we’re getting embraced and people saying goodbyes and we all tearing up because we have to say goodbye. It’s pretty emotional, to be honest, with these weddings because people are willing. We’re all in it, and we’re getting to know these folks for up to three days, with many dinners and breakfasts and coffee and drinks. And so it’s kind of amazing. You get these, you’re making friends, like very deep connections, I think in nature, which is kind of we thought it will happen, but it feels very different. It feels much more intense than I thought it’s going to be.
Bunny 00:07:39 So we always want to be mindful that there are people listening who have never been to New Mexico and who think, first of all, sometimes that we’re not part of the United States, but who also, you know, I mean, really, I’ve had people reach out and they’re like, it’s so kind of you to do this.
Bunny 00:07:57 Do you? Do you not have to do it in Spanish as well? But, I it’s good for people who are elsewhere. who are listeners in, you know, we have listeners in Dubai and Australia and I’m proud to say all over the world, give them a sort of a, you know, we’re not saguaro cactus and, flat desert. When they think of New Mexico, I think they think of that. But give them an idea of, first of all, where in the state Pecos is and then what it’s like, you know, what’s the altitude? What does it look like? What’s what is it? You know, is it warm? Always. Let’s just give people who are not familiar with New Mexico sort of a quick look at what you’re doing, where you are and what it looks like.
Suzanne 00:08:49 Yeah, I think that’s that’s something that I’ve always experienced. I mean, I was I was born in Santa Fe. I grew up in New Mexico. My family’s been here for generations, and whenever I would travel, people would always think I spoke English so well.
Suzanne 00:09:04 So I. I feel you, I know, yeah, we have a lot of guests that arrive here without checking the weather, which I can’t even get my head around because whenever I travel, I always check the weather, and think it’s going to be, you know, a hot desert environment. we do have very warm summers, for sure, but we are in we’re in the mountains. We are at.
Marc 00:09:26 7200ft.
Suzanne 00:09:27 Yeah, 7300ft. We are at the same elevation as Santa Fe, basically. we’re just north of Santa Fe. well, actually, more it’s more east of Santa Fe. You kind of have to go around. but we, we’re 45 minutes outside of Santa Fe, and we are up in the mountains. We’ve got ponderosa pines. We have a real kind of alpine environment here. the thing about Pecos in that’s different from a lot of places in New Mexico, it’s very green. It’s very verdant. We have a beautiful grassy meadow on our property. so it feels very, you know, like, like an alpine getaway.
Suzanne 00:10:09 Pretty much. we have cool nights. So our guest from Texas love to come out here and not have to have an air conditioner and just experience our cool evenings. But it does get warm in the day. So in the summer, you know, you want to go in the river and cool off, but at night it is a perfect temperature. in the winter we get snow. We always have to warn people about that. last year we had like, three feet in one day. Yeah, yeah. so it, you know, it’s it’s very it’s, you know, it’s very northern New Mexico and it, it because we’re in a canyon, it does stay colder here than it does like in Santa Fe. but it’s, it’s just a little piece of heaven on the river. It’s always been my favorite river in New Mexico. and it runs year round. And it’s it’s pretty, pretty magical, amazing fishing out here. that’s where we get a lot of guests for that to fish.
Bunny 00:11:06 Well, that was one of my questions was, because my husband is, loves to fly fish.
Bunny 00:11:12 And I wonder, I guess you own that stretch of the river so you can offer that to your guests, right?
Marc 00:11:18 We do? Yeah. For sure. Yeah.
Suzanne 00:11:20 They need a license. But yes, they are welcome to live in our river.
Bunny 00:11:24 Well, and I think I just got my license was like $44 or so. It’s so affordable if you are a resident, I don’t. Yeah, yeah.
Suzanne 00:11:32 Yeah. And for kids it’s really easy. I mean it’s just it’s a really easy you can do it online. There’s a great there’s a couple destinations in Pecos where you can go and get it in person, but it’s so simple to do. So there’s no reason not to do it.
Bunny 00:11:44 I’d say this is a little off topic, but not really. I would say the coolest thing you can do with your kids and your grandkids, I think is to take them fishing. We recently I have a four year old grandson and he kept saying, I want papa to take me fishing. I was like, I don’t think he even had a concept of it, but it was one of the most magical days we spent.
Bunny 00:12:05 We went up to Monastery Lake and, just.
Suzanne 00:12:09 Down the road from us.
Bunny 00:12:10 Yes. And he just he, you know, he caught a crawdad, which was something he’s still talking about. So I would say, if you want to take your kids or if you, you know, I’m really my mind is kind of churning here because I’m thinking this would be a great place for us to have a family reunion. And we’ve always chosen something like Red River or Angel fire, because that’s where the Texas cousins can come from. But what a what a great place. I want to come out and check it out.
Marc 00:12:41 Well, you.
Suzanne 00:12:41 You have to it’s it’s a really the thing about this property is the way the accommodations are set up is you really spend a lot of time with the other people on the property. I think sometimes when people get together for events, they’re not, you know, they’re going and doing different things. But the way that this has just, you know, the way it works here is that people really gather in the pavilion and spend time and, and eat together and, and go fishing together and all these activities.
Suzanne 00:13:08 So you really get a lot of quality time with people. when you plan an event here.
Bunny 00:13:14 So let’s describe, let’s give people a, a audio picture. And of course there are there’s a connection. There’s a link to your website with the show notes. But give people just a visual of what happens. You know, I you know, they get off the get off I-25, which is the road between the freeway, the interstate between Santa Fe and Denver. And they get off I-25 and go through the village of Pecos, which is which is its own picturesque, interesting, mixed bag of of northern New Mexico and when they go through the village, what happens? I mean, do they continue up the canyon? Where are you exactly?
Marc 00:13:57 So they go to the canyon. It’s roughly 8 to 10 minutes from the village of Pico. Okay, so you go past Monastery Lake and you keep going and going, and then you’re going to go deepen the canyon, and it gets pretty and prettier as you go further down.
Marc 00:14:11 And then where, I mean, you will see a turnoff to our property and which the big yellow letter, orange letters with feet for field trip. And you turn into the property. And so right next to a little further down, maybe 200ft further up is the small little chapel, El Macho Church. And so when you end, when you see that one, you went a little too far. But because we’re right next to it, essentially, you drive, you take a ride into our property and you come down, and then what you see first, will you pass the A-frame? You you will see the big houses, the porch house, and then you see the river cottage and then you as you get further down on the property, you will see the tents and the pavilion and everything else. So, I mean, that’s kind of how you arrive. We’ll have cameras. So when you get to the property, we’ll see you, and then we’ll come out and greet you or walk you through and kind of show you what’s up and, kind of hold you by your hands. And then we’ll see how comfortable you are with getting to know the river and everything else. And, I mean, we live on a property, so we always hear and will help people to make the experience kind of very unique.
Marc 00:15:14 Well, and.
Bunny 00:15:15 So we’re this is, we’re on the air in November. I’m sure there are folks who are thinking, well, I guess I have to wait until, you know, June, before I can make a plan to go up there. That’s not true, is it?
Marc 00:15:27 No.
Suzanne 00:15:28 The three of our houses are open year round, and we were actually really surprised at how many people wanted to come up in the winter. I definitely thought it was a summer destination only, but we’re already fully booked for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’ve had people do all the houses together and have a big family gathering for Thanksgiving. Last year we had 20 people dining in what we call the porch House, which has a big open space and a really long table so you can accommodate a lot of people.
Suzanne 00:15:55 But we have people coming year round. They want to see the snow, they want to go snowshoeing, or they just want to relax in nature. But the houses are are lovely in the winter. They’re all really warm and cozy. We have outdoor fire pits for all of them,
Marc 00:16:12 Hot tubs.
Suzanne 00:16:13 Yeah, we have hot tubs and a sauna.
Marc 00:16:15 What? Yes.
Suzanne 00:16:17 There’s lots to do. We have a bocce courts and horseshoes and, the river. And, I mean, the river is year round entertainment. Just sitting next to it is so relaxing and wonderful. Well, I’m.
Bunny 00:16:30 I’m really fired up. I have to get my family up there. What a great idea to go for a holiday. tell people, what else? if if they’re there and they’re concerned about having plenty to do, I mean, there are plenty of other things that they can do in the area if they want to take some day trips, right?
Marc 00:16:50 Right.
Suzanne 00:16:50 Yeah, there’s great hikes. There’s the Pecos National Monument, but we also have some really great fly fishing guides that we can we can bring on property to, to work with a larger group or even a smaller group.
Suzanne 00:17:03 They can go just on our property or anywhere around in the area. so we’ve done some really fun expeditions with people who’ve never fished before. and that’s that’s a really great experience. We also have one of my friends from high school who is probably the most knowledgeable, guy about local flora and fauna, takes people up on hikes and discusses like, edible plants and flowers and knows every hike around here. He is just a fountain of information. so we have those sorts of things, and we’ve also toyed with the idea of doing cooking classes. And we’re we’re going to do some art workshops this summer. And like, you know, there’s there’s tons of things. Plus Santa Fe is only 45 minutes away. So you’ve got all of that as well.
Bunny 00:17:48 Well, and I want people who are listening to know that you can fly into Santa Fe from Dallas, Denver or Phoenix. So, you know.
Suzanne 00:17:57 There’s a direct flight from San Francisco as well.
Marc 00:18:00 Got the.
Bunny 00:18:00 Light? I did not know about that.
Bunny 00:18:02 Okay. Well, so now I have more information. I so so even though the website is in the show notes for somebody who’s driving in their car, will you let them know what your email address is and where they can find you on social media as well?
Suzanne 00:18:21 Yeah. Our, our email address is Hola at Field Trip and m.com. And then our social media handle or our Instagram handle is just field trip.
Bunny 00:18:34 And when you say hola you mean hola.
Marc 00:18:37 Yes.
Bunny 00:18:38 Okay. Okay. Why don’t you spell that email address.
Marc 00:18:42 Yeah that’s a good idea.
Suzanne 00:18:44 I just assume everybody’s from New Mexico.
Bunny 00:18:46 No no, no. You’re good. We’re talking to a lot of folks who aren’t from New Mexico. Right. So do you want to spell that email address? Sorry. Yeah.
Suzanne 00:18:54 Holla. Sorry. At field trip and em field trip. Nme.com.
Bunny 00:19:04 Perfect. And your website is just field trip in M. Com. Yep. That’s so exciting. So first of all, I’ve got to make a plan to come up there and, maybe we can do a YouTube video together.
Bunny 00:19:18 That would be really fun. But the other thing, just so, I mean, I have no idea about this, and maybe if you don’t want to talk about this, we can take it out of the out of the podcast. But is it, an expensive stay?
Marc 00:19:36 No, I mean, I mean, no, I think the way it’s structured is that, I mean, to give you an idea, I mean, and again, it’s there’s different seasons and different pricing, but in general, our tents, roughly 500 bucks for two nights, for tonight and the weekends. and then there’s the cleaning fee and the taxes, and the house is a little different than the more priced higher. But essentially we have a structure where we can actually really accommodate any kind of price point. our cheapest accommodation is a small little called chickadee, a small trailer with one person trailer. And I think the nights are like 140 bucks a night. So if something wants to really come, experience that, they can do that in our small little chickadee, which is really cute.
Bunny 00:20:21 I love that.
Marc 4 00:20:22 So we have really different pricing, and I think that was one thing we really were conscious about making sure that we don’t want to price people out and make it an experience for everybody.
Suzanne 00:20:31 And the and the $500 is for a family tent that accommodates four people. And all of our tents have cutlery, pots and pans, dishes, a camp stove, towels, a cooler, Basically all you need to do is show up with your clothes and your food. So it’s really like an easy camping getaway that doesn’t take forever to prepare for.
Bunny 00:20:55 Well, I’m really excited to talk to you. I’m really sorry that I missed the event. that that was back in August, but I’m coming up.
Marc 00:21:05 Great. Love that.
Bunny 00:21:07 Thank you so much for giving us this time, because, I, I just love finding, treasures that I didn’t know about before. Well, thank.
Suzanne 00:21:16 You so much for finding us. We were really looking forward to speaking with you.
Bunny 00:21:21 Well, we’ll do it again, and.
Bunny 00:21:23 And we’ll do a video up there. Okay.
Marc 00:21:25 We’d love that. Love that.
Speaker 4 00:21:26 For sure.
Bunny 00:21:27 Thank you so much, Suzanne and Mark. And I want to hear from other folks. I want to hear some comments from people who have been to see you. So, feel free to comment and like and follow us. And thank you for listening.
Suzanne 00:21:39 Thank you so.
Marc 00:21:40 Much. Thank you.
Bunny 00:21:43 Thanks to all of you for taking the time to listen to the I Love New Mexico podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends on social media, or by texting or messaging or emailing them a copy of the podcast. If you have a New Mexico story that you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our email address is I Love New Mexico blog at gmail.com and we are always, always looking for interesting stories about New Mexico. Subscribe, share and write a review so that we can continue to bring you these stories about the Land of Enchantment.
Bunny 00:22:24 Thank you so much.