Publications
Recommended by Lonely Planet 2013
New Mexico Magazine, August 2011 article: “About Time”
New Mexico Magazine, May 2010 article: “Ancient Way Road Trip”
Sunset Magazine, Southwest edition, September 2008 article “Desert Soul”
New Mexico Magazine: January 2008 article: “Earth Friendly Inns”
New Mexico Magazine: February 2003 article: “Comfort Cuisine” (recipes)
Look for us in the “Hidden Southwest Guide Book” where our B&B is listed with the special mark of, “HIDDEN”. As the author states… “This means that you have come upon a place off the beaten tourist track, a spot that will carry you a step closer to the local people and natural environment of the Southwest”.
Other guide book listings include: Pelican’s complete Guide to American Bed and Breakfasts; Lanier’s Complete Guide to Bed & Breakfasts, Inns and Guest Houses.
We enjoyed being recognized in Sunset Magazine’s Travel Section, “Moonscape in New Mexico” in the June 1999 Southwest issue. www.sunsetmagazine.com (click on “Subscriber Access,” then enter JUNE99 in the user name or i.d. box and CM79JA in the password box – use all capital letters). This is a great little article on El Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area with photo of The Bandera Suite bedroom.
Horse, Owner Do Their Part To Keep Highways Clean (Gallup Independent Article)
Once a wild horse, Cimarron de Valiente, now earns his keep by helping his owner pick up trash along the highway.
The 14-year-old gelding follows owner Sheri McWethy while she picks up litter along New Mexico Route 53 just west of the Continental Divide.
Cimarron, carrying one bag for trash and another for recycling items, and McWethy try to stay ahead of the debris left along the scenic and historic road once known as the “Ancient Way Trail.”
By participating in the “Adopt a Highway Litter Control Program,” this soft-spoken conservationist and her horse make Earth Day a year-round event. They keep two miles of roadway clean that passes by McWethy’s Cimarron Rose Bed and Breakfast.
One of eight Earth Day projects in the state last April, the “Park to Park Highway 53 Clean Up” was organized by McWethy to get rid of trash between El Malpais National Monument and El Morro National Monument. For one day, volunteers picked up trash along a stretch of highway that passes by a volcanic crater, the two national monuments, and crosses over the Continental Divide.
Always mindful of the freedom Cimarron once experienced while running with the wild herd in Washington state, McWethy is very cautious about using Cimarron along the busy highway where broken glass has the potential of cutting his feet.
Taking direction from McWethy while cars and pickups pass by at 55 mph, Cimarron has come a long way from running free and following the “lead mare” of a wild band.
“Because of the heavy semi traffic, I had to refrain from using Cimarron for a while,” McWethy said. “However, cautionary signs which were made for our first Earth Day highway cleanup will now warn motorists of our presence along the road.”
She added, “Cimarron prefers hauling trash and broken signs out of the BLM backcountry.
“Each Christmas, Cimarron helps drag cut Christmas trees through the snow to the house for our guests to enjoy.”
While walking McWethy keeps her eyes open for migratory birds including a broad-tailed hummingbird, which arrived April 13.
“I often wonder if he is the one I held in my hands, keeping him warm and safe for several minutes while he recovered from a collision into a window last summer,” she said.
Hummingbirds are one of more than 50 species that depend on the diversity of native vegetation included in the landscaping around the bed and breakfast.
Having assisted in bird surveys, and raptor nest site inventories with the National Park Service and National Forest Service, McWethy continues to update her personal bird list.
McWethy’s interest in animals, the outdoors, and the natural cycles of life developed as a child and led to a decision to become a veterinary technician.
Future projects include upgrading a “little pristine picnic area” within the two miles of highway adopted by McWethy. The four covered picnic tables, at the base of an ancient cinder cone and sheltered by ponderosa pine, provide a quiet reprieve for weary travelers and quiet family picnics.
With the cooperation and financial support of the state highway department and community volunteers, McWethy plans to plant a small native plant garden, including a plaque in memory of a neighbor and conservationist, S. M. Aragon.
