New Mexico mandatory 14-day quarantine and mask requirement

New Mexico is one of my most favorite places in all of US - it's a magical landscape (no wonder it appealed so much to Georgia O'Keefe, the colors are stunning!). I'm so glad I made it out there for several road trips all around the northern (and particularly northwest) part of the state. I hope to return one day and check out the southern part as well. I'm glad they're doing what they need to do for their residents, like some other wise states (Hawaii, Maine, etc).

I'm with you, Agnes! It's a beautiful state just loaded with scenery, color, culture and flavor. The state government is evidently feeling it necessary to make difficult decisions in the interest of protecting the health of the people. I very sincerely hope it works for them!

Sure could go for some green-chile chowder about now, hmmm? 😋

Pozole rules.

Hello from NM!, where our Governor (Luhan-Grisham) has been doing a fantastic job of managing this. Our cases have been relatively low, with most being on reservations, but they are spiking recently too (along with all the other places). Currently, in cases per 1000 (25 being the number at which another shut-down is ordered), we are around 9. Above 9 and a return of restrictions kicks in. My husband is an ER doc. We have been watching surges closely.
My friends and I are giving the internal side-eye to the many TX and AZ license plates we're seeing, and are glad about the 14 day quarantine idea, although we can't imagine how this will be enforced. NM is beautiful and unique, but I dont know that traveling anywhere right now is a good idea.

Warm sopapillas with a drizzle of honey.
To. Die. For.

Howdy there, High-Desert Jessica! Yes, I've been reading that the Navajo Nation, especially, has been sadly and badly hit hard with the virus so for sure outsiders are not welcome there. As far as I know, all tourist sites on the rez are closed and look to remain so for some time. Anyway, much as we'd love to come visit some our faves in your wonderful state, neither do we want our MN plates to get the side-eye or to put locals at risk.

Yikes, so your Other Half is an E.R. Doc? A front-line hero, that, and the same goes for spouses like you trying to maintain sanity on the home front. You both stay well, hear?

Jessica and Kathy, we appreciate and understand the reason for the quarantine, but damn, we were thinking to console ourselves for having to miss Italy by revisiting our glorious Southwest this summer.

Here's to keeping the numbers down, and possibly welcoming visitors soon. Please.

New Mexican food is probably my favorite in the whole country. I recently made posole, and to my surprise, it was pretty darned good. I used dried posole, but didn't have any fresh chiles. Canned and frozen chiles, and the tag end of a pork roast - it was very good.

Green chile anything rules.

Actually the state has been asking for 14 day quarantine since our shut down began. The big change was the threat of fines for not wearing a mask. As Jessica said, our governor has been doing a great job. Kudos to your husband as well Jessica.

Noted in today's paper that while our usual big fireworks show and gathering at the balloon fiesta park is canceled there are 4 shows planned for the four quadrants of the city so you can find a place in town with social distancing to see the fireworks. Great idea.

On the food topic, don't miss biscochittos.

Green chile anything rules.

Amen, sister. And yep, damn this plague anyway.
Biscochittos? Bring 'em on....and you take good care too, cj-traveler. 🙏

It’s helpful to know. Reminds me that since these regulations are a result of the pandemic, the town in southern N.M. now has a special significance that people should recognize -

Truth Or Consequences.

Hope the chile crop is good this year!

Another NM and green chili fan here. Y'all are making me hungry.

I love Santa Fe, but we've been staying in Mesilla en route to Texas for years. Why? La Posta, of course.

Here's a link to La Posta. Be sure to take a look at the history and the menu. These days take out seems to rule, but they do have many of their recipes posted.

And here's a little Wikipedia bit about Mesilla itself. You don't get much farther south in NM than there.

We're looking forward to going anywhere in New Mexico sometime in the future.

Another NM and green chili fan here

Lo, you're one of the club here but (very gently) it's CHILE and not CHILI. 😉
Red, green or Christmas. For most of us here so far, no contest, eh? Gimme the green.

We're unlikely to be headed to Texas from N.M. but if exploring north of the Santa Fe, this has been a regular stop:

http://www.ranchodechimayo.com/#welcome2

Not as old as La Posta (which sounds fascinating!) but been around a long time, and also has a cookbook!
El Santuario de Chimayo is a must if traveling through the area - even if not religious, which we're not - and we always buy some dried spices, preferably from Mr. Medina, the "Chile Man," if he's around, while we're there.

Lo, we actually ate at La Posta many years ago - maybe somewhere around 1976? 1974? I was a grad student, and if I recall correctly there was some major linguistics conference nearby, and my professor insisted we have dinner at La Posta. I'm sorry to say I don't remember much about it, except that I couldn't really afford it. Worrying about the cost of the meal cut down considerably on my enjoyment of the cuisine.

However Stan and I have had many happy meals in New Mexico since then, and have had wonderful luck finding great food bargains. When we were students traveling in a VW bug, with sleeping bags and (eventually) a $19.95 tent from Sears, cheap New Mex food was a wonderful treat.

On a personal note, we truly were planning on visiting the SW this year, planning to swing through New Mexico then land in Arizona. I believe I promised to buy your lunch the next time we were in Tucson, on our way to visit my sister in Phoenix. Alas, the trip is looking less and less likely.

Sigh.

Count me in the green club. My absolute favorite is Harry's Roadhouse on Old Las Vegas hwy in Santa Fe.

Worries about the chili crop this year mainly due to worker shortages. Might have to drive down to Hatch and pick my own.

How about the breakfast of champions: menudo?

Menudo aka Cow Stomach Soup. No no no.

Pozole at Christmas yes. Green Chili Chicken stew pretty much anytime yes.

I like menudo, but my husband cannot even bear to look at it, so I don't have it very often. I've been told it's a good hangover remedy, though.

cj, we've eaten this green chile chicken chowder many times at Del Charro in Santa Fe, along with a shaker or two of margaritas. Have yet to make it at home - I have a kitchen 'cause it came with the house - but a batch will likely be a COVID project this fall. Will have to use canned chiles, unfortunately, and halve the recipe. If you pick your own Hatch chiles, do you also roast them yourself?

https://delcharro.com/food/recipes/green-chile-chicken-chowder

LOL, I don't have the stomach for stomach soup!

Kathy, thanks for the chile vs. chili correction.

As for the Rancho de Chimayó, I've only been there once, way back in about 1972. I had a professor in graduate school who knew Father Angelico Chavez. My (then) husband and I were planning our first trip to Santa Fe, and she arranged for us to meet him and said he would show us around a bit.

This was shortly after he left the priesthood (see the Wikipedia link for more info on him and about that). We had no idea that he was kind of a celebrity around town. We drove and went wherever he wanted to take us. That included the house he lived in with family and the little tamales they made for the Christmas season.

It also included Rancho de Chimayó, where he and we, because we were with him, were treated like royalty. I think we just ate what they brought us.

I absolutely fell in love with Santa Fe on that trip. I hadn't thought about it or Father Chavez in decades. The reference to Rancho de Chimayó brought it all back. Thanks.

in our pantry is a tupperware container containing Chimayó red. Most of the time we use other but this Chimayó stands the test of time. It comes out for very occasional red enchiladas and other specialities in the Chimayó cookbook which we have had for years.

People say to use up chile but since we won't be able to replace the Chimayó we just use a little from time to time (we got quite a lot the last time) and after 25 years or so it is still going strong. Still has a decent kick and good flavour.

We got it from the horse's mouth and then replenished from Mexican Chile Supply in Fort Worth TX (also called Pendrey's)

Lo, what a great personal tale about Father Chavez, and thank you for the additional background on him! Yep, we've also eaten at Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante several times, yum! The Pueblo Revolt, Taos Uprising, La Conquistadora, all mentioned in the Chavez biography, are some of the many pieces of New Mexico's story, some of those very sad indeed.

I've a fondness for N. Mexican santos, bultos and retablos - there is a wonderful historical exhibit of this unique and colorful form of religious folk art at Santa Fe's Palace of the Governors - so never miss a chance to stop into older of the churches which allow visitors. El Santuario de Chimayó is particularly interesting!

We've yet to explore south of Albuquerque so must do that someday.

Nigel, my Other Half picked up a terrific spice in Chimayó two visits ago that he didn't get the name of. I was off playing shutterbug when he did it and when we went back last year to get more, Mr. Medina's shop hadn't opened yet and he was nowhere to be found so we still don't know what it is! Good excuse for another trip? :O)

I guess those of us who are missing N.M. can at least share the love, eh? Sigh.

Love NM? Like to do jigsaw puzzles? Online? For free?

Try jigidi.com. Here's a link to ones featuring NM I found using their search capability: New Mexico.

Kathy, was just kidding about picking my own in Hatch. Usually just buy the chopped frozen green chili at Costco and maybe some whole ones at the local market if I want to make chili rellenos casserole.

We bought some mysterious red chili blend at Chimayo several years ago. No labeling so no idea exactly what's in it. Love the architecture of the church, but was a little creeped out at the interior. First thing we saw entering was a bloody Jesus in what looked like a crib. A little out there for this Methodist girl. I'm more a fan of the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe.

Also here's another non-tourist restaurant - The Chocolate Maven. You get to enjoy your meal while watching the bakery operations. Excellent sandwiches, salads and of course bakes goods. Right now just take out.

hey hey
thanks everyone for all this info, especially towns, restaurants and food. i'll ask a friend to do a road trip.
learned more about "mexican" food after moving here, met a friend who lived in playa de carmen for a year to learn everything "spanish". now lives south of barcelona as a teacher. so much more than regular tacos and burritos. no stomach soup either, but mom use to make cow stomach stew. my friend took me to mission area of san francisco years ago and had albondigas soup. was so yummy, now i make my own.
@nigel

thanks for mentioning the mexican chili supply house and all those spices. i would go crazy in there. my niece took me to findley's marketplace in cincinnati and they have a spice and rub counter. was so intrigued will all and some of the names of them, bought a few to bring back with me. laughed at some things you mention here and forgot you lived here in the states.
aloha

I traveled a lot in inNM in the past and this thread has gotten me feeling positively homesick! A fried and I were supposed to be driving down this summer but that’s not going to happen. I too have been hoarding Chile mixes bought in Chimayo.....they make the drawer in which they are kept smell wonderful, even when wrapped in a baggie and sealed in a container. Last year I found someone who was able to ship some dried Hatch Chile, at enormous expense, to Canada. Man they are hot or maybe I have lost my Chile tongue as it has been so long since I was there! If anyone wants the info on the Chile seller contact me off forum.

I think there is a green Chile stew in my future....

Love the architecture of the church, but was a little creeped out at
the interior.

LOL, I know what you mean! But that's also part of the fascination for this Child of the Universe. HA.

Santo Niño de Atocha Chapel, just steps from the main church, honors the legend of the traveling Holy Infant of Atocha (look it up if unfamiliar with the story) and the displays of hundreds of pairs of tiny shoes, offerings to this little boy who is said to wear his own out on his nightly goodwill journeys, are touching. Moving as well are the thousands of photos of children, pictorial requests for prayers of divine healing or protection. It's a colorful, less creepy place, and one of only two primary shrines to this particular Santo Niño in the world. I believe I read that the shoes are rotated out and donated to poor families as new offerings come in but haven't confirmed that.

Bumping up as New Mexico extended the 14-day (or length of visit, whichever is shorter) quarantine mandate through Aug. 28. Helpful FAQs for anyone planning to visit the state:

https://www.newmexico.org/industry/rapid-response-covid-19/covid-19-impact-faq/

Stay healthy, everyone!

Thanks for the helpful link to the site explaining the quarantine. It is very helpful.

I will be driving home to Texas later this summer and was worried about being able to get through NM as the best route to where I am going crosses the north east corner of the state at Raton. It is usually a stop for me to fuel up and take a break from driving. It seems I will still be able to do that as long as I wear a mask and don't linger.

Mark, you'll be fine. As stated, you'd be fine even if you had to stay 1 night enroute as long as you holed up in your hotel (with take-out or dinner from a self-packed cooler) until departing the next morning. They just don't want people coming for leisure purposes and running all over the place, especially without masking up.

Safe journey! :O)

So, if I am traveling through New Mexico, I will stop for my evening meal before I check into my hotel.