Ice Fishing Tips & Tricks from Matt Pelletier of Fish Enchantment

Winter has arrived in New Mexico and thick sheets of ice have formed on many lakes providing anglers with an opportunity to keep fishing in a whole new way.

Ice fishing is a sure fire cure for the winter blues and when properly done can be fun and fulfilling too.

And if there’s one rule to ice fishing it’s that there's no such thing as being over dressed.

To enjoy an ice fishing expedition one need only follow these simple tips and tricks.

Wear layers so you’re always ready for the worst but can peel off clothes as weather permits.

Some days you could start out looking like the kid in "A Christmas Story", bundled up with so many layers you could hardly move. But by the end the day you might be wearing a short sleeved shirt and heavy layers of sunscreen!

A typical ice fishing outfit might include a layer of thermal underwear underneath a set of sweat pants and sweatshirt. Top that off with heavy, waterproof, pants and jacket.

To protect your cheeks and nose from the elements wear a thin balaclava over your face.

A fur hat with ear flaps or a thick knit cap will come in handy as will a good pair of thick, warm, gloves.

If you lack this kind of clothing shop the snow-boarding section of a sporting goods store.

Make sure you wear a warm pair of waterproof boots, preferably without laces, they tend to freeze up when wet and are a real pain to untie.

You’ll only need one pair of breathable socks if you have sufficiently warm boots. Too many socks and your feet will sweat which will eventually result in cold feet and a miserable angler.

Next you'll need a pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes from the bright conditions.

Optics with fog inserts or goggles are best for blocking wind and keeping your lenses from fogging.

Also bring a pair of hand warmers, they also double as a great way to ensure the wax worms in your pocket don't freeze!

Before going out on the ice one should obtain the following safety equipment.

Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a Hypothermia expert at the University of Manitoba in Canada, teamed up with the Discovery Channel to create instructional videos posted on YouTube that show how to get out of the water if you fall through the ice.

Watch “Survival in the Ice – Part 1” on YouTube before you head out on your first trip.

It’s even wiser to buy or build a pair of safety spikes that can be carried with you and used to stab into the ice and pull yourself out if you do fall through.

Even something as simple as a couple of sharpened screwdrivers hanging from a string dangling around the neck will do the trick.

Always carry a long length of good rope with you too when out on the ice. Tie a loop on one end large enough for someone to slide over their head and arm so you can use it to pull them out.

These simple tools and some knowledge can save your life.

Another situation that presents itself during ice fishing is the potential for a bad slip and fall.

Alleviate this possibility by getting a pair of ice cleats that slip over your boots.

They’ll make a huge difference when fishing on slick ice.

If you find yourself in a situation where you need them and are without, stretch an extra pair of socks over your boots to gain some extra grip.

You’ll also need an auger of some sort so you can drill a hole through the ice to fish through.

Some people will use a battery operated power drill with a long, fluted, wood drill bit to start a hole

Some bait and tackle shops at lakes like Eagle Nest rent ice augers and other equipment for ice anglers to use.

A hand auger will work for thinner ice but once you start fishing through 20" of ice you’ll quickly want to upgrade to a motor driven auger.

As for finding the fish; it helps if you know the structure of the lake you are fishing in advance.

Fish eat all winter long, finding them can take one hole or may require making “Swiss Cheese” of the lake.

Move around a lot, if you don’t get a bite within twenty minutes; drill more holes!

Once a hole had been drilled you'll need an ice scoop to clean out the slush and keep it clear. Plastic scoops work fine but a metal scoop will last forever.

For fishing gear a regular spinning rod will work but you can get a short ice rod combo for under $30.

These 18 to 30-inch long rods allow you to stay close to the hole so you can see what you’re doing.

You’ll want something to sit upon and a five gallon bucket with a swivel lid for a seat is ideal.

These buckets hold plenty of gear inside and with the addition of one of those bucket organizers from the hardware store there’ll be plenty of pockets for stashing tools and gear on the outside.

The next thing you'll need is a means of transporting all your gear across the ice.

There are lightweight sleds that you can buy or build your own from a plastic, concrete mixing bin from the hardware store.

And if the winds are howling you might want to consider getting a portable ice shack.

One great thing about a shack is it blocks the sunlight over your hole allowing you to see further down into the water.

And in clear, shallow, water you'll be able to see the fish and how they’re reacting to your bait and you’ll be able to make react quickly.

It’s a great way to watch as fish take your rig.

As far as fishing tackle goes the lightest line, 2-14 pound test, should cover everything from Perch to Pike.

Use a lighter line when fishing small jigs or bait and heavier line when jigging bigger lures.

You can jig, twitch the lure up and down, with a variety of lures like Kastmasters, Swedish Pimples, Dynamic HD Ice, crappie jigs, and plastic tubes like Gitzits.

You can add a piece of bait to a lure too or just fish it by itself, try a little of both and see what happens.

Live baits like wax worms, meal worms, or night crawlers are worth trying too.

Sometimes fish respond better to plastic synthetic baits so make sure to carry plastic worms, nymphs, and grubs just in case.

A hook setter like The Jawjacker is a great piece of equipment as it will set the hook when the fish bites ensuring it’s hooked even when you’re not standing over the rod at the time.

Okay now that we’ve got the gear covered, it’s time to head out to a lake.

Try Eagle Nest for starters and then follow up on Fish Enchantment’s online fishing forum at http://www.fishenchantment.com/SMF/ for more tips on where and when to go.

At Eagle Nest Lake illegally planted pike are threatening the popular trout fishery and anglers are now required to kill or keep any they catch and catch as many as they can in an attempt to reduce their numbers.

A trout fishery's worst nightmare, Pike.

Always check the ice thickness before going out on the lake and stay away from weak spots like pressure ridges and open water.

Remember you proceed at your own risk every time you step out onto the ice.

If the ice looks really thin, throw a big rock onto the ice. If it doesn’t go through, drill a hole in shallow water to test the thickness of the ice.

Five inches is an accepted safe starting point for many in the angling community while the state of New Mexico uses nine inches.

For more information on ice fishing check out the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/index.html for plenty of helpful tips.

Now get out there and catch some fish, ice fishing is a great experience if you’re prepared.

Vaughn, New Mexico -A Long, Strange Trip Indeed

As the last rays of the sun disappeared over the snow-covered horizon a wave of dread washed over me.

A lumbering snowplow had just passed us, headed south on US 285 with a long line of vehicles crawling behind it.

We should have turned back then but every chance to cross the snowed over median looked like a trap.

And in the descending darkness the windblown snow swept across the highway, obliterating the slim ribbon of pavement, replacing it with a sea of grey.

We kept crawling along in our little station wagon, the front wheel drive and new tires maintaining a firm grip.

The Suzuki’s mighty defroster hummed away while a new set of wiper blades kept the windshield clean.

It wasn’t the car I was worried about, it was the other drivers as we passed one forsaken vehicle after another, off the road, in the ditch or buried in the median.

Their emergency blinkers marked a path through the darkness and then the interior of our car began to fill with a blinding light.

A low-slung pickup sporting fat tires and bright fog lights was bearing down on us from behind.

I turned the hazard lights on and got as far over to the right as I dared.

The pickup rode up on my tail, its piercing lights flooding the interior and then they suddenly disappeared as the vehicle veered sharply off towards the median.

I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the truck askew of the roadway, its headlights rapidly fading in the darkness.

There was no stopping to help as it was all I could do to just keep rolling.

A chained up and opportunistic tow truck driver would be making the rounds and plenty of money off this stretch of road all night anyhow.

I thought then of my oldest brother, Eric, the one who taught me how to drive in the snow when we were growing up back east just north of Boston.

I fondly remember doing “donuts” in the snow packed parking lot of Zayre’s in his old Rambler after a good snow storm.

I learned then that just a slight tap of the brakes and a twist of the wheel would send us spinning out of control and howling with glee.

I guess the pickup driver behind me didn’t.

We tentatively motored on and were soon buoyed by the sight of a dim halo of lights far off in the distance above what had to be the town of Vaughn.

A remote railroad hub, the community of about 500 sits out on the lonely, windswept plains of New Mexico providing a haven for road weary truckers, isolated ranchers and, when the weather sours, stranded travelers.

Running due south across the state this two lane, separated highway functions as the state’s primary route for the shipment of low-level radioactive waste to an underground, desert, repository outside of the town of Carlsbad known as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

That’s where we were we had headed on Christmas day, my wife and I, to Carlsbad and “Christmas on the Pecos”.

It’s a southeast New Mexico tradition where homeowners on the Pecos River put up elaborate Christmas light displays for visitors to enjoy.

We had a blast!

The weather had cleared and we made a visit to the Carlsbad Caverns that morning and were now heading back, much later than we planned.

The severe snow storm that had just ripped through our state was at our backs as we covered a couple of hundred miles of open road that sunny afternoon

Just two days earlier the same storm had dumped record amounts of snow on the plains and high desert towns of Vaughn, Roswell, Artesia and Carlsbad, bringing them a white Christmas.

The storm had stalled down there and we were forced to leave a day later than planned to give it time to clear out.

As I was packing the wagon to go I was thinking of the Texas family that had been trapped by the same storm days earlier on a rural northern New Mexico road as they tried to make their way to a ski resort.

The family spent two days buried under deep snow drifts snow in their GMC Yukon and almost suffocated to death.

They weighed heavily on my mind as I loaded up several sleeping bags, pillows, a couple of jugs of water, a small propane heater, a pint of whiskey, some trail bars and playing cards to our travel gear.

But as we rolled out of Carlsbad and crossed a hundred miles of cleared blacktop under sunny skies the day of our return I had no idea we were going to need them.

We skated into Vaughn that night atop a sheet of ice with the wind howling and the snow flying.

It was a surreal scene as we passed dozens of idling tractor trailer rigs crowded into a convenience store parking lot, the blowing snow illuminated by the lone street light and the big rigs belching smoke.

Up on a slight hill across the street the lights of a two story hotel and its adjacent 24-hour diner beckoned.

We pulled into the driveway only to encounter a deep snow drift and several abandoned vehicles blocking the way.

But there was an opening and we went for it, cresting the top of the drive with just enough momentum left to slide to a stop under a big pine tree.

We were parked off to the side of a circular driveway in front of the hotel, out of the way and on level ground.

“I think we’ll be staying here for the night,” I said to Wren who nodded in agreement.

But it turned out there wasn’t any room at the inn; they were booked solid with most of the rooms reserved for the railroad workers they catered to.

And none of the other motels in town we called had any vacancies either.

We had arrived too late, the little town and its limited number of hotel rooms was flooded with stranded travelers.

We talked to the driver of a shuttle van for the railroad crews in the parking lot about our options and she suggested if we wanted to chance it we’d better get going before the state police closed the highway.

We talked it over and agreed there was no way we were going to take a chance on making it another 150 miles under these conditions.

We were just going to have to suck it up and ride out the night in our car.

In the crowded diner we heard how the weather was fine that day until the sun set.

Then the melted snow on the roads froze up as the fierce plains winds kicked in, stirring up the snow and sending it adrift.

We wondered about the surly mood of the townspeople too and discovered they had been dealing with stranded travelers for days now and were now low on supplies and patience.

We went back out to the car and prepared to settle in for the night.

Wren wiggled into her bag, reclined her seat and was asleep in no time.

I sat sipping a beer and reading my novel.

The windows soon windows misted over from our breath and I was reduced to just listening to what was going on outside.

The shuttle van came and went every now and then, its lights barely visible through the fogged up window.

A front end loader arrived at one point to clear the lot, its back up beeper chiming while the engine roared with each scoop of the bucket.

I took a walk at one point passing the diner and noting the clock inside showed it was 3:30 in the morning.

It was eerily quiet now that the wind had died.

I looked down the hill at the convenience store parking lot and saw one of the last of the tractor trailers quietly leaving.

I would wait for the dawn, dropping off to sleep in the front seat, my feet warm in a pair of old sheepskin booties and a thick pair of wool socks, a sleeping bag draped over my head.

The sun rose with a vengeance, raising our hopes and dashing our fears.

A beer truck was unloading at the convenience store, the driver apparently unfazed by the road conditions.

He said the highway was a sheet of ice for about ten miles out of town and then turned to clear sailing all the way.

Wren used the prepaid, emergency cell phone we carried to notified work she was going to be late and we took off to cover the last hundred and fifty, uneventful, miles of our trip.

In retrospect we should have known as we headed south into Vaughn that Christmas day that this was going to be one of those trips.

As we had neared the town, the skies clouded over, the road became slick and we saw giant snow banks lining the shoulders.

Then we came across a heavily bundled person stoically riding a scooter down the lonesome highway, miles from anywhere, just putting along, little rings of smoke blowing out the tailpipe.

We just looked at each other and kept on going and by the time we’d passed through town the road and the skies soon cleared as did that eerie feeling.

Days later I would overhear my wife talking on the phone.

She was telling her sister that everyone should have to spend a night sleeping in their car during a snow storm in a lonely, little, town like Vaughn.

After all isn’t that what living in New Mexico is really all about?

Snow Means Sledding in Northern New Mexico

Jeff Roybal, 18, of Santa Fe takes a run at Hyde Memorial State Park during a December 2011 outing. 

After a recent wave of bountiful snowstorms swept through northern New Mexico the sledding season is in full swing and just in time for the holidays.

“We’ve seen a lot of snow up here lately and the sledding has been great,” says Joe Cristopherson, Superintendent of Hyde Memorial State Park in the mountains just above Santa Fe.

The park boasts a couple of 100-yard sledding runs where adults and kids armed with plastic saucers, toboggans or rubber inner tubes can have a ball whisking down the hill.

No metal sleds or dogs are allowed on the sledding runs for obvious safety reasons, Cristopherson says.

A $5 day use fee is required per vehicle while the purchase of a $40 annual pass will provide unlimited visitation to any and all state parks.

Parents using the sledding run are asked to supervise children and encourage them to wait for others to complete their runs before starting down themselves.

Sledding can be accomplished easily with as little as a stout piece of cardboard but others may want to stop in at Cottam’s Ski Shop located inside the state park’s historic lodge and pick up a plastic saucer or toboggan.

Both cost around $20 and visitors to the sledding hill will also find hot chocolate and other refreshments available inside too, says Lyndsay Cottam.

The lodge features an outdoor patio on the backside where folks can relax and watch sledders coming down the hill.

And while store-bought sleds are convenient, it is the inner tube that reigns supreme amongst serious sledders in New Mexico.

Photo Courtesy of Tube Pro Inc. Makers of Commercial Grade Snow and River Tubes.

Inner tubes provide a slick and bouncy, old school kind of ride, and can’t be beat for bouncing off trees and other people.

“We have them on hand especially for those customers,” says Kris Griffin, manager of Discount Tire next to the Horseman’s Haven on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe.

A rubber inner tube costs from $12 to $20 depending on the size and will provide hours of enjoyment, Griffin says.

And if you’re planning on doing some serious tubing, then there are a couple of spots in northern New Mexico that shouldn’t be missed.

The sledding hill at the Agua Piedra Campground in the Carson National Forest just north of Sipapu Ski Area is, like its brethren at Hyde Park, an old ski run.

One of the first ski areas in the state, the run at Agua Piedra provides cheap thrills in a forested setting on the banks of the Rio Pueblo north of Penasco, says Josie Lopez of the Sipapu Ski Resort.

The store at the ski resort off NM 518 also carries plastic saucers and toboggans as well as groceries and other refreshments, she said.

Sledding is not offered at the ski resort itself.

Those looking for a sunny, gently sloped meadow to sled will find just what they’re looking for on US Hill off NM 518 on the back road to Taos, says Kathy DeLucas, Public Affairs Officer for the Carson National Forest.

This location is a big draw for families because of its gentle nature and great scenery, she says.

Those venturing outside for sledding should expect to work up a sweat while having fun and thus should stayed hydrated, wear appropriate clothing and apply sunscreen too, DeLucas says.

And lastly, those new to the sport should be aware of the inherent rough and tumble nature of the activity and the effect that may have on children.

If You Go: Hyde Memorial State park is located of Hyde Park Rd on the way up to the Santa Fe Ski Area. The Agua Piedra sledding area is located off NM 518 on the road to Mora, just past the Sipapu Ski Resort. Take the highway to Espanola and turn off at NM 76 and follow up to Penasco and then NM 518. US Hill is located off NM 518 also but in the other direction on the road to Taos. An alternate route is following NM 68 out of Espanola, north along the Rio Grande, towards Taos and taking the NM 75 turnoff at Embudo and following to Penasco and on to NM 518.

Hockey & Skating at Los Alamos' Open Air Ice Rink a Real Winter Treat

It’s opening day at Los Alamos’ open-air skating rink and Andy McCown is thrilled to be the only one on the ice during the lunch hour session.

Why?

“Because I’m still a little rusty,” he says as he chops and glides his away around the regulation size rink.

McCown enjoys skating during his noon break from the lab and knows it won’t be long before he has plenty of company at the popular recreational facility operated by Los Alamos County.

“It’s even better on a cold, clear starry night when I bring my wife,” he says. “It can be really romantic.”

The rink at Los Alamos is finally open for the season, delayed by a couple of weeks due to emergency repairs to the flood damaged roadway in front of the complex off West Road.

But now the cool, shady canyon will once again resound with the slap and thunk of hockey pucks careening off the boards or the latest hit music drifting out of the facility’s sound system.

Bethany McBride, 18, of Los Alamos shows off a pair of hockey skates for rent at the recently opened Los Alamos County open air ice rink.

The rink is generally open seven days a week, all day long and well into the evening during the three month skate season, says Dianne Marquez, Recreation Program Manager for Los Alamos County.

“We have lots of public skating and one of the one of the largest youth hockey leagues in the state,” she says.

About 300 kids a year are usually enrolled each year including kids of all ages they play teams from Colorado and Arizona.

The Los Alamos High School varsity hockey team calls the rink home and plays teams from Taos, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Albuquerque.

Adults with some hockey experience and equipment can show up on Friday around noon or on Sunday and Tuesday evenings for pickup games.

Those just interested in just skating round can find plenty of times available on the schedule too.

Andy McCown, 57, a Los Alamos National Lab employee enjoys a skate during his lunch hour on opening day at the Los Alamos County open air ice rink.

There’s plenty of special events too, including an ongoing tradition on Christmas Eve, the Luminaria Skate.

Marquez says farolitos are arranged on the ice around the edge of the rink while colored lights are draped over the glass on top of the boards.

Staff members have found that a hockey puck placed in the bottom of brown paper bag with a small battery operated light works just fine, Marquez says.

Then all other lights at the facility are turned off and Christmas carols are played over the rink’s sound system while visitors enjoy an evening of skating and holiday merriment.

“It makes for a very special evening,” she says.

Hot chocolate and other beverages are included with admission, she noted.

The Los Alamos rink has been in operation since the 1940s when members of the former boys’ school there dammed up the creek to form an ice skating pond in the canyon.

Over the years the all-volunteer Los Alamos Skating Association made improvements, added buildings and other equipment including one of the original Zamboni ice grooming machines.

The machines invented by Frank Zamboni were designed to scrape used ice clean and then lay down a new layer of water to freeze and form a clean sheet of ice for skating.

The early model obtained by the skating association was mounted on a World War II-era Jeep and provided excellent service until a 1973 fire in its garage left it damaged.

Zamboni # 4 after the fire at the Los Alamos ice rink. Photo courtesy of the Zamboni  Co.

The association wrote to the Zamboni Company inquiring about repair parts for the aging contraption and heard back from the company that the association was in possession of one of the earliest machines the company had ever built.

It turned out that the Zamboni at Los Alamos was only the fourth unit the company had turned out, way back in 1952, and it had toured with the Ice Capades before being replaced by a newer model, according to information about the unit provided by Paula Cooney, Brand Manager for Zamboni of Paramount, Calif.

Zamboni # 4 had ended up in the hands of an Albuquerque ice skating rink operator who would later sell it to the skating association of Los Alamos in 1960.

At the time the Albuquerque rink offered the Zamboni and other equipment to the association for just $1,500 but required all of it to be hauled off within a week’s time.

So a caravan of association members drove down off the hill in their pickups to Albuquerque where they loaded up the gear and then headed home at a snail’s pace with the lumbering Zamboni sandwiched between them.

Once the Zamboni Company discovered this early model, they asked to swap for it and then had it restored. It now rests on display at the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn.

Zamboni # 4 restored to its original condition after the fire at Los Alamos ice rink in 1973

In the meantime the Los Alamos rink was taken over by the county in the mid-1980s and has since traded in the swapped model for a newer one, Marquez says.

In 2002 the county made improvements to the rink by putting in a refrigeration system which has vastly improved ice conditions, Marquez says.

The rink has skate rentals and a snack bar, offers skating lessons for youths and adults and rents the ice for parties or other special occasions.

For more information see the county’s website at http://www.losalamosnm.us.

If You Go: From Santa Fe take US 84/285 North to the Los Alamos turnoff at Pojoaque and take NM 502 to Los Alamos. Follow Trinity Drive through town to just past the hospital, turn left onto Diamond Drive and then make a quick right onto to West Rd.

West Rd. leads down to Los Alamos Canyon where the county's open air, ice rink is located. 

Wildlife Display and More at CWW Feed Store

They were once a staple of many small towns across New Mexico, local feed and supply stores where one could find a decent pair of gloves, all sorts of hardware and some hay for your horse.

These days it’s a lot easier to find one of those dollar stores than an old fashioned mercantile, but there’s a still a few out there and even one that makes stopping by an exciting adventure.

Those who take the time to visit the CWW Feed Store and More in San Ysidro will find menacing mountain lions, snarling black bears and sneaky coyotes among the amazing array of mounted wildlife on display there.

There’s also the big wide head of a water buffalo looking down from a wall, a slinky leopard ready to pounce and the great curved horn of a rhino on exhibit at the busy store.

Store owner Connie Collis says the mounts are her late husband’s trophies from hunts all around the United States, Mexico and even Africa.

“It’s a great attraction,” Collis says of the wildlife display that spans two rooms inside the store. “But it’s also a tribute to him.”

Collis lost her husband Dave, 66, to a stroke last December.

“And this store, this community, has turned out to be my salvation,” she says. “We have made so many friends here over the years.”

Located off US 550 west of Bernalillo at the turn off to Jemez Springs, the store carries a unique line of cowboy boots, biker t-shirts, western wear and cowboy hats.

And of course, good gloves.

There’s an aisle featuring nothing but racks upon racks of nuts, bolts, screws, nails, hard to find mobile home parts, springs, cotter pins and other hardware.

Then there is the assortment of colored lariats, beautifully designed chaps, riding gear and even armored vests and protective helmets for bull riders.

“My heart is with the horses,” Collis says.

That’s where the riding arena, horse stalls and many animals boarded on the property come in.

And when she’s not at the store she can be found running the stables and riding program at Santa Ana Pueblo’s Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Bernalillo.

Born and raised on a small farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley along with her two brothers, Mike and Andy, Collis says she always knew she’d grow up to be a cowgirl.

Her upbringing included 4-H classes, involvement in FFA (Future Farmers of America) and riding with the Rodeo Club at school.

Her father, Charles Andrews, was a lineman at Sandia National Laboratories while her mother, Willene, worked as a store clerk.

But they also found time to tend a garden, can vegetables and raised goats, sheep and cows on their small farm.

And they kept horses too.

“I was very lucky to have had that kind of upbringing,” Collis says. “And you know my parents worked but they never missed a meeting or any event of ours. They were the greatest.”

Both have since passed on but would probably be proud to see how their daughter has carried on the family’s traditions.

Collis graduated from Rio Grande High School and went on to spend a year attending the Agricultural College at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

But she discovered college just wasn’t what she wanted right then, she was a hands-on kind of gal who wanted to work.

Her first job as a young teenager was at a chinchilla farm where her mother worked.

Collis cleaned stalls and did other chores around the place and liked it.

She always wanted to marry a cowboy, too, so she did that next, after finding a good one.

The couple traveled, worked on some great ranches and had a lot of fun together, she says.

That first husband would then end up working for the Dunigan family on the sprawling Baca Ranch near La Cueva in the Jemez Mountains.

The ranch is now owned by the public and called the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

“It was his idea to open the feed store,” she said of her start in business over 20 years ago.

So Collis put her love of horses and the related culture into her new operation in the tiny community of San Ysidro, an old Spanish settlement on the Jemez River in the heart of Indian country.

“I was ready to settle down then but he wanted to continue with the cowboy life,” she says. “So he moved on and I kept the store.”

That would later prove to be a blessing.

Collis remained single for several years concentrating on her work, expanding the operation to include a horse arena and holding pens.

Then one day the Baca Ranch hunt manager, a man named Dave Collis, stopped by the store to pick up some salt licks.

The two became friends, then dated and would later marry during a hastily arranged ceremony on Ted Turner’s Armendaris Ranch outside of Truth or Consequences.

Dave Collis was guiding a federal judge on a hunt to cull older bulls from the ranch’s bison herd.

“And we got married over that dead buffalo with the judge doing the honors,” she says.

Collis would later go on to work at the Baca Ranch herself as cook during the hunting season from August through November.

“I absolutely loved working up there,” she says of the ranch’s near pristine beauty.

And what did the wealthy clientele enjoy the most for dinner, you might ask?

“White beans and ham, corn bread and banana pudding for dessert,” she says.

Visitors to Collis’ store will find a big, potbellied stove blazing away while the musky scent of leather from hand-tooled saddles and other gear adds to the store’s stimulating aroma.

And with the holidays coming, visitors will find any number of interesting gift ideas amongst the many items stocked on the stores shelves.

Just don’t be alarmed to find a mean old grizzly bear eyeballing you while you’re browsing the aisles.

If You Go: From Santa Fe take I-25 south to Bernalillo and US 550. Follow to the village of San Ysidro and look for the store at the turnoff to Jemez Springs on NM 4.