Fiesta in Truth or Consequences—A Desert Rain

This weekend was Fiesta weekend in Truth or Consequences.

It doesn't take much rain to make the desert bloom, and it doesn't take much celebration to make this small town blossom.

Here Friday and gone Monday

And — like a desert storm— it is quickly over.

The Ferris Wheel and other rides that were here Friday are gone Monday along with the vendors, make shift stages, hot dog stands, curly fries, and more. All gone.

Fiesta came and we danced. It's over and we smile.

Town pride shows in the parade that kicks things off.

I met with friends to watch the parade from a window overlooking Broadway. It took almost an hour for the whole assemblage to pass by.

Almost every vehicle, from ancient tractors to the town's totally solar-powered bus— Solar Buzz— seemed to be in it along with folks on horseback, on floats, in bands. It was a parade. Civic Pride made manifest. There were, truthfully, more people in the parade than watching it from the sidewalks. That's because everybody who was anybody was in it.

Even before the parade there was an outdoor "cowboy breakfast"  in the parking lot set aside for the rides and music to follow. Over at Elephant Butte Lake there was a make-shift boat race—paddles only.

The local fire department had its own race. For a small fee you could buy a plastic duck with a number inside. The ducks were then dumped into the Rio Grande upstream. The first duck to cross the finish line won, and the winner got a 32-inch flat screen TV.

The local Lions Club had its own fund-raiser. Again for a few bucks you get your chance to throw three consecutive rolls of toilet paper through three toilet seats suspended about 10 feet away. The prize? A stuffed toy lion, of course.

And there were parties and cookouts and picnics everywhere punctuated by the music that started early and ended late on stages at both ends of town.

In the middle of town, Dr. Bob's club on Broadway opened its doors on Saturday and set up a circle of drums for any and all to play. Some brought their own drums. The drumming started in the afternoon and  continued into the night. The rhythms drew dancers. Some dancers became drummers, some drummers became dancers. Others watched or wandered in and out.

On hoof.

On horse.

A midway  blooms overnight ...

... with all kinds of rides.

A full moon looks down on the festivities.

Curly Fries for the hungry.

Truth or Consequences. A good place to visit. Not a bad place to live.