The City of Elephant Butte NM got its name because of a butte there that looks like an elephant - or so they say! It was a beautiful state park that the Rio Grande runs through. At the right angle, the butte does kinda look like an elephant!
This is the elaborate Elephant Butte Dam.
Ok, so it does look a little like an elephant.
The reservoir is very pretty. Bodies of water such as this are very rare in this area.
To get a perspective of how big elephant butte is, in the picture above, look at the little boat in the water to the left. Now, look at that boat in the picture below. The butte is HUGE.
Geronimo came through this area.
I have crossed the Rio Grand many times on this trip.
Truth or Consequences is a spa city in New Mexico; I passed through it leaving Elephant Butte State Park. Originally named Hot Springs, the city changed its name to Truth or Consequences, after a popular NBC radio program. In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show Truth or Consequences, announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show. Hot Springs won the honor. Edwards visited the town during the first weekend of May for the next fifty years. This event was called "Fiesta" and included a beauty contest, a parade, and a stage show. The city still celebrates Fiesta each year on the first weekend of May.
Driving through this area of New Mexico is so pretty!
