  The most direct route from Houston to Colorado Springs cuts north across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, but anyone who knows us knows any trip within a few hundred miles of New Mexico is a perfect excuse to spend some time in New Mexico. We stayed last night in Tucumcari, where I was born and grew up, with my uncle and his family--my last familial connections to the town that was once my whole universe.
We’d planned on camping at Conchas Lake, but a huge storm rolled in with hail and high winds, so we happily accepted the offer to stay with relatives. This morning, still avoiding the northern turn, we drove west to Santa Rosa in search of breakfast at the delectable Comet Drive Inn, but the Comet eluded us, closed until 11, after mass. South of Santa Rosa by ten miles is a small town that was once the area’s county seat, named Puerto de Luna. Aside from being widely known as Billy the Kid’s favorite hangout, and as one of the oldest settlements in the area (just over 450 years old), Puerto de Luna, and the greater Luna Valley, provide the backdrop for Bless Me, Ultima.
The village is beautiful, the valley’s landscape dramatically reveals it as the road winds alongside the Pecos River. The tall, silver bell tower of Our Lady of Refuge is the first sign of civilization in the rugged, rocky mesas. The mesas play as big a character as anyone in Bless Me, Ultima. I realize when I see them again after too long away that they played a huge roll in my own childhood as well, the llano. 
