Have you heard of Jim Chee?

Tony Hillerman

You must get to know him!
Navajo Tribal police officer Jim Chee, along with Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, is a fictional character in the breathtaking mystery novels of the great writer Tony Hillerman.

I discovered these two guys the first time I visited New Mexico. I immediately bought most of Hillerman's books available to take home to Milan for my cold winter months. It was a way to keep close to the land I love while working like a maniac 24/7.

Luckily Hillerman wrote many books, enough to keep me hooked for a while. His books taught me a lot about the Navajo culture. They intrigued me so much that I started searching for more. It's an endeavor that never ends, believe me.

What really captured me were his meticulous descriptions of the Southwestern terrain. You can feel his passion for this special area in every line he wrote. It was like looking at a great picture and feeling part of it.

During my summers in the Southwest I traveled a lot. I love going off the beaten tracks. And suddenly I "saw" all the places so well described by Hillerman! The arroyos, the barren land, creeks and dry winds, and what he calls  

 "big country with long views and a wealth of empty spaces".

Wouldn't this be the perfect tagline for a tourism campaign? It's true that in some famous spots, like the Grand Canyon, emptiness is not an option. But still, many are those where one can feel it.

So, I invite all of you to grab a Hillerman book, and then go! Go out in the vast Southwestern space and look for the kind of places he describes so well! Following mysteries and murders you will be taken on a fantastic journey of the Four Corners area, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
But what's even most important, you will learn about the local Native cultures because the big genius Hillerman guides to the solution of any of his intriguing cases by taking the reader by hand through the interpretation of that highly complicated and rich culture. Is there a better way to learn?
To be fare, although one often links the author to the Navajos, he also wrote books about Hopis, Zunis, and Pueblos tribes. Therefore, depending on where you travel, pick the book that is right for the place you visit.

Adam Beach

Last night I finally watched one of the few movies based on one of Hillerman's books: Skinwalkers. Thank you Robert Redford for producing it! What a trip! Here you see the land, the medicine men, sandpaintings in the makings, and of course my beloved Jim Chee, played by Adam Beach.

A scene from Skinwalkers with Wes Study (Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn)
and Adam Beach (Navajo detective Jim Chee)

There is a Tony Hillerman Library in Albuquerque, N.M. This is the Facebook page for some updates on events that remember the fascinating writer: http://www.facebook.com/HillermanLibrary?ref=ts

Come with me!

Wanna come with me? I'm ready for my next jaunt!

There are things that stuck on your mind for no particular reason. This is one. Long, long ago I was having a massage. My back was really hurting, so I asked for a strong man to push hard into my muscles. The Universe heard me.....he had hands so big that almost scared me.

As usual, despite the massage requires to be relaxed, I wanted to know who he was, where he came from, just about everything he was willing to tell me. Not only he spent time in Sicily at the NATO base but he had just left a job as a rancher's hand -BIG hand- in Cuba. The one in New Mexico, where no "Buena Vista Social Club" is around! But Cuba has a great history that I will tell you once there. Of course Native Americans have been there for hundreds of years. That's always a good thing.

I regularly stop in Cuba (population 1,000!)  for lunch at a great local diner with the coolest sign, before heading to Chaco Canyon but never thought that this town, or its surroundings, offered so much.

This is a typical mistake travelers often make (me included, alas!): go from A to B without thinking about what's in between. What a waste. One is not likely to go back anytime soon.


Yes, that's where I want to go, Cuba, New Mexico. I may stay at a ranch or at a charming B&B, I may hike-slowly, very slowly..., in the Santa Fe National Forest for some green, definitely go to El Cabezon, the strangely rounded volcanic mountain, and the Ojito Wilderness, the newest area designated as a wilderness in New Mexico. Why go to Arizona or Utah, I wonder, when we have such amazing places right here in New Mexico? And mostly empty!

El Cabezon, isn't its shape amazing?

Yes, this is in Ojito Wilderness!

And this!

                   

This too!

I will leave exploring the Jemez Springs area for another adventure, too much to see there.

I promise we'll have a sunset like this one!

I have some time free from work in the middle of June. 

I'm going! What about you? 

Patagonia is just around the corner

Think South-Eastern Arizona when you feel that you have enough of a cold winter. Not only it's a bird paradise but it's warm and kind of a world apart.

In my five days jaunt I was amazed by what I found. First, Patagonia! My friend suggested going there and I thought she may have made a mistake! But Patagonia exists, right there in the heart of this wonderful corner of Apacheria. This is the place to go if you are interested in the history of this great Native tribe. And sadly it is also the place where the legendary Chiricahua leader Geronimo

finally surrendered in 1886 at Skeleton Canyon (sic!).

The small village of Patagonia is a green oasis and artist's hamlet with lovely accommodation and restaurants.

Nearby the Nature Conservancy offers hummingbirds and numerous birds species a safe area that can be easily accessed by birds fans.

The variety of landscapes is amazing! Empty desert grasslands, ranching pastures, rocky terrains and huge boulders where Cochise Stronghold is located, the 9,453 feet high Mount Wrightson (great hikes!) and the beautiful Chiricahua Mountains, wineries (man-made!)...and the list goes on.





If you are a history nerd this is your place. Apache Wars, Buffalo Soldiers, the historic Gadsden Hotel named after the famous Purchase and the proud owner of an authentic Tiffany stained glass mural, the Apache war chief who-never-surrendered Cochise who gives the name to the region-Cochise County, the first Spanish expedition led by Coronado in 1540, military forts, traces of Paleo Indians times.

A jewel not to be missed is the Amerind Foundation, the "anthropological and archaeological museum and research center dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories". It houses one of the finest private collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country. In the middle of nowhere!

I remember wandering in the Dragoon Mountains after visiting the museum, gorgeous, trying to find my bearings. My friend left earlier and I was traveling on my own feeling very adventurous. The road took me to an intersection, a perfect cross with nothing in sight. Then BANG.. I suddenly focused on a small coffee place, on the south-east corner! The guy who welcomed me, a surprisingly loquacious Apache, brewed me a fresh coffee and kept me there for over two hours with fascinating stories. This kind of unexpected things is what makes road trips the most enjoyable way to travel!

Did I forget something? No doubt. But this is just a quick overview of an area that I want to share with you. It is perfect for a long weekend. I recommend it to everyone as there is something for every taste and interest. Lots of wonderful guest ranches to stay at too. Unfortunately the one I stayed at was lost to the dramatic fires that happened last year. I will never forget it.

I'm sure you would like to ask me why I don't mention Tombstone and Bisbee. Simply because they are so famous that you know about them! Both towns are in this area and worth a stop. Today Tombstone is very Hollywood-esque but Bisbee is quite enchanting.

Tip: don't be tempted to set foot on nearby Mexican land, kind of dangerous these days.

Chirp...chirp...