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The Chile Pod ~ Farmington, New Mexico


First visit: Aug 2025

---8/23/25

Leaving Bluff and heading to the Four Corners region of Arizona is a bit scary. There is nothing there. No signs of any kind of life, other than maybe snakes, spiders, and scorpions. You just pray your car will make it to civilization. Fortunately, Zippy (my Acura SUV with over 100,000 miles) was up to the task and eventually humans reappeared onto the landscape. As we entered New Mexico, the poor just gets poorer. There's not much to see here other than poverty. And an incredible nature structure known as Shiprock. And that's exactly what it looks like - a huge ship frozen in time, fossilized. 

The oasis in this area is Farmington, a relatively pleasant town that seems much larger than it is. I was reminded of similar small towns in Oklahoma or Kansas. Plenty of shops and places to eat. Normal commerce that is to say. I'd never been here before and was curious for some years. We did some thrifting in downtown and then it was time for lunch.

I'm not going to New Mexico and not at least have one native dish. We were served chips and salsa right away. Oh gosh, so so good. Tangy, spicy salsa and homemade crispy chips. And to hell with it, we each grabbed a beer (cold, refreshing, and tasty). We then both went straight for the enchiladas dish (chicken, carne adovada), smothered in Christmas with rice and beans. It was heaven on a plate. Maybe next time - which there probably won't be a next time - I'll get the ground beef rather than the chicken. It wasn't even expensive. When was the last time I said that? A beautifully appointed downtown restaurant with delicious food and good prices. This was our best meal of the trip, no contest. Make a beeline here if in Farmington. And I have a feeling there are many other such places like this in town.

We concluded our trip at Quincys in Monte Vista and Shamrock in Pueblo. Both of those were updates  on already existing posts.

8/7/25

8/23/25 (new entry)

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