i'm not one for traditions, but if i stay in ABQ, the Hatch Chile Festival might become one. this was my second time making the pilgrimage to the green chile capital of the world, and i ended up repeating many of the things i did last year: picked out a new ristra to hang from my door (upper left pic); bought a rusa (squirt lemon-lime soda + chamoy + red chile powder + salt + orange slices) from a woman who remembered me from last year (!!?!); and took home half a sack of roasted green chile peppers (this year we were prepared + brought a cooler).
bonus: found this spray-painted on a wall outside of a bar in las cruces
