New Mexico Legends was the first “chapter” of Legends of America because of my love of the Moreno Valley area of New Mexico.
Spending every summer in the Moreno Valley with my grandparents, I fell in love with the majestic peaks, peaceful silences, and rich history. I vividly remember huddling around the potbelly stove in my grandparents’ old miner’s cabin in Idlewild, watching papa prepare his tackle box on his way to Eagle Nest Lake and grandma cooking breakfast on the cast iron stove.
Grandma was always taking us to see the sites of the area, from Elizabethtown to drinking the cool waters from the log at Clear Creek, watching the construction crews when Angel Fire was being built, and exploring the old Klondike Mine in Idlewild, where my sister (shame on her) carved her name into the wall in 1967. This publication is truly a labor of love and a tribute to my deceased grandparents, Ben and Irene Foster of Stinett, Texas.
A nostalgia buff from birth, grandma perpetuated that interest. I’ve always known that I longed to learn more about the history of this beautiful valley and share my enthusiasm with all of you that are fortunate to live there and visit.
High Country Legends features stories on the Maxwell Land Grant, Clay Allison, Eagle Nest Lake, Elizabethtown, Day Trips, and much more. The content focuses on New Mexico’s rich history and features many Vintage Photographs.
Enjoy the Land of Enchantment!
Kathy R. Weiser-Alexander
Owner/Editor

Thava Irene Foster, my grandma from Stinnett, Texas, sitting in front of our old Idlewild cabin. She was and is the inspiration for Legends of America. – Kathy
New Mexico Flag – The yellow field and red symbol colors are the colors of Spain. First brought to New Mexico by Spanish explorers in 1540. On New Mexico’s flag, we see a red sun with rays stretching out from it. There are four groups of rays with four rays in each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a Native American people called the Zia. The Zia believed that the giver of all good gave them gifts in groups of four. These gifts are:
- The four directions – north, east, south, and west.
- The four seasons – spring, summer, fall, and winter.
- The day – sunrise, noon, evening, and night.
- Life itself – childhood, youth, middle years, and old age.
These are bound by a circle of life and love, without a beginning or end.

The 1830’s San Francisco Church in Golden is one of the most photographed sites along the Turquoise Trail. Photo by Kathy Alexander.

A couple of old trucks in Nara Visa made a bit more colorful with a little enhancement

Old Company House, Madrid, New Mexico by Kathy Alexander.
Categories:
Spanish Missions in New Mexico
Treasure Hunting In New Mexico
Articles:
Acoma Pueblo – Ancient Sky City
Across the Continental Divide on Route 66
Albuquerque – 300 Year Old Duke City
Beale’s Wagon Road From New Mexico to California
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chloride – Center of the Apache Mining District
Cimarron – Wild & Baudy Boomtown
Cline’s Corners – Middle of Nowhere & the Road to Everywhere
Coal Mining Towns of the Vermejo Park Ranch
Comancheros of the Llano Estacado
Eagle Nest Lake – Angler’s Paradise
Idlewild and the Klondike Mine
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
Elizabethtown – Gone But Not Forgotten
El Rancho de los Golondrinas, La Cienga
Endee to San Jon – Another Ghostly Stretch of Route 66
The Fountain Murders: Sites Today
Gallup – Indian Center of the Southwest
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Granada-Fort Union Military Road
Jicarilla – Still Gold in Them Thar Hills
Lake Valley – Silver Mining Heydays
Las Trampas – 18th Century Village
Las Vegas – More Wicked Than Dodge City
The Largest Land Grant in History
Lincoln – Wild Wild West Frozen in Time
Lincoln County War – A Conflict of Greed
Monticello Canyon Ghost Towns – Placita and Monticello
Moriarty to Tijeras on the Salt Missions Trail
Nara Visa – A Picturesque Ghost Town
New Mexico History Begins Civilization in the West
Pecos Valley – Santa Fe Trail & Route 66
Puye Cliff Dwellings – Ancestral Home of the Santa Clara Indians
Rayado – On the Santa Fe Trail
Pre-1937 Alignment of Route 66
The Flood At Santa Fe – A Miracle Legend
Santa Fe Trail – Highway to the Southwest
The Treacherous Raton Pass on the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Rosa – City of Natural Lakes
Shakespeare – Born Again and Again
Steins, New Mexico – A Railroad Ghost Town
Phantom Poker at the St. James
Ghost Hunters at the St. James
Taos – Art, Architecture & History
Taos Pueblo – 1,000 Years of History
The Mountain Song of Taos – or, The Taos Hum
Ranchos de Taos & the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church
Tucumcari or Six-Shooter Siding
Golden, New Mexico Has Seen Better Days
Los Cerrillos – Two Thousand Years of History
Wagon Mound – On the Santa Fe Trail
White Massacre on the Santa Fe Trail
White Oaks – Liveliest Town in the Territory