Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [18]
Bar 10 Ranch
The place to stay when you put in or take out at Whitmore Wash. 435-628-4010, 800-582-4139; www.bar10.com; Whitmore Wash, AZ; per person $100;
Phantom Ranch
The six-person dorm-cabins are air-conditioned, which feels wildly decadent after hiking into the scorching canyon. 928-638-2631; www.grandcanyonlodges.com;dm $36;
USEFUL WEBSITES
https://npspermits.us
www.gcroa.org
LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
29 Ghosts of the South Rim
31 Hualapai & Havasupai Journey
33 Lazing on Lake Powell
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Return to beginning of chapter
A Green Chile Adventure
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WHY GO Nothing says New Mexico more than green chile. Come in the fall, during harvest season, when the cottonwoods along the Rio Grande yellow, the smell of roasting chiles and piñon fires permeate the air, and hot-air balloons dot the skies around Albuquerque.
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TIME
3 – 4 days
DISTANCE
140 miles
BEST TIME TO GO
Aug – Oct
START
Albuquerque, NM
END
Taos, NM
ALSO GOOD FOR
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New Mexicans love their chile. Welcome signs on the interstates feature huge red and green chiles, red ristras hang from adobe homes north to south, and even McDonald’s offers green chile on its burgers. Chop and scramble it in eggs, stir-fry it fresh with pork for an Asian twist, add it along with lettuce and tomato on a turkey sandwich. You can’t get away from the stuff, and while some visitors never do develop a taste for its fire, others soon acquire a discerning palate that drives an obsessive search for the perfect chile. This one’s too hot, that one’s too gelatinous, this one has no flavor at all, and soon you’re talking about chile as much as farmers around here talk about rain. To get a sampling of the state’s best, from sauces loaded with chopped veggies to the perfect green-chile cheeseburger, this fiery green trail of chile hot spots takes you to local favorites.
For a tasty cup of java and the hottest green in Albuquerque, head to the decidedly crunchy Java Joe’s. Hidden in a residential neighborhood off old Route 66, this tiny spot looks, at first glance, like the usual granola and herbal tea hang-out. Local art hangs on the walls and half-read newspapers sit on the tables. You can grind your own coffee to take home, or grab a mug to enjoy with a homemade cranberry scone. But don’t be deceived – the chile on its chicken burrito packs more punch than a triple espresso, and the black beans are as good as any you’ll find in a fancy restaurant. A few miles down the road, past the 1954 Indian art stores and dance clubs along downtown Albuquerque’s Central Ave and into student haunts around the University of New Mexico, is El Patio. A couple blocks from the campus on Harvard St, this under-the-radar stand-by for simple, fresh and tasty fare is easy to miss – look for the vintage neon sign and the blue fence around the tiny patio. Sitting outside with a Dos Equis, a plate of green chile enchiladas and a basket of hot sopapillas just might be the closest thing to nirvana this side of the Mississippi. It doesn’t take cash, but there’s an ATM in the back.
If you still haven’t found your idea of chile perfection, consider cruising about an hour south on I-25 to blink-and-you-miss-it San Antonio. Here, the dark lil’ Owl Bar serves up no-frills chile that’s the subject of statewide debate. Some folks drive miles for its green-chile cheeseburger, while others gripe that the reputation is undeserved. The best in New Mexico? You decide.
To fully appreciate New Mexican green chile, visit in the late summer or fall, when acres upon acres of chile fields throughout the state begin to ripen and farmers don straw hats to protect their faces from the still burning desert sun and spread into the fields to hand-pick the fragile pods before they turn red. Despite the Albuquerque sprawl, it’s surprisingly easy to find your way to rural pockets of orchards, chile fields and pastures. From I-40 take the Rio Grande Blvd exit (about a mile west of I-25) and head