"Music is music and we spread a wide net," said Ralph Farris, violist with ETHEL, the Julliard-trained string quartet which is returning to Dominican Saturday, Jan.

The phrase means "a renewed state of being, attained through experiences found only in Taos, New Mexico," according to tourism officials in the town, which is launching a contest with a $1,000 prize and a $25 gas card.

The Rocky Mountains burst out of the short grass prairies of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado with a special beauty that is part of the DNA of its residents and former residents.

As a journalist focusing on New Mexico business, it's always interesting for me to see what filters out of the state to national news outlets.

The high desert light of Taos, New Mexico and Santa Fe have attracted an astonishing mix of interesting people to the spare, open spaces washed with color and wild skies at any season of the year.