A Colorado State of Mind: Truth or Consequences

The last full day of our New Mexican road trip takes us slightly further south, following the border of White Sands Missile Range to Las Cruces, before heading back north again to Truth or Consequences. We get so close to the Mexican border that US border patrol stop all traffic heading north. Waving us jolly gringos on, we continue to blast through the empty desert in our trusty rental and arrive at our destination early afternoon.

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is a somewhat declining retirement community with a whole lot of hot water. The town used to be called Hot Springs until they changed their name in 1950 after the game show Truth or Consequences just for a little fame and the promise of a live taping of the show in their town. The big event was turned into a yearly party called Fiesta which is still celebrated in town today on the first weekend of May. Because of its somewhat arduous name, New Mexicans often refer to the town as T or C.

Our lodging for the night was Riverbend Hot Springs- one of the more luxurious (yet still worlds from pretentious) hot springs resort in town. T or C attracts a lot of older people; as my husband so eloquently put- you're the only @!$*# at this joint under 50! But you can't help but just feel relaxed and at home when staying in T or C and even more so at Riverbend. Named for its location right on the Rio Grande backed by Turtleback Mountain, this resort is way peaceful. Our casita for the night opened up to a large courtyard facing the mighty river and the hot springs that overlook it. We immediately popped open a bottle of our favorite wine- Rock Wall Zinfandel and lounged in the warm afternoon sun outside. After a sufficient buzz we soaked in the hot springs while watching the sunset.

What I love about this place is that even in a seemingly rustic, sleepy, "blue-hair" kind-of-town like T or C we were still able to find, after a quick walk, a surprisingly hip and gourmet Italian restaurant open late on a Monday night with patio seating calling us on the warm evening. The meal was epic- I knew we were in good hands when the waiter first brought out incredibly yeasty and crusty artisanal bread with fragrant, green olive oil and thick-and-black-as-tar balsamic. This was the real deal- aged balsamic so substantial it refused to mix with the oil, with a pungent, woody, almost overwhelming smokiness. Dinner included prawns so massive for a second I confused them for lobster tails and a pizza that was- well let's just say it was so good it was almost scary. More red wine and a panna cotta to split and we were spent. The last patrons to hobble out of the restaurant I faced both the truth and my consequence in T or C- the truth being the food and drink were monumental with the consequence being every step of the four block walk home was seriously painful from equally monumental stomach cramps.

The next morning after fully recovering from my overindulgence we spent our morning drinking massive amounts of the first truly fantastic coffee of our road trip out on the patio, followed by one more soak in the hot springs before hitting the road for our long 8-hr drive home. I've never regretted a trip to New Mexico and this time was no different. This is a state not well known by many, yet incredibly welcome to visitors. New Mexico reveals its secrets slowly and seductively but never quite completely and as we race north along I-25 towards Colorado I find myself dazed and delighted, already planning our next visit.