Piños Altos, a gold mining village dating from 1860, is in the Mogollon Mountains outside Silver City, on New Mexico 15, the road through the Gila Wilderness, the first designated wilderness area in the country. There's not much more in Piños Altos than a couple of art shops, the Piños Altos Museum, and the very cool Buckhorn Saloon and Opera House, a survivor of the town's earliest years. (If you find yourself in deep conversation with the wooden Indian at the end of the bar, it's time to drop to a lower altitude.) We stayed at Bear Creek Cabins, quaint two story cottages with lofts, kitchens, fireplaces, balconies, and covered porches. Best of all, they welcome dogs. This is a great base for exploring the Gila Cliff Dwellings, the rather lively "ghost" town of Mogollon (do not drive the road to this village with a hangover), and the Catwalk through Whitewater Canyon. [$5 deposit per pet, rates beginning at $79-$89 depending on the season.] 505/388-4501.
I love to call the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. One spring I phoned to find out if there was snow on the ground and the woman who answered said, "I'm not the weather bureau," and hung up. Another time I called to see if there were any realtors that handled short-term rentals in the area. The woman who answered said, "No," and hung up. I find this lack of booster fever refreshing.
The last time we were there a couple of years ago, we stayed at the Plaza Hotel, whose staff at the time must have learned their hospitality skills at a chamber seminar. Despite our frosty welcome (they sounded much friendlier when I called them this week), we had a fine room in this restored 1880s hotel overlooking the town square and a cold beer in the historic bar. Rates run from $59-$110 a night. 505/425-3591.
Las Vegas, New Mexico boasts more than 900 buildings in the National Historic Registry, most of which were preserved by poverty after the railroad ceased to be the lifeline in the southwest. Five miles outside town is the opulent landmark of Las Vegas' boom days, Montezuma's Castle. This former hotel, built in 1884, is now vacant, but once hosted the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Emperor Hirohito of Japan. The hot springs they probably soaked in are still opened to the public. Follow the signs along the highway.
You can also explore the Santa Fe National Forest and Pecos Wilderness from Las Vegas, as well as my favorite spot in the entire state -- The Salman Raspberry Ranch, 25 miles north in La Cueva. In season, this place is a celebration not only of all things raspberry -- ice cream, pints and pints of the fresh-picked berries, raspberry slushes, raspberry everything -- but also of native flora. The flower gardens that meander through the adobe ruins and restored buildings of the old La Cueva mill are almost beautiful enough to make me renounce my Texas Citizenship for good. -- S.B.