I decided before I left Ruidoso this trip I really had to see the little village of Tularosa, nicknamed the “City of Roses”, because I kept reading how quaint and pretty it was. I have driven through the tiny hamlet many times from El Paso to Ruidoso, but never really stopped to see what was advertised.
I can honestly say that whoever does public relations for the village is really good. It is advertised as:
“Nestled at the bottom of the Sacramento Mountains, Tularosa is the gateway to Ruidoso and the Mescalero Indian Reservation, home of the Inn of the Mountain Gods. The village lies northeast of White Sands Monument, north of Alamogordo, east of White Sands Missile Range and west of Lincoln National Forest.”
Sounds beautiful doesn’t it?
I know that there is a certain beauty in everything, and I certainly don’t want to offend any of the three thousand folks who live there, but on the cold, dreary day I visited, I just didn’t see the ultimately gorgeous place that the brochures defend.
Instead, I saw tumbleweeds, sad little houses, and the cleverly named Elite Repeat consignment store. Yes, the St. Francis de Paula Church, built in 1865, is as pretty as some I have seen in small, remote places in Europe, and the little winery there, Tularosa Vineyards, is really trying. And maybe on a warm summer day, I could sit at one of the picnic tables there and enjoy a glass of Black Muscat or a taste of their Mission wine, made from the heirloom grapes that were brought to New Mexico more than 370 years ago when the first grapes were introduced to the new world by Franciscan fathers. I’m trying to develop a taste for the New Mexico wines, and they are growing on me.
But back to Tularosa, I really tried to find more to see there, but besides the Tulle Freeze and Coffee and More, which didn’t seem to have much more, I just couldn’t find that much to keep me interested. But, life is all about experiences, and I can add that visit to my list. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the people in this little community, named after the rose-colored reeds growing along the banks of the Rio Tularosa, should nonetheless be proud of the place they call home.