Current Adventures
First Culinary Trip to Copper Canyon… Delicious!
The first ever culinary trip to the Copper Canyon area went off a few weeks ago and was a huge success. We made our first stop at Don Cuco sotol near Janos and got the royal tour, a grand lunch around the table in the family hacienda, and had the chance to pick up some [...]
Full StoryRiding the Gondola in Copper Canyon
They are almost ready to open the new gondola (tirolesa) near Piedra Volada in the Divisadero area in Copper Canyon. I was there with our first “Blue Corn Express” culinary trip last week and we got a sneak preview. It is not actually open but they are taking school groups and odds and ends of [...]
Full StoryIts not groups…its groupitos
Group size? <12: And its not a trip…its an experience. Like the experience this grupito had on a recent train trip to Copper Canyon. We watched as this Tarahumara lady wove a basket and chattered quietly to he son in the Indian dialect in the tiny town of Areponápuchi. This is not an escorted bus [...]
Full StoryRecommended books on Copper Canyon
There is just a short list of books I recommend people read before going to Copper Canyon…or just as an introduction to this great place: 1. “In the Sierra Madre”, Jeff Biggers – This one is a very careful account of his year in the village of Cusásare. Food, customs, language, history…very rich. <here on [...]
Full StoryWaterfalls Like Yosemite in Copper Canyon Mexico
There are many spectacular sights in the Copper Canyon area of Mexico. There are towering rocks, deep ravives, verdant forests, and gushing rivers. But one of the most impressive of sights there are the waterfalls. And the one I like – especially in late summer and fall (rainy season and just after) is the cascada [...]
Full StorySunrise over the majestic Copper Canyon
This happens every day of the year…and usually it is spectacular. The same thing happens at that other canyon- the one in Arizona. Thing is here there is no crowd. Just a few alert tourists and and perhaps a Tarahumara Indian will creep by silently. On our Copper Canyon train trips I always offer to [...]
Full StoryCelso at Don Cuco Sotol
Celso Jaquez and his family are the 4th generation at their hacianda near Janos (north of Copper Canyon) to be distilling sotol under the name “Don Cuco“. Most people are not familiar with sotol, but it is truly THE drink of Chihuahua, being made from the sotol plants that grow in this high desert. As [...]
Full StoryWhere do you think “Aaaaah, Chihuahua!” came from…New Jersey?
I tell people, “Get ready to “Aaaah” alot.” Yet the experience there is almost always magically and hugely beyond what people expect or have ever experienced before. They say Copper Canyon is the greatest place the world has never heard of…so true! I tell people, “Get ready to laugh alot.” The kids are a riot. [...]
Full StoryThe vast Rancho Uno near Janos, Mexico
This place is amazing…perhaps mostly because of its vast openness. Rancho Uno is a 40,000 acre ranch operated by The Nature Conservancy. The vastness and quiet of this place is breathtaking. There are bison, birds, prairie dogs, plants of all kinds, and all of it encircled in the distance by purple mountains. The acquisition of [...]
Full StoryThe kind of people who love the Copper Canyon train.
There are certain qualities in the people who love the Copper Canyon and its train experience…it is not for everyone. Here are some qualities of people I have noticed who truly are enriched by it: 1. People who want to pave their own road with an intelligent, personal guide who knows and loves the place. They [...]
Full Story
