Mountain Girl Goes
Welcome to Mountain Girl Goes: a bite-sized history blog that is easily digestible! I primarily focus on Southwest history, but smatter in the occasional food history blog (every 4th post!), and maybe a bit of life as I know it. Be on the look out for the new posts every Friday evening!
Explore the Past
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Provoke, Don’t Preach: Freeman Tilden’s Interpreting Our Heritage
If you love the outdoors, chances are you’ve got a mental list of influential figures. John Muir, who insisted mountains have “rapt, religious consciousness;” Teddy Roosevelt, the “conservation president,” who… Read more ⇢
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Cornbread: It’s Delicious
For centuries, cornbread has shown up on tables around the country in the most unassuming way, and yet always (for my family at least) becomes one of the focal points… Read more ⇢
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Meadows, Missions, and a Massive Gamble: The First Bet on Las Vegas
When I was little, my mom started the genius tradition “Culture Sundays.” These outings usually involved a museum, a historical site, or a place where touching things was usually discouraged.… Read more ⇢
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In Matters Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral: John C. Frémont, the Modern Major-General
Being a history nerd, I’ve always enjoyed “on this day in history” facts. There’s something so fun about realizing on this ordinary date in my life, something world-altering could’ve been… Read more ⇢
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From Aztecs to Abuelitas: The Cozy History of Champurrado
Some drinks are there purely to quench your thirst (cactus juice, anyone?). Others, like champurrado, fall into another category: the drinks that feel like a hug in a cup, tell… Read more ⇢
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Las Posadas: Knocking on Doors for Tradition, Tunes, and Tamales
Every December in the Southwest, as the air becomes crisp and the smell of firewood permeates the evening, the sounds of singing, laughter, and knocking on doors begin to echo… Read more ⇢
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Mule on Toast (Without the Toast): Christmas on the Frontier
With Christmas almost upon us, many families are beginning to dust off their beloved holiday traditions: opening advent calendars, planning menus (that always seem to take 5 trips to the… Read more ⇢
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Trout, Train rides, and Toxic Love: “Leave Her to Heaven” by Ben Ames Williams Has it All!
The first time I read Leave Her to Heaven, it was the summer of 2014. I was eighteen, sitting on the porch of Fish Camp at Philmont (interpreting the summer… Read more ⇢
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Red or Gravy? The Holiday New Mexican State Question
If you’re not from around here, or familiar with this part of the world, there’s a good chance you may have never heard of a classic New Mexican Thanksgiving tradition.… Read more ⇢
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Facts, Feasts, and Firsts: The Oñate Origins of Thanksgiving
Everyone knows that the first Thanksgiving occurred in November of 1621 at Plymouth. Pilgrims plus Wampanoag plus three-day feast equals the official origin story of Americans giving thanks. At least,… Read more ⇢
Mountain Girl Goes 