And now for something completely different
So in case anyone is unclear on the concept, I am in New Mexico right now with Heidi's family (mom, dad, sister & nephew). Today we went to the NM State Fair near Albuquerque. Interestingly, the site exists all year round and has permanent buildings (including those for Hispanic Art, Indian Art, and an African-American art/history pavilion). The fair goes on continuously for something like 3 weeks. Today was the perfect day to visit since the weather was sunny and warm but not uncomfortably hot, and since it was a Tuesday most people were at school or work so it wasn't uncomfortably crowded. It also happened to be State Schools Day and Firefighters' Day, which resulted in a lot of short people on field trips in plastic firemen's hats. It's a good thing.

Some highlights:

• Sheep shearing ("Sheep to shawl") and cow milking demonstrations.

• Early morning 4-H competition.

• Remote control NASCAR racing (I was tempted but saved my $4 for fried foods).

• Demonstration of Aztec Indian (yes, from Mexico!) traditional dance.
  

Food.
One thing I am appreciating about New Mexico is that you can get "green chile" (ortega-like, methinks) on just about anything, and any southwest/tex-mex food is offered with a choice of "red or green" (salsa/chile) and no one blinks if you want both (which you can request by saying "Christmas!:)

At the State Fair e had (between the two of us)

• a green chile corn dog (axial slice),
  

• green chiles on a pizza,

• and the 2004 & 2005 blue-ribbon-winning Indian Taco

• (I also had roasted corn on a stick; here is a picture of Heidi's mom enjoying the treat):

However, we accidentally missed the storied chile relleno dog, to my great regret (in fact, when we got the green chile corn dog that's what we thought we were getting). And then we were not even able to take a picture of it when we found it because we felt too foolish and some of us who eat meat were afraid we would be coerced into eating one by some of us who did not eat meat.
- posted by k @ 9:41 PM