T or C

In 1950, Ralph Edwards, host of the game show Truth or Consequences, promised to air his show in any town that renamed itself after the program. For the residents of Hot Springs, New Mexico this was an offer not to be missed. They made the change and Ralph Edwards kept his promise with a broadcast and even visited the city every year until his death. With a name like Truth or Consequences, Ralph Edwards isn’t alone in wanting to visit.

Leaving Texas behind, our desert trek continued northward back into New Mexico. From Las Cruces we muscled our way over the Organ Mountains and took in the sky, sand, and scrub brush that lay before us. Here in the Tularosa Basin, a wide swath of desert walled in by the Organs to the west and the Sacramento Mountains to the east, lies the largest military installation in the country: White Sands Missile Range. Our destination was not military, but what lay within the complex. Not content with visiting two national parks the previous day and lured with the promise of dune sledding, we drove to White Sands National Monument.

Eager to get to the sand, we quickly absorbed the information at the visitor center, bought a sled and some sled wax, and drove our red auto into the white dunes. The white was icy against the blue of the sky. Drifts of sand piled up along the road, the work of plows fighting against wind and time. Formed by gypsum, the dunes are pure white and cover 275 square miles of desert. Because of the ever changing nature of the dunes, some travel several feet a year, “stay on the trail” isn’t a rule. Whatever foot prints or marks you leave will soon disappear anyway. We parked, grabbed our sled, and renounced 15 years of life. The sun was warm and I could feel my skin getting a tad burned, an unseasonable feeling for a Northwest boy. We tumbled down the dunes, sand finding its way into our pockets and ears. We trudged back up, our bare feet sliding out from under us, the elusive sand giving no purchase.

The pureness of the landscape is stunning. Clean, gentle, gliding along the land. And forever forgiving. No past, just the present, the future unknown.

We arrived in Truth or Consequences and checked into the Riverbend Hot Springs Resort. Don’t let the resort part confuse you, it’s a collection of divided mobile homes. T or C is a humble town, home to more than a few aging hippies, cowboys, construction workers, and artists. It seems to say “come as you are.” Not demanding it, but gently persuading with a warm, calm voice full of life. We walked into the office of our lodging and found a couple of New York retirees manning the desk along with Minnow, a cat certified in the art of relaxation. The mobile homes surround four small pools fed by a 107 degree spring along the banks of the Rio Grande. Taking a note from Minnow, we designed our own curriculum for leisure: soak, eat, soak, sleep, soak.