So much of who we are is where we have been.
William Langewiesche
One thing I love about New Mexico is that all the small businesses help to support each other. So, on the advice & recommendation from Tularosa Winery (last nights Harvest Host) We decided to check out McGinn’s Pistachioland, in Alamogordo N.M., home of the world’s largest Pistachio. It is over 30 feet tall, used over 5 yards of concrete in the making and it took 35 gallons of paint to paint it 😊. It as definitely a tourist thing to do.
Here we learned about the pistachio farming business which we found has a few similarities to pecan farming. However, a couple of interesting facts. Pistachios are not native to America as they come from Central Asia and Iran. The trees planted here are grafted with I believe a mesquite tree. This enables them to survive the climates here. There are actually male and female trees. (So, you need both to grow pistachios). Lastly the red dye used on imported nuts was used to cover the blemishes on them. So, pistachios coming from USA will not have the dye. We sampled pistachios roasted, toasted, candied, seasoned, sugar coated and cocoa coated. We tried them in a brittle and a bark. (For the record no comparison to my Almond bark) They even made a wine that used pistachio; not a combo that I would try again, but heck don’t listen to me I am not a wine connoisseur. 😊
Further up he road, on a whim we stopped at a historical marker along the route. It happened to be about Billy the Kid. We figured since we have been tracking some of his moves through N.M. why not head off our path to the historical town called Lincoln, NM to check out what he did here.
In 1869, just four years after the civil war, the town and the county changed its name for the late president Abraham Lincoln. Some of its historical relevance surrounds the participation of William H Bonnie (Billy the Kid) in the old west conflict in this area. They have tried to keep the town as a historical monument and a living museum with some of the buildings being the original structures that were around during this period.
Apparently, Billy was captured here and held in the Lincoln County Courthouse awaiting his execution. However, on April 28, 1881, Billy made his famous escape, shooting Deputy J.W. Bell on the interior staircase and Deputy Bob Olinger from the northeast window of the second floor. Now you explain to me how a prisoner got a gun! While taking the walking tour through the town, in true Jo and Steve fashion we found a brewery in one of the historical buildings. The Bonita Valley Brewing Company, with dualling pistols in the logo. The owner is a historian and we learned more about this area and Billy the Kid. It pays sometimes to simply take that turn in the road!