It's too easy to let New Mexico off as simply "The Land of Enchantment." It's true the state has magical desert vistas, Rocky Mountain playgrounds and charming adobe communities that predate Columbus' arrival by a few thousand years. But there's an undeniably eclectic and occasionally dark side to the 47th state as well. In Roswell, residents see UFOs with frightening regularity. In Santa Fe, they burn Zozobra, or "Old Man Gloom," at the stake every fall. And Trinity Site, near Alamogordo, is the first spot on the planet where humans detonated an atomic bomb. Considering that New Mexico is essentially a bilingual state, where about one-third of families speak Spanish (some villagers in the northern mountains speak a dialect of 16th-century Spanish), New Mexico often feels like a foreign country. Add the interesting juxtaposition that it's the fifth-largest state (121,589 square miles), but has a population of about 2 million people (about half the population of Los Angeles), making it one of the least densely populated states in the country.
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Christmas is served 365 days a year in New Mexico
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The state has a longer wine-growing history than California
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New Mexicans may openly carry a gun, no permit required, almost anywhere
Quirky and charming, @placeholder sits at 7,000 feet above sea level, making it the highest state capital in the country.