Arrival to New Mexico

My recent adventures take me to the SouthWest, a region of the United States I have longed to visit for a very long time. The town I am in is Columbus, New Mexico, a tiny border town about one hour West of El Paso. I am here to help with production on a feature length documentary film on life in these two towns that share an international border in common. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Nevada on my drive into Columbus from El Paso. Rock art lined the two-lane highway. A vastness spread as far as the eye can see. I was warned that if you blink you may miss the town. But, as the town came into view, it seemed much larger than everyone had said. Clearly, this was an oasis-like vision on the part of a weary traveler. Because, once inside the village, I realize that this town isn’t nearly what it seemed from a distance. It does have a ghost town-ish quality to it and I can see why the town made a listing on ghosttowns.com. A few old buildings from the 1900’s mixed in with dilapidated trailers and a few other more modern buildings make up this little village. It is not too unlike Gerlach, Nevada, although a bit more spread out. It has the usual desert small town amenities like a General Store, a gas station, a very large bar, two restaurants that close extremely early on Sat night and a church. There is a small theatre here called the Tumbleweed Theatre. How appropiate! The census stats record a population of approx. 1,700. But, locals say there are more like 500 people living here. We are staying with the Mayor and Judge of the town in their house, which is converted into a very charming B&B. For breakfast each morning we get a different version of huevos a la Mexicana, which are all divine! The mayor is also a local real estate agent and notary public. Her husband, as well as being the town judge, is assistant fire chief, buys and sells cars and sells real estate.

On the first night here, we went into Mexico for dinner, which is about three miles away. The border crossing in Columbus is the only 24-hour crossing along the whole U.S.-Mexico border. After a short drive to the crossing, we parked on the U.S. side and walked into Mexico. Immediately upon passing the crossing, you can feel the vast differences between these neighboring towns. Palomas, Mexico is a much more lively and bustling town. Cars filled the streets, some with bumping music. People crowded the sidewalks. A ghost town Palomas is not. The smell of grilled onions and peppers meshed with the diesel-fumed air. Bacon-wrapped hot dogs could be seen grilling on nearly every corner. Yum! We finally found the restaurant that was recommended to us and I think we were all glad we did. From grilled chicken to bull meat sandwiches to fresh guacamole and salsa, our meal was fantastic.


The red peppers are hung to keep away evil spirits. I love the pretty welcome sign on the jail.