Episode 54 – You can also listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google podcasts, and Amazon Music

About the Episode:

Red River, New Mexico is a beautiful mountain town resting at 8,750 feet brimming with views, events and so many possibilities! Once you visit you’ll understand, “everyday’s an adventure. “

Links
Red River
8750 Festival
Aspen Cade Festival
Red River Annual Events
I Love New Mexico blog page
Bunny’s website
I Love New Mexico Instagram
I Love New Mexico Facebook

Original Music by: Kene Terry

Featuring:

Charlie & Nicole Wenger

Nicole and Charlie live in Red River full-time and manage the Red River events team. Some of their upcoming events include; 8750 Festival, and the Aspen Cade Festival. They support their community through donations and events in Red River.

Episode Transcript

Bunny : (00:00)
Hi there. I’m Bunny Terry, and you’re listening to the I Love New Mexico podcast. Whether you’re a native new Mexican, who’s lived here for your entire life, or you’re just considering a visit, this episode is for you. Join us as we share a lot of New Mexico stories, talk about all things New Mexico, and include topics like what’s magical here, where you ought to visit, what’s happening, and the things you absolutely cannot miss in the land of Enchantment. We’re excited that you’re here and we can’t wait to show you what an amazing place New Mexico is, because let’s face it, I love New Mexico, So I don’t know if you guys know this, but we’re having a lot of fun on the, I love New Mexico podcast, and we’re talking to people from all over the state, but today, my guests are from a place that I hold very near and dear because I’ve never been to Red River and not had a great time. Never, ever. Um, so, and, and I’ve been there a lot. So, um, I have as guests today, Nicole Reem and Charlie Winger, and I am so excited. Nicole was, you were a baby in Red River, right?

Nicole : (01:23)
I was. My, grandparents came here on their honeymoon in 19, uh, 59 and bought a lodge shortly after that. And so I’ve had family here for multiple generations. And then, um, my mom and my dad met here and my dad was a state policeman, and so they met when he was on duty here. And so, yeah, my whole childhood was, uh, in this little bitty tiny town.

Bunny : (01:46)
And you, you recruited Charlie to come back there to stay with you, right?

Nicole : (01:51)
I did. So we met in Seattle, so I went to, uh, high school and college in Texas, and then I moved to Seattle and I met Charlie and he’s never, uh, lived anywhere that wasn’t a big metropolitan area, Seattle suburbs, Seattle City, Atlanta. So this was quite an adjustment. And so my mom and I were kind of like, how’s he gonna handle living in a town of less than 500 people? And, he loves it, I think.

Charlie : (02:17)
Yeah, I had always, I had joked for, since we got here, pretty much I had wanted to move to a small mountain town for years in Washington. I just didn’t know I was gonna have to leave the state to pull it off, so .

Bunny : (02:33)
That’s so cool. So tell me, um, so I always want, I don’t ever wanna assume that people know what we’re talking about. So tell our listeners, because we have listeners from all over the country, and really we have a lot of international listeners. So tell people where Red River is and what Red River is.

Nicole : (02:54)
Absolutely. Red River is a tiny little tourist town. It’s got less than 500 permanent residents. Um, we have a small ski area, so we’ve got folks that come in the winter, but in the summer is really the busy time here because our highs are about 78 to 80 degrees, and as you’ve seen everyone around the country’s baking. And so we’re really spoiled here when, like, our absurdly hot day is 86. Um, so it’s a tourism based town, but it’s got a lot of roots to live music, the outdoors, it’s, we sit, our house sits about 9,000 feet. The town is about 8,750 feet. And so we’re way up high in the mountains. And so it’s a really small valley. The town’s only a mile long, and we’re just surrounded by national forests on all sides. And so we’re right up by the Colorado border, not too far as, as the bird flies really close. And I’ve, we’ve found from a lot of people, people don’t expect to find mountains in New Mexico, and we’re like, yep, there’s a lot mountains, and there’s big mountains, and we get snow and you know, it’s not uncommon in the winter for us to get to minus 25 at our house. So we are living in the real mountains here, and people, I think find that really surprising about New Mexico.

Bunny : (04:07)
Well, I and I, people who listen to the podcast all the time, probably get tired of me saying this, but I, I want people to know that New Mexico is really diverse. We have every temperate zone except tropical. So you’re in the alpine forest and mm-hmm. , um, it’s not unheard of for you to get, I mean, you got amazing snow in March and April, didn’t you?

Nicole : (04:28)
We did. It was late this year, but it was better late than never. We got, it was really February started picking up the snow. Yeah, February and March were good snow for us.

Charlie : (04:38)
Yeah, ski season always opens Thanksgiving weekend here, but really some of our best snowfalls are late January through February most seasons. And then we always catch some right after this ski area closes .

Bunny : (04:51)
Yeah. Isn’t that so that’s the, I mean, it’s always like, wow, why did, why did we have to close? But and I want people to know which lodge it is that your grandparents bought because, uh, everybody who goes to Red River knows this one.

Nicole : (05:09)
Yeah. They bought the Riverside, they stayed there in their honeymoon and then they went back and bought it a year later. And so my mom and her sister were raised there, and I spent a ton of time there and my family sold it two summers ago. Mm-hmm. . So it’s finally not part of our family, which is a little bit bittersweet. Um, but everyone was ready to sort of retire and, uh, we still do a lot of work with the Riverside for our festivals, but the location’s just great. And so it’s, I always feel a little bittersweet about it not being part of our family anymore. But I have a lot of memories from there.

Bunny : (05:44)
Tell me about the festivals. Tell me what’s going on and what your involvement is .

Charlie : (05:49)
So we as a side job, uh, that is really pretty consuming this time of year, uh, , we coordinate two different annual festivals here. The one we have in just about just over two weeks is the 87 50 Festival. Um, that one is, uh, music for three nights and four, three mornings was kind of staggered a little bit, uh, across four days. We have barbecue and chili cook-offs going on during that one. Um, and we try to make that one just like a real big block party summertime vibe. It’s really become, it’s, we’re in year three now and it’s really become one of the biggest events of the summer up here. So we are really in crunch time for that one. Um, and then at the end of September, we also have the Aspen Cade Festival, which some folks, if they’ve been in recent years, would know as the Red River Folk Festival. But we’ve readopted the original name of what is the other piece of that one, which is a sort of artisan crafts fair that existed as Aspen Cade before Red River Folk Festival. And now we’re just bringing that name back to the forefront this year.

Bunny : (07:07)
So I think we missed, so tell me what you call the one that’s coming up and when it’s the first one.

Charlie : (07:14)
So the, the one coming up is 87 50, so it’s named after the Town Elevation Barbecue and Music Barbecue and Music Festival. Um, and so yeah, we have a kickoff show up at Bitter Creek Ranch a couple miles out of town. Some people might know that from going to Michael Martin Murphy shows during the rest of the summer up there. Um, we still do the Chuck Wagon style dinner up there. Our headliner is gonna be Dale Watson this year for that evening. Wow. Um, and then Friday morning we have a Bloody Mary morning at the Mother Load Saloon, the big breakfast spread and some performances there. Then we do move to daytime performances over in Brandenburg Park in the middle of town, um, through the afternoon. We have a little break, uh, for a couple of hours so folks can head out, grab dinner around town, put on another layer of clothing. Yeah, grab some extra layers from wherever you’re staying and then come out in the evening over to the mother load. And we’ve got shows, uh, from just before eight o’clock on Friday night and starting at eight 30 on Saturday night over there. Um, we also have a couple shows there after the Dale Watson Show on Thursday night. Um, in tandem with all that, we have, uh, the Four Corners Regional Red Chili Cookoff for Casi, which is the Chili Appreciation Society International. And we have, what is this year for the first time an official state championship barbecue Cookoff, uh, sanctioned by Lone Star Barbecue Society. Um, those turn ins and judging is all on Saturday, but you can smell ’em working out their test cooks and stuff on Friday. Um, and all the judging is volunteers, so it’s like a real crowd participation thing. Um, the signup sheets are out for Friday and Saturday and then everybody moves into the conference center for judging on Saturday afternoon.

Nicole : (09:02)
So yeah, we’re really excited for that. We’re the only, um, lone star Barbecue Society sanctioned event out of the state of Texas. And so it’s a great chance that’s all these,

Bunny : (09:11)
That’s too cool.

Nicole : (09:12)
Sort of get out of the Texas heat in August and come up to the mountains and cooking at high altitude is no joke. And so not only are they dealing with way different temperatures, the altitude can really mess with sort of, uh, additional challenges. And so it’s become a really kind of, uh, fun cookoff for people to sort of flex some different muscles. ’cause it is, uh, uniquely challenging.

Bunny : (09:35)
And this is August..?

Charlie : (09:37)
This will be August 17th through the 19th. Plus we have a little additional thing on Sunday morning the 20th, up at the top of the mountain. Uh, we call that Memphis on the mountain. We have a handful of artists who all go back to Roots in Memphis or are still in Memphis space. And they’re gonna play a show up at the top of the mountain from 11 to one on that Sunday. The show is actually free, but if you have any kind of wristband from the festival, you’re gonna get a discounted lift ticket to get up there.

Nicole : (10:05)
So yeah, it’s the top of the, the Red River Ski area. And so we put on this sort of free show in partnership with them, and it’s the best commute to a show you can imagine. It’s about a 25 minute chairlift ride up to the tip, and they’ve got food and drinks and it’s just pretty a casual, we call it like one more before you hit the road show. So it’s a nice little, uh, way to wind down our festival weekend.

Bunny : (10:29)
Well, so I have been, it was, it had a different name, I mean mm-hmm. Hot Chili Days and Cool Summer Nights or something like that. Mm-hmm. . So I’ve been to this to events at this time of year, and they’re, it’s perfect. It’s, and, and as you say mm-hmm. , I mean, um, you know, if, so I’m going to give a shout out to folks in Phoenix and Houston, go to Red River in August. Yeah. I mean, you have

Charlie : (10:54)
Get, that’s always part

Bunny : (10:55)
Of our fish away from the craziness. Yeah. ,

Charlie : (10:58)
That’s definitely something we try to mention several times a year, is just, we have some of the best weather anywhere imaginable Right. On that time of year.

Bunny : (11:06)
Right, right. Yeah. Well, from where I grew up, which is over, um, near Tucumcari, I grew up in Logan, New Mexico, and I, I’m, I mean, we spent every summer, um, in Red River, so, so of course I know exactly where it is. Mm-hmm. and, and tell. Now tell us about the weekend in September. What’s, that’s, is that the last weekend or is it a week? What is it?

Charlie : (11:34)
Yes, that is gonna be the very end of September. It’s a week later on the calendar this year than we’ve done it in years past because with the name being Aspen Cade, we really are trying to set that right around the peak of the color change. So you have this totally different false scenery up here compared to the 87 50, um, and we’ve just sort of missed it by a few days on the front side the last couple years. So we’re pushing back to the end of September for that to try to really get everybody here right when those Aspen are peaking in their, you know, golden fall dress.

Nicole : (12:05)
Before the wind starts and the snow

Charlie : (12:06)
Starts. Yeah. But before they should go,

Nicole : (12:08)
They go away pretty quickly once they come out. And so we really try and capture that front end of all the leaves changing because it is so beautiful here. And, uh, I think people are surprised by the fall colors mm-hmm. when they come, just really how, um, robust they are. The aspen’s changing, there’s, when you drive in from Texas, what is it? The butterfly and the side of the mountain, there’s the aspen grove that, uh, is shaped like a butterfly. And so in Yeah. So in the fall it just like, is this bright yellow sort of just like butterfly on the side of the screen mountain. And so we’re always like, all right, the butterfly’s out, like the leaves are here, it’s time.

Charlie : (12:43)
Um, and so yeah, so with that festival, what we have is, uh, sort of an artisan crafts fair. It’s New Mexico crafters focused. We do bring in a few other folks from Colorado, Texas, but it’s, it’s all handmade stuff. It’s not, we don’t let anybody in who’s just bringing, you know, chini, you know, made in China piles of stuff. Yeah. Um, and then we have the same, a similar but a little bit smaller footprint with the music schedule where it’s Thursday night and then Friday in the park during the day, Friday night at the mother load Saturday Park. And it, or Saturday falls the same deal. Uh, but we’ve had some weather and chilly, uh, conditions the last couple years. So for the evening shows for Aspen Cade, we’re gonna be inside the mother load. First two nights will be pretty intimate seated environments. And then the last night we’re throwing honky tonk night, we’re pulling all the chairs out. We’ve got a couple of great bands for everybody to come and dance to.

Nicole : (13:41)
So, yeah, I think a lot of people probably don’t know, the Motherlode sort of has a historic history as a honky tonk and, you know, the Austin Cosmic Cowboy scene has roots there. And so we’re really trying to throw back to that like, history of the motherlode, the thing that like put the motherlode on the map. And so we have friends that will go to music festivals in Florida or California and they’re like, Hey, mother Load shirt spotted. So it’s really special for us to sort of like celebrate the history of the mother load that’s been around for so long.

Bunny : (14:12)
Well, let me tell you my history of the mother load. Um, I think the first time I ever was inside there, and of course, you know, I grew up in the Southern Baptist household, and so it was like, you can’t ever go in a bar. And I went to, I went, I, you know, it was like, oh, it’s, you know, God will snatch you right up and send you to hell if you go inside a bar. And, um, I went to Red River with friends and their parents went to the mother load. And so we went down and found them. And I went into the mother load when I was 12 years old in 1972. And I can’t imagine who was playing then, but, um, it’s, it has still, it has it’s forever my favorite place to go dancing, so Yeah. It’s so cool that you’re doing that.

Nicole : (14:58)
Yeah, we’re excited. So yeah, the, um, Thursday and Friday night shows will be more listening environment shows, and we’ve got some great names for that that we’re really excited to bring. Joe Purdy doesn’t live far. He’s up in Taos these days, so we’ve heard, and so he’ll come up and play in Junior Brown and Jamie Lynn Wilson.

Bunny : (15:18)
Oh, Junior Brown is coming?

Charlie : (15:20)
Junior Brown is a Thursday night headliner. Yes. We’ve had a lot of excited outreach about that.

Bunny : (15:26)
Well, you know, Junior Brown is a Santa Fe guy. He grew up, my husband went to high school with him and Nice. So, um, right on. He said, he said it was clear that guy was only gonna ever play the guitar. So cool.

Nicole : (15:39)
Yeah. So that’s our Thursday night. So it’s a really, it’s special because the mother load’s not very big. And so you go to a lot of, watch a lot of these guys or gals play in venues in other places, and you might have a thousand people, 5,000 people on the mother load, you know, we can hold two 70, something like that. Right. So it’s like, it’s pretty intimate. And so you’re really kind of getting to know the artists in a different way. And so that’s, uh, it’ll be a seated show for Joe Purdy and Junior Brown on Thursday night. Mm-hmm. . So we’re excited.

Bunny : (16:07)
That’s exciting. I also went there one time and saw the granddaddy of all songwriters, guy Clark, um, and set. Oh, yes.

Nicole : (16:15)
That’s awesome.

Bunny : (16:16)
Two rows back and people would just speak to him from the, from the, so it’s, it’s an amazing venue for that kind of a show. Yeah,

Nicole : (16:25)
It really is. Yeah. We’re excited to sort of, uh, there’s another festival here that we’re not involved in in the winter that’s just the songwriters festival. And so it’s just three nights of super intimate seated performances and the guests that they bring up are just, you’re like, that person wrote, I mean, I didn’t, I never heard of this person, and there’s 20 songs that I know that he wrote. Yeah. And so it’s really interesting to find, kind of find these, um, people that we would’ve never come across otherwise outside of these really cool shows.

Bunny : (16:56)
So, um, tell folks about, um, if they want, is it too late now for somebody to enter the, um, chili? I mean, do they have to be members of something to enter the Chile Cookoff or the barbecue competition?

Charlie : (17:09)
No, I don’t think they have to be members. I would have to double check the specifics, but, uh, that’s just like an extra piece of paper for them. Uh, if so, um, but I believe anybody can enter. It’s, uh, we have to have a membership as a hosting event, but it’s definitely not too late. We wanna get everybody that we can. Um, we are still accepting applications, we’re receiving them. This is actually when we see more than half of them roll in is in this last two weeks before the event. And if for some reason you, we have an online registration available for both cook-offs, uh, we also have a printable form if you want to just print one off, mail it into us. We can do it that way. Or you can bring it with you if, uh, you’re a procrastinator like me and you wanna bring it to red, like check in on the morning of, we’ll take you then too. So ,

Nicole : (17:58)
One of the really great things about the Chili Cookoff is all of the funds from the buy-in go to the, uh, nonprofit and they always select the Red Valley Charter School. And so all that chile kickoff creates a lot of, uh, funding for the charter school. And then our organization that plans the events is doing a raffle for the charter school this year to raise some additional funds for them. And so it really does help our community in multiple ways having these events.

Bunny : (18:24)
Well, what about, tell me about the charter. Oh, first of all, first of all, I wanna say that anybody listening to the podcast can check out the links that we post to go with it mm-hmm. and, and we’ll have links to both events to how to register. And if we just wanna mention that September event, because that’s when people can bring their hand handmade crafts and items to sell, right?

Charlie : (18:52)
Yes. We have a registration form on the website for that. I should yeah, mention just, the websites are real simple. It’s 8 7 5 0 festival.com or aspen festival.com for the September Festival. Registration forms for all the different things Cook-offs, the Arts festival are all available on those websites. You can also buy your raffle tickets for 87 50 there, you can buy your regular tickets for both events, everything you need and any information plus contact link if you have any extra questions.

Nicole : (19:24)
. And then we also have, um, we’re all are also still looking for food truck vendors. So, uh, we love to fill the park with delicious smells. So if you’re a food, food truck vendor, we’re looking for, uh, more of those for both festivals. So it’s a nice, it’s a really fun atmosphere in the park.

Charlie : (19:41)
Just on the food truck thing, we definitely are looking for folks with like more full size fare. Right now, especially for 87 50, we’re still looking for a couple to pick up there. The Saturday we have samples all over the place for Chili Cookoff and for anybody entering people’s choice. But the barbecue cookers are actually not allowed to sell their barbecue. And just at a cost basis, I mean, really all of their meat goes into the competition. It doesn’t really make it out to the crowd. So we’re still trying to feed people because we’re making them hungry.

Bunny : (20:15)
,

Nicole : (20:15)
Yeah.

Charlie : (20:16)
There’s

Nicole : (20:16)
These delicious smells from two days of barbecue and, um, so we wanna make sure people are well fed.

Bunny : (20:22)
Cool. Cool. So, um, what are the prizes for the raffle? Because I got on the site and I was in a hurry ’cause I wanted to get off and say hello to you. But what, what are the prizes for the raffle?

Nicole : (20:34)
So yeah, a hundred percent of the funds go to Red River Charter School and we have two prizes. The top prize is 87 50 Festival weekend, 2024. So you’ll get, uh, four nights lodging, uh, two festival packages, or two festival three day passes, uh, lift tickets to get up to that free show on Sunday. You’ll get, uh,

Charlie : (20:56)
You have breakfast and coffee, breakfast, coffee, lunch, dinner, gift certificates, all in the

Nicole : (21:01)
Package, merch package. So that’s the first place prize. And then the second place prize is, um, three nights at four K River Ranch, which has brand new cabins right on the river, sort of on the edge of town. And so it’s three nights there and we’ve had some additional sort of, uh, food donations roll in for that package. So Nice. We’re excited to different restaurants. And so there’s a first place and second place package.

Charlie : (21:24)
And that four K stay is an anytime stay holiday minus the holiday holidays. But it’s a, if you want to come see us in the wintertime, you could use it then also.

Nicole : (21:34)
Yeah. So, uh, that’s just three nights excluding, uh, a few holidays, but otherwise it’s three nights whenever it works for y’all. And so, um, the a seven 50 festival weekend, I mean, theoretically somebody could pick it up this weekend and use half the gift certificates while they’re here this year. Um, but it’s really intended to sort of get somebody here for 2024 and provide a great weekend. And there’s, you won’t go hungry, you won’t go thirsty. There’s, uh, so many local businesses that really were generous to help us raise money for the charter school.

Bunny : (22:05)
That’s so cool. I love how small communities, um, just everybody just pitches in and helps. But tell me, tell the listeners about the charter school. Why is that such an important,

Nicole : (22:16)
I mean, our community’s so small, we see so often communities of RSIs that they don’t have a school. And so, uh, you know, kids, we have kids now that after a certain age they’re driving an hour and a half to school every day. Um, and so it’s just sort of crazy. So it’s so important for our community to have, uh, that school available. And so I think they went to a charter school in 2003, maybe.

Charlie : (22:41)
That sounds about right. Yeah,

Nicole : (22:42)
I’m not sure. So it was part of a public school system when I was in school there. I’m like, there was two people in my grade, me and one other person. So it’s a super tiny school. Um, it’s a lot bigger now than it used to be because the grades have been expanded and what they offer have been expanded. Like when I went to school there, it was sort of, uh, just two portable buildings outside of a defunct building. Wow. That was a hundred years old. Um, so they’ve really poured a lot of money in sort of creating these great educational experiences for our kids. And it, that’s just so important for our community to have that school year.

Bunny : (23:14)
So I’m curious, I mean you guys, um, are obviously not, um, retirees. And I know we talked, we already talked about Jenny and Nick who grew up there. Uh, well I don’t think, I think Jenny moved there after when her parents did. But, is there a sort of a resurgence of young people returning or, or moving there? Young families.

Nicole : (23:41)
I, I think there’s a lot of young families that come that have ties to the area mm-hmm. . Um, but you know, the real estate market here is pretty wild. And finding is pretty tough. You know, our town’s only a mile wide and or mile long. Right, right. And three streets wide. And so like, we’re at capacity for a lot of housing and so we see a lot of people, or know a lot of people just on the community Facebook groups that are like, looking for a place to rent, would love to live, move there with my family and they can’t find places. And so I think there’s a lot more people that would like to live here than can live here just because housing is so, the housing market is so tight.

Bunny : (24:18)
Well it’s, it’s magical if you get to live there. I’m envious. And what is, uh, is there just so, because we’re talking to people who, um, maybe think they’ve never heard of Red River, they’re thinking, wow, why don’t I go there? Is there a season that you should have? Because I’m just gonna tell you, I went once late in October and it was like not much was open. So what would you say come anytime except maybe not.

Nicole : (24:50)
Yeah. Uh, the fall off season’s gotten shorter. It used to be like after Labor Day it was a ghost town. And so, uh, it’s gotten better in terms of, we have events up through the middle of October that kind of keep community open. So really middle third week of October to about the week before Thanksgiving, it’s pretty quiet and most businesses are closed. There’s a lot more that are open now than used to be. I mean, used to be like, you couldn’t find a meal on Monday, you

Bunny : (25:16)
Know, I’m like, we had to drive to Taos to eat. Yeah.

Nicole : (25:19)
.

Bunny : (25:19)
Mm-hmm. .

Nicole : (25:20)
Uh, I do not like April here, so the scary is closed and we’re still probably getting snow, but the snow’s also melting. So we call it mud season. It’s really windy, it’s really muddy. And so that’s sort of more of a dormant season than even in the fall just because the ski area is closed. And so if we got great snow, there might be some snowmobile tours still going on, but otherwise there’s not a lot to do in the snow besides, uh, snowmobile tours. If there’s good snow, sometimes the cross country ski area will stay open a little bit later. Listen.

Bunny : (25:53)
So I think we ought to, I just very quickly, and, and like I said, I always, I always wanna assume that we’re talking to some people who, who have no idea talk about, um, the enchanted circle and, and what, you know, I mean, talk about the, some of the things, the offerings that are there. I mean, your festivals are really paramount right this minute, but I want folks to know what it’s like because, uh, just just for people who don’t know, red River is not far from Taos and it seems that everybody in the world knows about Taos. Mm-hmm. . So absolutely let, let’s hear about that.

Nicole : (26:27)
So yeah, I mean it’s always sunny here, which is great. And so him coming from Washington and growing up in Washington, he is like, I have to put sunglasses on to open the door in the winter to let the dog out. That’s cool. . Um, so the weather here, even if it’s 12 degrees outside, it will probably be sunny unless there’s snow actively falling. So we’re really fortunate in that way. Um, and then you go down to Taos and it’s also sunny, but it’s quite a bit warmer. And so it’s, we loved Taos sort of in that April and May when it’s still muddy and freezing here. Taos already has spring happening, you know, and so we get to go see, we get excited ’cause we’re like, there’s buds on the trees in Taos. It means it’s coming to us soon. And so, uh, just that whole enchanted circle from the, just the geography of going over the sort of mesa in Taos looking at the bridge, it’s like, you know, a little mini Grand Canyon for folks that haven’t seen the gorge. And I, I love to take visitors there ’cause it’s so beautiful.

Charlie : (27:25)
Yeah. I mean, if folks have time while they’re staying with us or any of the other towns, eagerness, angel, fire, Taos on the enchanted circle and they have, you know, three or four hours in an afternoon to just slow drive the entire circle. It’s really a great way to just spend an afternoon, see a bunch of different amazing scenery, stop in at a brewery or two, whatever. Uh, you know, uh, it’s really just a nice way to just sort of relax and soak up the whole area. Um, and it doesn’t take that long. I think it’s about a hundred mile loop or something. And then with stops you can do it in four hours or less. I mean, uh, it, so it’s like there’s, but each community has kind of its own little signature pieces, so,

Nicole : (28:06)
And they don’t, nothing, no two look remotely similar. No,

Bunny : (28:10)
They don’t.

Nicole : (28:11)
Just so, like when we have guests here, we always have a meal in Taos. We love, we have so many great restaurants in Taos that we love. So we do some shopping in Taos, go out to eat in Taos, then we come to Red River and then we always make a trip to Eagle Nest and stop at the Comanche Creek brewing. ’cause I don’t think there’s a brewery brewery in a prettier place than, uh, the Comanche Creek brewery. We’ve seen just elk coming down from the mountains from the backside of the brewery. And so it’s really a special sort of, uh, time when you can see that. Then driving on through Angel Fire and they’ve got a great little farmer’s market that we like to stop in at. And so there’s, every community is pretty different and has really unique offerings. And so when we have guests here, we are like, we gotta go to this place for this and this place for this and this place for this. And we try and do our little, uh, enchanted circle loop and it’s great.

Bunny : (28:58)
You’re so lucky to get to live there. I’m so envious. Um, I mean Santa Fe is fine. Santa Fe is pretty good. I’m just, um, and I’m so excited that you took the time to visit with us. Um, we are going to provide links to everything you’re doing and we’ll do them in order. So let’s just recap. You’ve got the 18, I’m sorry, did I get that right? 87 87,

Charlie : (29:21)
Yeah.

Bunny : (29:22)
You got that 87 50, um, April, I’m sorry, August 17th through the 19th. Mm-hmm. , um, find the links, but that’s just 87 50 festival.com, right?

Charlie : (29:32)
Yeah, just the numbers. 8 7 5 0 festival.com mm-hmm.

Bunny : (29:35)
. And then you have Aspen K in the last weekend in September.

Charlie : (29:41)
Mm-hmm. . And that one is just ade festival.com.

Bunny : (29:46)
And do you think there’s still a place to stay anywhere?

Charlie : (29:49)
It’s getting tough for 87 50, but I think if you’re staying for the whole time, there’s, we’ve seen plenty of availability. Uh, good. The one night stays are a little harder, but, uh, if you’re coming for multiple nights, you should still be able to find something. Um, Aspen, Kate, I think you’re still safe either way. Um, good.

Bunny : (30:07)
Yeah. Good. Well I may just run up, um, a and I’m telling you, if you’re somewhere where it’s hot, just book the weekend right now. Do it.

Nicole : (30:15)
Exactly. That’s right. Yeah, you’ll not be disappointed. Uh, Charlie’s been, uh, cold plunging in the mornings in our river and it’s about 50 degrees so I can get up to about my knees before I feel like my feet are gonna fall off. Wow. And so, um, people don’t understand how, uh, cool it is here. It’s still pretty, like it was 46 yesterday morning. Yeah.

Charlie : (30:37)
Our mornings, our overnight lows are still in the forties every night right now. I mean Wow.

Bunny : (30:44)
Wow. Mm-hmm. . Okay. So, um, I’m coming up. Yeah, there you go. Everybody else should join. Join me. So, um, you guys, um, have a fun weekend and um, we’re gonna send some folks your way. Okay.

Nicole : (30:57)
Sounds great. Awesome. Thank you. It was great chatting with you.

Bunny : (30:59)
Thank you.