New Mexico is a fantastic place for a weird western series. There is no shortage of legends, lost treasure, ghosts, ghost towns, and haunted places. In addition, the Land of Enchantment is home to a glorious white desert, otherworldly caverns, an active volcanic caldera, lava tubes, an ice cave, black lava flows, fossil beds, wetlands, malpaís, the largest Cottonwood forest in the world, snowy mountain peaks, and alpine lakes, to name a few amazing landscapes.
If you're familiar with New Mexico, you may have recognized a few places in Midnight Agency, Season Two: The Soul-Stealers. But I thought it would be fun to explain what inspired some of these post-apocalyptic settings.
Noisy River: Ruidoso is a mountain resort village, drawing in visitors to its skiing, gambling, and horseracing. It was originally named Dowlins Mill after a prominent grist mill owner (there's a longer story there), but when a Post Office was established in 1877, the village took the name of a stream that weaves through the city, the Rio Ruidoso ("Noisy River" in Spanish). In a post-apocalyptic weird west, Noisy River is a much better name, so the team travels to Noisy River to hunt down a brujo that is terrorizing the small town. They also meet the People of the Mountain, based loosely upon the awesome Mescalero Apache whose tribal land surrounds the area.
Plan your trip: https://www.discoverruidoso.com
Learn more about the Mescalero Apache: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com
Fun Fact: In early drafts, the town was defended by a large fort that occupied the old racetracks. Although I liked the premise, the book didn't feel "western" enough for me, so I removed the militia elements and focused on the small town instead.
Tres Ritos: Three Rivers Petroglyph Site was originally named for three streams that converge nearby. But it is the ancient petroglyphs, carved by the Jornada Mogollon people, that make it a spectacular place. Described in the book as a holy place, it is there that we get to meet a badass medicine woman named Goyan (more on her in another post).
Trading Post: On the imaginary map of this book, the Trading Post sits where the real-life Three Rivers Trading Post sits today. Crossroads are powerful places, and the Trading Post is protected and defended by a powerful hex. Those who disobey the trader's laws of hospitality will die.
Malpaís: In real life, the malpaís of the Valley of Fires is a buckled blacktop of lava that stretches for many miles across the Tularosa Basin. To the right is a photo I took on a research trip, and you can see how treacherous it would be to venture into. Add to it hordes of petrabeasts, giant sun spiders, and a brujo's hideout and you've got yourself an adventure.
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