HIt’s an amazing fact: Farmington, New Mexico, a city of just 44,000 in the northwestern part of the state, has 58 parks.
To put this in perspective, that’s almost 44 acres per 1,000 residents. The national average is 10.1 acres, according to the agency’s 2018 performance report, produced by the National Parks and Recreation Association. So yes, Farmington loves its outdoors, and no one exemplifies this better than Donna Thatcher. She is the teacher, tireless worker, and one-woman show that makes the Farmington Museum’s Nature Center what it is – a wonderful natural and educational resource for residents and visitors alike.
The center sits on a nature trail that hugs the Animas River and is visited daily by deer, various birds, and resident Canada geese and their goslings (one mother has 13) waddling around as if they own the place.
An eight-mile (eight-mile) path runs along the Animas River, which meanders through Farmington, which has four times the park area of the national urban average. Photo by E’Louise Ondash
The New Mexico sun is intense, and when Thatcher leads us on our way, we’re grateful for the huge, stately poplar trees – about half a millennium old – and breakaway Russian olive trees that provide shade. Thatcher gives us a crash course on the area’s plants, animals and beetles, showing the herb and succulent gardens and recent improvements.
We later learn that this leafy river corridor made of cobblestones and groomed solid gravel stretches for more than 13 km along the Animas. Everyone uses it – hikers, cyclists, horse riders and bird watchers who can watch from well-placed benches. On another walk I come across a handsome snake that meanders over the path to the river. The steady traffic along the way doesn’t seem to bother him and I’m the only one who bothered to take a picture.
Farmington’s history goes back to its first inhabitants 2,000 years ago. Then came the Navajo, Utes, and Jicarilla Apache, followed by the Spanish who settled in eastern San Juan County. Attracted by the confluence of three rivers – the Animas, La Plata, and San Juan – the population began to grow with Mormon settlers and others in the 1870s.
Today the proximity of old homes and amazing natural landscapes draws visitors to Farmington. Using the city as a base, visitors can visit many of the Four Corners area’s attractions. Ship Rock Summit; Four corners monument; and Aztec ruins.
The town of Farmington has its own charm and fun.
There’s Lake Farmington, where families can spend the day for $ 5 a vehicle, playing in the sand and on the giant water toys, renting kayaks, trying paddleboarding, and eating icy treats from the Shiver Shack.
In town, Adrienne Boggs, Education Coordinator of the Farmington Museum, gives tours of the historic city center and pampers visitors with stories from the past. There’s the one about the rich old man and the young single teacher who inherited his house; the divorce that ruled the city’s road network; and the fire in the city center, which was eventually put out with dynamite.
Visit the Hogback Trading Company 15 miles west of Farmington and see Tom Wheeler’s spacious, modern Hogan-shaped store that visitors can visit with the fourth generation trader. Wheeler’s Trading Post features exquisite Native American art – some pieces for sale and others that are part of his collection. Photo by Jerry Ondash
A building, a former drugstore and then a newspaper office, was given new life in 1997 when the Three Rivers Eatery & Brewhouse opened three restaurants, a lounge, and a game room, all run by Jesse Gravelle, who arrived from Columbus, Ohio in 2000.
“I fell in love with Farmington,” he says. “The people here are very friendly and there is so much to do nearby.”
The restaurant has original wooden floors and an elaborate pewter ceiling. Hundreds of pop culture artifacts and antiques cover the walls and tables, including “the largest collection of beer labels and coasters in New Mexico.” (How many? Gravelle wonders too. My guess: thousands, plus even more in the camp.)
Farmington celebrates its roots but also looks ahead.
An extension to the Farmington Museum recently opened a downtown gallery to showcase Navajo art and culture, and there are big plans for a downtown renovation.
Smaller parts of the overall project were in the works, but the financial parts for the big work recently came together “in the perfect storm,” explains Michael Bulloch, project coordinator. The six blocks of downtown are being redesigned with landscaping, seating, murals, and sculptures. A water park is being planned and some are working on creating a system of river paths.
Coming soon: Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Bisti Wilderness. For more photos in and around Farmington, visit www.facebook.com/elouise.ondash. More information is available at https://farmingtonnm.org/.
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