12. I Love New Mexico Stories: Blair Pollister

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 are 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.

Bunny: (00:50)
Hi folks, this is Bunny, and today we are speaking with my friend and colleague, Blair Pollster. Blair has a long New Mexico history. She has a great story to tell, and she also is the owner of one of my favorite businesses, Turquoise By the Water, which has a brick and mortar storefront in Logan, New Mexico, but a, a really active online presence. But, you know, uh, Turquoise is a, is certainly a, a big New Mexico story, but I Blair’s family history and her own experience of living all over the state is, is, is I think the cooler part of this podcast. Blair, tell us, tell our, tell my guest, our guest who you are and what, tell us your New Mexico story.

Blair : (01:41)
Oh my goodness. I have I am such a storyteller. First of all, Bunny, thank you so much for having me on here. I am just such a fan of you. You are always inspiring me, and I think that this is such a wonderful thing that you’re doing for our state, because our state is a rocking state. I love this state and there’s so much to explore. But, um, yes, my name is Blair Pollister. I am actually a seventh generation cattle rancher, um, from the same family. Our, uh, roots go back to the DeBaca family, uh, Flos deBaca. Um, there’s so much history and I can, I can share on that in a little while. Um, I am married. My parents actually still live on the ranch and I’m married. We live here in Logan, and I have two kids. My husband’s name is Buck and he works back and forth. And, uh, driving out to his location is actually similar to the ranch. And, um, let’s see, my kids go to school here in Logan and we just, I honestly can’t believe that I ended up in Logan, New Mexico . I really can’t. It’s, it’s always like, How did you end up in Logan, New Mexico? I’m like, Um, I don’t know, but so long story, but I’ll make it quick. So, born and raised in Las Cruces. My parents had met there going to N M S U, and they, you know, they had me, they had my, my younger brother, and we just enjoyed life down there. We, the culture, the, oh my gosh, I just remember growing up and seeing this vi the vibrant colors, the, the art, the food that everything, and just always so inspired, so enriched. So, wow, I want more. I want more. And wanting to learn more about it. So, um, unfortunately my mom, um, when I was in high school, she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, and that really rocked our world. Um, we, gosh, it was, it was one of the hardest things that brought our family together. And, and then shortly after that, the generational ranch that she is the daughter of Norman and Esther Libby they had both already since passed. My uncle was, you know, a part of it. There was a lot going on at that time. And the ranch, uh, my uncle had been running things and at that point they, they said, Hey, it’s time, you know, to kind of fear this out. And I was young. I didn’t understand what really was going on. I just have these memories of visiting the ranch all the time and having so much fun at the ranch. And so the ranch, um, I’ll catch you up the ranches in Northeastern New Mexico at BTOs, and it’s the old Circle Bar Ranch.

Bunny: (04:25)
You should spell that For folks who don’t know , when you say Bueyeros, people are like, Wait a second, wait a second. Spell that for the people who are listening in, like New Jersey,

Blair : (04:36)
. Yes. So , that’s B U E Y E R O S. And that is in Harding County, New Mexico. And so, uh, the ranch had been, uh, again, I’m a seventh generation rancher, so my mother, uh, her siblings, it was being divided up and it was a hard thing to understand being younger and not being a part of it, but I knew kind of what was going on. I think what made it harder is that she was battling cancer at that time. And so there was just so much going on that really brought our family together, just our little family of four and, you know, just really had to, to push through and l you know, she’s recovered since then. And, um, let’s see. I, I didn’t really want to venture off, but she really encouraged me too. So, uh, I’ve traveled and I worked in Dallas New, um, in Dallas, Texas, and I worked at Hotel Zaza. I don’t know if you’ve, you’ve done the Hotel Zaza thing? Yes, it is amazing. Uh, I got to work at the Hotel Dragonfly. Therefore, let’s see, it was just about eight months or so. It was like a summer internship thing that kind of took a little longer. And then I came back to Las Crus and I had another job opportunity with the, the Comb family. Uh, are you familiar with the LeCombs and, and all the wine?

Bunny: (06:01)
Oh, comb, L e s c o MBE

Blair : (06:03)
Les comb? Yes. Okay.

Bunny: (06:05)
Yes,

Blair : (06:05)
Yes. Less LeComb LeComb. Um, there’s a couple different ways to pronounce it, but, um, so I had started working with them and helped them with their, uh, winery down in Las Cruces, uh, the Tomas Pet is, and, um, Rick Sharp and, and just, got to meet VP and Danielle when she was still with us. And, and I got to be a part of that and just learned in this restaurant business, learned a lot about the wine and learn more about the culture. And, you know, then I, uh, let’s see, was working there for a while. Let’s see, I was, uh, in Las Cruces and working there and, um, had worked in several different restaurants and had, you know, all, all kinds of experience with the restaurant industry. I was actually going to school for hotel restaurant tourism management with a minor in marketing and advertising and events. And that was my thing. I always dreamt of having a bed and breakfast out on the ranch. Um, and so, and catch you up on that. Yes. The, the ranch, uh, ended up splitting up. And so, let’s see, that was in 1999, I wanna say.

Bunny: (07:13)
When it started. Yeah. And Blair, when you talk about what was the size of the original ranch, I mean, I think there are people, oh gosh, who think of ranches as like a 20, 20 acre gentleman spread. And that’s not what we’re talking about here,

Blair : (07:26)
Right? No, no, we’re not talking. So I do believe at, at one point that the ranch was over 220,000 acres.

Bunny: (07:36)
I’ve always had that in my head. Over 200,000 acres. That is over.

Blair : (07:40)
That’s a lot of land. And then that area, that’s, that’s, that’s just a common size ranch. You know, we’re, we’re sharing like fence lines or, you know, with the Mitchells and, and, and, and present day, the Fitzgeralds and these old family ranches that have been there for generations. The Bell Ranch is right near us. I know you had, uh, Kenny Terry on not too long ago. He did a great job. Uh, I love the music that he does for your podcast, by the way. And, uh, , I love that song.

Bunny: (08:10)
I think it’s, And the Hartley Ranch is up there not far

Blair : (08:13)
Away. Yes, they’re very close to us, too huge. And when we say close, like 40 miles is close. Like that’s just, that’s yeah. It’s just not a big deal.

Bunny: (08:22)
. That’s right. I ran into, I, in fact, I ran into, um, um, you know, the folks who have the Hyman Ranch recently, and I said, Yes, we’re eating at the Annex. And I said, How far is it from here to where? To ranch headquarters? Oh, it’s like 68 miles. It’s not far .

Blair : (08:40)
No, it’s not .

Bunny: (08:43)
That’s Hilarious.

Blair : (08:44)
Yeah. So the ranch, um, let’s see I’ll get you a little bit more history on the ranch. So the Veva family, there was several, I wanna say 13 siblings at one point of the Vevas. And there’s so many generational, uh, stories, and I , there’s so much, there’s so much when you have that many siblings and that much land, and there’s so many stories, there’s so much history that you’re trying to intertwine all of this. So, uh, what I do know is, uh, my grandmother was, uh, Isabelle Ci Baca, and she had 13, she also had 13 children, and that no, 12. She had 12. And her daughter Esther is my grandmother. And so Norman Libby is actually from Maine, and he ventured over and, you know, wanted this new life for himself and traveled down to New Mexico. And he actually ended up meeting my grandmother, Esther in Denver. And, uh, found out more about her and the life that they lived. And he was broke, and he worked to be a part of the ranch. He worked and he worked, and he worked. And that’s the stories that we’ve been told. Um, I know there’s a lot of other stories, uh, out there, you know, it’s family history, . Right, right.

Bunny: (10:09)
Listen, I always figure what I’ve learned about memory is that your version is the correct one. for you. I mean, what, whatever, you know, memory is so, um, so much a part of the perceiver at, you know, what I remember is so different from what maybe my siblings remember. So, so that has to be my truth. So whatever you’ve heard is, is the truth as far as you’re concerned, right?

Blair : (10:36)
Yes. Nice. So, um, Esther had, um, uh, five children living, and then the ranch, my mother was the youngest, uh, I think by 12 years or not, not 11. Wow. I have to double check. She’s the youngest by 11 years. So the, the other kids, uh, had already kind of grown off and she was the, you know, at the house and doing the things at the family. And, um, she grew up there and, and then moved to Las Cruces and, and met my dad and had me. So, let’s see. Uh, we were talking about the ranch. Okay, so when it split, uh, it split over different periods of time. And when my grandfather and grandmother had it, I, I think it was about 120 and then there was some more land that was Yes, 120,000. Yeah, . Wow. Wow. I forget I have to add the thousand.

Bunny: (11:29)
So I wanna give our listeners some perspective because I just sold a ranch up in, um, Harding, Not Harding, I’m sorry, up in, um, Union County that was 27,000 acres. And just so people know, it had 48 miles of fencing. So you’re talking six times larger than that. So yes, this is, this is huge. It’s huge. Huge expanse of land, and that’s an inadequate word, but there’s not a better one.

Blair : (12:02)
Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , uh, whenever they were , whenever they were splitting up the ranch, they had all the cattle and they got all the siblings together and they ran all the cattle through the shoot. And every, like one, one cattle went to that sibling, and then the next cow or calf or whatever that ran through just went to the next sibling. And that’s just how they split it up. And they gave, my mom actually had last choice of what part of the ranch to get, cuz she was the youngest and she actually ended up with the headquarters. So Wow. Nobody, nobody want, I know nobody wanted the headquarters. And so I always thought, Wow, you know, my Uncle Chappy had already been living in his own area and had his area established. And, um, my Aunt Tay, who, uh, you know, you know who you had on the, the show the other day, Brian of Santa Fe Brewery, right? Yeah. Tay Levis is married to Mike Levis, who started Santa Fe Brewery,

Bunny: (13:02)
Shut the light. Wow. So that’s one of your cousins?

Blair : (13:05)
Yes. Yeah. No, that’s my uncle. Um, Oh, Mike, Yeah. Started Santa Fe Brewery. So I, you know, there’s so many connections here. I just keep getting blown away. I’m like, Oh, that’s right. You know, So Tay was the oldest daughter, and she married Mike Levis and they moved to Santa Fe and did their life in Santa Fe. And, and she, uh, she always dreamt of going to France and she was very, very cultured. And so instead she had a pottery shop on the square for a long time, and Uncle Mike started the brewery in Gallegos. Yeah,

Bunny: (13:38)
I still remember that. So I always tell people that other, in other places they’ll say that everybody has, there’s seven degrees of separation. And I think in New Mexico it’s maybe two, you know?

Blair : (13:48)
Oh, it’s gotta be. Yeah. We

Bunny: (13:49)
Can always find a connection. Anytime I meet somebody who’s at, who’s from here at least over the last 30 years, but certainly second generation, I’m like, Wait, there’s, there’s a connection. I went to college with your cousin, or you are my cousin generally,

Blair : (14:07)
Right? Yes, yes, yes. So, with the ranch, So everybody was running their own portion of the ranch

Bunny: (14:15)
And your mom got the head-quarters?

Blair : (14:17)
Yeah,

Blair : (14:19)
The old 100 year old plus house with these big, huge bricks in the adobe ceilings, and it’s been added on three or four different times. , there’s no way you could ever have open concept in these old houses, . No, no. There’s different wood floors in, you know, from each like, you know, 30 years later or 50 years there, they kind of did an add on. And so there’s a different kind of beautiful old wooden floor. But yes, it kind of cricks whenever you walk through the dining room. That’s kind of one of my favorite things about it is just, it’s just these old bones. You feel it in your gut and you feel it in your soul that you’re supposed to be there. It really, I love that. It really does it. And I remember getting so upset when I was in high school and, you know, after all this was split up and everything, you know, my mom had started to recover. I was 19 years old, first year of college, and they’re like, No, we’re selling our house in Las Cruces and we’re moving to the ranch. I’m like, What? Like, no, I’m from Las Cruces, Don’t you realize like, this is my hometown? Like, what do you mean we’re selling our childhood home and you’re gonna go to the ranch? Really? Like, And my mom and dad are like, Yes, we’re gonna go to the ranch. My dad had been in, um, construction with overhead doors for 30 year, or I think you’ve tied it 28 years, uh, 28 or 30 years. And, and they just packed up and became this, this ranching couple

Bunny: (15:51)
.

Blair : (15:52)
It was, it was like, Oh, okay, you’re doing this All right. But my mom said, No, this is just part of our story. This is part of who we are. This is, this is my job thing. And, and I’m going. So, so she did

Bunny: (16:07)
. So, so here’s the cool thing I think is that you had, that you had that connection to the ranch through your grandparents and now your kids mm-hmm.

Blair : (16:17)
Yeah.

Bunny: (16:18)
Get to have it with your parents. And in fact, I know I get they get to spend a lot of time there now, right?

Blair : (16:25)
Yes, they do. It’s so special because, you know, growing up, I didn’t have grandparents. Grandpa Norman passed away when I was seven, and I still remember vividly him letting me ride horses and doing things and, and it was so much fun. But, when he passed, it just, it was never the same. And, you know, it’s hard, but the fact that my children get to have this experience with my parents, right? It is such a huge thing. Um, it really, it really speaks to my soul in so many ways. You know, I meet people where they’re like, Oh yeah, you know, my grandma and my grandpa, and I never had that. I don’t know what that’s like.

Bunny: (17:07)
So you, I want, you know, I wanna talk about this piece where you’ve made this decision to, were you living in Las Cruces when you decided to come back to Logan to Northeastern New Mexico?

Blair : (17:23)
? So, Buck and I our story. Our story is a, well, I feel like every love story is a unique one. And, um, so we actually met in high school and we were 14 and we were in, PE class and we knew each other. And we, we were good friends. Um, him and, and his best friend Kate. And, you know, we’re just, we’re all good, good buddies, right? And we hang out and then he gets, uh, his parents got, ended up getting a divorce and, and he went with his dad and, uh, moved back up to Michigan where, where he was actually born. And, um, you know, it was, I didn’t really, you know, there was no social media, there was no phones back then, like, Right. You know, there was the big Zach Morris phone, like, no, I wasn’t gonna talk to him. Like, I just didn’t really give him the time of day. And , we always, I always say this, this is horrible, but, um, I was like, No, you’re like some spaghetti arms guy. Like, I was so rude. Like, I was so like high school and thinking I was just the coolest thing. I was Miss, Miss Homecoming princess, and I just thought I knew it all. And, and here’s this cute little guy who, he was just, he had a crush on me and I just didn’t give him the time of day. So fast forward to running into each other when we were 19 and tried dating, didn’t work, and then we ran into each other when I was working at the winery, um, and Bistro and Las Cruces. And, um, he was like, Hey, you know, and I was like, Oh, no ran into each other again. And, it was kind of like love at first sight. We were at Graham Central Station listening to Bri Bagwell, who, I don’t know if you know who Bri Bagwell is, but she is an icon for New Mexico Entertainment, Right? She is now on Texas Radio. She just released her new album and she is just incredible. She is amazing. But we ran into each other at, at, at her concert at Graham Central Station, and I still remember ?. In Las Cruces. And so, um, I still remember seeing him, and I’m just like, Oh, you kind of grew up like he, you know, and he’s, he was very kind. And, and six weeks later we, you know, we’re dating and I quit my job and I packed up my car and moved to Michigan with him.

Bunny: (19:41)
. Wow.

Blair : (19:42)
I just knew he was the one that I wanted to marry. I just knew it in my heart and my soul. I was like, Yep, this is, we’ve known each other for a while. We’ve tried this before and let’s just, let’s just do this. So , we moved to Michigan.

Bunny: (19:56)
But you ended up back in New Mexico, I always did that. You know, I would, I would move away for a little while, for maybe a year or two, and the whole time I was away, I would think, God, if you will just get me back to New Mexico, I will never leave again.

Blair : (20:10)
And he then transferred down to Florida. So we moved to Florida for a little while and worked down to Florida. And then, um, and then his job was getting ready to be seasoned again, which, uh, it’s a company that he and his best friends, uh, Cade Salopek and Colt Salopek started down in Las Cruces. They actually prune the pecan trees. It’s a CDC hedging, and they go through and they, there’s these huge, machines, on Link belt, Link belt cranes, and they have 36 inch wide, uh, saw blades, and they go through and, and prune these, these pinon trees.

Bunny: (20:50)
So we should let, I wanna let listers know cuz this is gonna be a surprise to people who aren’t from New Mexico, that, that the pecan harvest, I mean, that’s a huge piece of agriculture in New Mexico, and it’s… I think it’s surprise, huge people think of New Mexico is this broad desert, which it’s not , but, the Salopek’s are all about the pecan orchards, aren’t they?

Blair : (21:14)
Yes, Yes. There’s so much history with the Salopek family down there. And, you know, Buck and his buddy started their business 19, they’re 19 years old when they started this business. So I think we’re coming up on 17 years.

Bunny: (21:30)
Wow.

Blair : (21:31)
Of being in business. Yeah. And, um, it’s a seasonal business and they have just done really well. They, they, they come together and work really well together. They have a good relationship. And I think that means a lot whenever you’re in business. If you can work together, then you really are good friends.

Bunny: (21:51)
No kidding. No kidding. And, and hopefully stay that way. So, But you moved, Did you move back?

Blair : (21:55)
So that’s actually what brought us back to Las Cruces. Yeah. Mm-hmm. nice. Mm-hmm. , because he is like, I’ve gotta get back to this and this is what I do. And I’m like, Okay, sounds good. So again, we didn’t have any money. We were broke and we move in with Kane in his guest room, Nice. So moved his best friend, and we were living there for a while. And, and just, he was doing the, the hedging and the pecan trimming the pruning. And I got a job at Las Crus Sun News and did advertising and marketing with them. And that was a lot of fun. Frank Ludo was the publisher, I believe at that time, and did advertising and marketing there for a while, and then Buck applied for another job that was gonna be a little bit more full-time, but not, and he ended up getting the job, I think a year after he had applied. And it was seven miles away from my parents’ house, the job location.

Bunny: (22:57)
In, in Harding County.

Blair : (23:00)
In Harding County.

Bunny: (23:01)
How funny. So New Mexico brought you home, .

Blair : (23:06)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it’s the road. Like the road just kept pulling and I kept pulling and I always knew that I wanted to be at the ranch when I was older, but I just, I didn’t think that, like in my twenties I would be moving by my parents. Right. So he gets this job and, you know, we, we bought a camper and, uh, lived in the camper on job site. I ended up getting hired in with the job too, and they were drilling for co2. Right. It’s actually the largest CO2 pocket, like one of the largest ones in the uni in the United States. And it’s the Bravo dome. And so they had him overseeing a lot of that, and he’s just been a part of that for now, 12 years,

Bunny: (23:49)
. Nice. So you’ve been back 12 years, you’ve done other things, but Yeah, but then, and I have to give you a shout out, Blair, because to me, you know, I grew up in Logan and I’ve watched that main street sort of, you know, flex and then contract and flex and contract. And I’m so excited that there seems to be this entire generation of young people moving back to Logan and staying there mm-hmm. and creating mm-hmm. businesses and commerce and, you know, running the Chamber of Commerce. I just, I gotta tell you, you, I wanna give you a shout out for putting this huge, You could have kept your business online, I’m sure that it’s thriving online. It’s fine. You didn’t have to spend six months taking an old video store and turning it into a show place for retail. Just, I mean, it feels like revitalization of a tiny little community. Good job. Tell me about that idea. Where’d that come from?

Blair : (24:52)
Well, you know, I have to, I have to, my hat’s off to my mom, Libby Cruz. So my mom is Mary Libby-Campbell. She is the Harding County Main Street economic develop, um, economic development executive director. She has been in every type of non-profit and helping hands and whatever she can do to help revitalize Harding. And that’s always been this inspiration. And when we were moving back, I wanted to move at the ranch, but we, there just wasn’t a spot for us. There’s not an extra house. There’s Yeah. There’s nothing like that. And Buck loves to fish. And so he said, No, we’re gonna, I wanna live in Logan. I’m like, Logan, you wanna live in Logan, New Mexico. Okay. You know, let’s check it out. You know. And the annex, you speak about the Annex. Do have you shared with people of the Annex here? Do they know about

Bunny: (25:47)
The Annex? Not yet, but we will. I will. Okay.

Blair : (25:50)
Okay.

Bunny: (25:50)
I think you’ll get Warren and Angie on the, on the podcast.

Blair : (25:54)
I was gonna knock on the door and say, Hey, you should jump on today, . But, um, so we, we live, we moved here because of the lake originally. And, and then, you know, I always wanted to do something. I wanted to, We first looked into purchasing the marina, we looked into purchasing where the Crafty Fish is now. Do you know, do you remember the old, uh, Minnow Ranch? Yes. And, um, then we also looked into purchasing the, the U junction that’s on that corner. Cause I always dreamt of having a New Mexico shop. I just like these memories of being born and raised in Las Cruces, visiting the culture, the atmosphere, the colors, the food, everything. I wanted to have my own, to share, like, to share with people and say, Look like this is, this is New Mexico. This is what we have, and we’re not just some little drive through that you don’t stop at.

Bunny: (26:51)
. Right, Right. Get off the freeway.

Blair : (26:53)
Yep. Yeah. So, you know, after we had the kids, um, Duke and Daisy are now five and three, and so we’re getting ready to, you know, they started the school thing and, and that’s when we just kind of had this opportunity. And it was a year ago, actually a year ago, where Warren said, Hey, your name’s been on the list. Um, you do you wanna, do you still wanna rent this property? I have other people interested, and I’m Buck and I were like, Uh, he’s like, You, yes or no? We’re like, and I’m like, Yes. And, and Buck surprised me. Ended up getting the key one day and just said, Hey, you know, I worked it out with Warren, We’re doing this. And I just, I melted, I cried. And, and it just, it’s amazing. It’s how he believes in me so much to help make my dreams come true. And so having this New Mexico shop that we did, the floors, we did the, the ceiling tiles, Like nobody had been in here for how long? Do you remember when

Bunny: (27:52)
I would say at least 10 years, maybe 12. It’s been a long time since somebody was in there. I, you know, because people don’t watch videos anymore. You know, it’s not like people get a VHS anymore.

Blair : (28:05)
Well, and it’s, and stuff

Bunny: (28:07)
and stuff.

Blair : (28:07)
It was videos and stuff,

Bunny: (28:09)
But not much

Blair : (28:09)
Stuff. And I still actually have the sign up there because I’m wondering when I take it down, if Warren wants to put it in, in the, the cool bar that he has. Right. Cause I think that that’s part, part such good Ann, or such good Logan history, .

Bunny: (28:23)
But you’ve created this great space where you don’t just sell turquoise, you sell New Mexico products. Um, and it’s, and it’s sort of, I think Blair, it’s kind of become a meeting place for people to just gather mm-hmm.

Blair : (28:37)
. Mm-hmm. . No, it’s been amazing. I’ve got to meet so many different people from all area, all the areas like Lubbock, Amarillo, uh, Harford’s, a big visitor, Dhar. There’s a lot of these Texas towns that drive through, either come and visit Logan, they have a second home here. It really is a wonderful community to not just have a second home, but to actually live here. Like . This is coming from somebody who never thought they would live in Logan News, Mexico

Bunny: (29:08)
. Right, right. Well, I, we’re, we’re definitely gonna put a link to your site and the address or the store on, but I, so I wanna hear, um, if you were, if somebody was coming to New Mexico for the first time, what would you tell them? That they absolutely can’t miss? And I know it’s so dependent on location, but, um, you know, you know, especially, I, I went to school in Las Cruces and I loved Las Cruces. Yeah. I, it’s still, if I were gonna move to another major city in New Mexico, I’d probably move to Las Cruces. But, um, you know, I re you know, it’s a whole different food scene. I, it’s really different from Santa Fe. I just think of, you know, My Brother’s place, which is one of my favorite restaurants down there. I don’t even even know if it still exists.

Blair : (29:59)
No, They shut down. It was so good. We went there every week. We went there every week. Oh. They were actually very good friends with the owners. My parents were very good friends. And, and yes, it was so sad when they, they pass and they

Bunny: (30:10)
Say, So when you go to Las Cruces, where’s, where’s the first place you go to eat?

Blair : (30:14)
Oh, girl. There’s so many good ones. And I think that there’s a lot of like, just these mom and pops that are just not a lot of people know about, you know, like in the back right off the, off the feet and path. And like, not Betos is amazing. Um, I love Spanish Kitchen. They have fantastic red enchiladas. And, and when I’m talking food down in Las Cruces, it’s got more of a heat. And in my opinion, you know, I feel like Santa Fe has got more of the Spanish, um, cultures in the, in, you know, the Las Cruces has more of that Mexican tra, traditional Mexican cuisine. We love Onlays. Yes. And I love Onlays so much that I actually contacted them to start selling their salsa here. The shop. Have you been to Onlay?

Bunny: (31:03)
Well, so we’re gonna have to put a link. We’re you’re gonna, you’re gonna have to have a, a place somewhere where you can go in and put a link to the, Well, I guess it’s on your website, right? Yeah. Can they order that? Yes. From your

Blair : (31:12)
Website? Yes. They can order it from my website or they can order it straight from their, um, They also Loosa. Yeah. Leosa. Oh, Loosa. Oh my gosh. La Posada. Doreen is amazing. Did you know they’re gonna start jarring their salsa as well?

Bunny: (31:26)
I didn’t know that, but I did put them on the list for Johanna to contact for podcast.

Blair : (31:31)
Jorene is amazing. She is amazing. Tell, tell Blair sent you and ,

Bunny: (31:36)
You know, it’s one of those places that has such an amazing history. You know, I’m pretty sure they claim that Billy the kid ate there, right? Yep. Yeah. Isn’t that one of the claims?

Bunny: (31:49)
Was in jail.

Blair : (31:50)
. So. .

Bunny: (31:51)
Yeah, Yeah,

Blair : (31:53)
Yeah. So, I would do all of the, all of the above, but especially on delays. I think that that’s just one of our go-to places. They’ve branched out so much that they have two locations down there. They’ve been drying their salsa. Lea again. Roberto’s. Oh my gosh. Oh, they’re chips. Their tacos. You now? So good. I love their food. Their food is the best. They really, Las Cruces is so diverse ranch way. If you haven’t been a ranch way, it’s one of those, a hole in the wall, off the side, you know, kind of places. Amazing chile burritos. Love those. So good.

Bunny: (32:29)
Well, and I don’t really wanna put words in your mouth, but I think the museum down there is pretty

Blair : (32:33)
Amazing. Oh, yes. No, the museum is gorgeous. Um, Oh, who else?

Blair : (32:39)
Does a lot on there. Um, the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Museum, so much history. Oh, and they, and they do weddings there too. And it’s so special to be a guest at like, at that museum and that backdrop, that’s actually where my brother got married. Um, and just seeing the organs and the history and these paintings and Oh, it’s, it’s amazing. I highly recommend you can go out there and see cattle and different livestock and walk across an old bridge and Yes. The museum is a must, a must visit down in Las Cruces. Mm-hmm.

Bunny: (33:13)
. Well, I know we have a lot of must visits, but I, but we do . I mean, we can’t talk for

Blair : (33:18)
Two hours. Okay. We won’t talk for

Bunny: (33:20)
Two hours, but we could , we could. I just, Blair I’m so excited to talk. I mean, this is, you know, people, um, I think tend to think of New Mexico as a place where people go to retire. Mm-hmm. . And it’s not, I mean, you are young, you’re in your thirties, right? Yes.

Blair : (33:39)
Mm-hmm. , Thank you, .

Bunny: (33:41)
And You’ve made this choice to, um, raise your kids in rural New Mexico. Mm-hmm. and I, And it’s

Blair : (33:50)
Working. Yes. And although I like my heart, I love Las Cruces. I, I cannot believe how much I love Logan. It is just, it is such a wonderful little community. The sunsets, the fresh air, like the people here really are wonderful people. You know, I, I share like the, like just across the street, the Annex and seeing all these people working at the gas station in the restaurant and the post office, and, you know, my neighbor Ashley down at Village left. She just, we, we all have like this mutual respect for each other and just care for each other. And it’s really cool to, to see that like, and to be a part of that. I did not expect that when I lived here in the beginning. And now that we’ve kind of ventured out and had our family and got to know people a little bit more, it is such a caring community. It really is. And, and I can’t imagine living somewhere else. it, Logan is really amazing. And the lake, of course, the lake, we go walleye fishing, We go play on the lake all the time and go down at the, at the beach and, you know, it’s, it’s a really special place. Logan is very special. It really is. I love Logan , the whole thousand people that live here. ,

Bunny: (35:05)
I love what you said about it being unexpected, because I think that’s what I keep hearing over and over about New Mexico is that, and, and of course, you and I, we’ve been here practically all of our life, but, um, I, it’s, it’s still surprises me. So I think the cool thing is that it’s, it’s very, it’s very unexpected. And um, if you’re not here, you gotta get here. Right. . That’s what I think.

Blair : (35:31)
Oh It’s amazing. And, you know, I’ve ventured out a little bit too. I don’t know if you’ve been, have you been to Abiquiu?

Bunny: (35:37)
I have.

Blair : (35:38)
Oh my gosh. Okay. That’s probably one of my top favorite places to go. I’ve been to Santa Fe, I’ve been to Farmington, I’ve done the Gallup, I’ve done the, you know, Carlsbad, I’ve done the ding, the Members Valley and all the wineries down there. You know, all of that. Okay. But Abiquiu, New Mexico is really special too. Um, very, very small, beautiful, wonderful little, little hiking areas. And the Abiquiu Inn is amazing.

Bunny: (36:07)
I think if it was good enough for Georgia O’ Keiffe, it’s probably good enough for us, right? .

Blair : (36:11)
Oh gosh. Right. It’s amazing. Right. For the area. Have you been to her house?

Bunny: (36:17)
I haven’t. Oh, that’s on my bucket list. Yes.

Blair : (36:20)
Gotta do it. Gotta do it. We’ve, we’ve took the kids last time. They’re almost all old enough that they actually have a ropes course there. And like, for older, like an outside obstacle course. Um, Exquisite.

Bunny: (36:34)
The Lavender farm.

Blair : (36:34)
The lavender farm, yes. I sell all the lavender products from the purple, Adobe lavender farm. Elizabeth started her farms in 2004. And all of the products are New Mexico, grown, New Mexico, made amazing, amazing products. And yes, uh, it’s been, Yeah, that’s a great spot to go to. I would, I’d highly recommend that place. Okay.

Bunny: (36:55)
Well, we’re gonna have to do this again, because I know you’re gonna have another long list after that. But

Blair : (37:01)
You know it.

Bunny: (37:02)
Thank you so much for being on the podcast, but thank you also for what you’re doing for my hometown. I love it. I’m so excited.

Blair : (37:09)
I love, I love Logan. I’m, I’m glad to be here. I’m glad to be a part of it. And thank you for being a pioneer for this area too. Like you have helped put Logan on the map. You have done so much here and your passion and your drive for New Mexico, I just think you’re wonderful. Bunny. You are. You really are.

Bunny: (37:26)
Thanks.

Blair : (37:26)
So glad to be here.