Where: Elephant Butte Lake State Park (near Truth or Consquences, NM)
When:  Thursday, December 30, 2021 to Saturday, January 1, 2022 (two nights).
Cost:  $28 + $8 Transaction Fee for two nights (water and electric only)
Bucket List:  Riverbend Hot Springs
Beer: Truth or Consequences Brewing

Each new year is all about resolutions, and envisioning the choices that we want to make over the next year to improve our lives.   So, the idea of spending New Year’s Eve in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico seemed like an appropriate place to kick off 2022.

How did Truth or Consequences get its name?

If you are like me, you are probably thinking to yourself: “What kind of name is Truth or Consequences?”

The town’s original name was “Hot Springs” because of, duh…all of the hot springs in the area. Then, in 1950, the NBC game show “Truth or Consequences promised to broadcast from the first town that changed its name to the name of the show, and TorC was the lucky winner.   The show’s host, Ralph Edwards, then visited town on the first weekend in may for the next 50 years in an annual event known as the Fiesta that is still celebrated today.

What is TorC?

Because “Truth or Consequences” is sort of a mouthful, “T or C” or “TorC” is an acronym or shorthand for Truth or Consequences.

The TorC Brewery

Of course, the first thing that we wanted to do in TorC was to check out the local brewery and get some food.  Surprisingly, all of the restaurants we could find in the downtown area near the brewery weren’t open on a Thursday afternoon.  So, after settling for some Del Taco on the north side of town, we headed to Truth or Consequences Brewing. 

The brewery had about 12 beers and a couple of ciders on tap. We tried the Pineapple Habanero Sour, Strawberry Wheat, Buckhorn IPA, and Nut Brown Ale.  The brewery is not pretentious at all and feels more like your local bar where blue collar folks like to come after their shift.  The beers what you would expect – they got the job done.   The staff was getting ready for a big New Year’s Eve celebration, and we stopped by for a second time for happy hour on that holiday.  

Riverbend Hot Springs

Given its first moniker, TorC has an abundance of hot springs.   Turns out, my grandfather came to TorC for treatments for a good chunk of his life.  I figured a hot springs soak would probably do us some good as well.  I’m not sure going to a hot springs qualifies as a true “bucket list” item, but because we had never been to one before, I’m going to call it one.

If we were going to share water with some complete strangers, then we wanted it to be sanitary and safe.  Riverbend Hot Springs looked like the most promising.  We booked online just a couple of days before our arrival date — and felt lucky to snag a spot during the busy holiday season. We reserved a one-hour Property Pass for the “common pools” for $35/two people on New Year’s Eve.   “Private Soaks” were available for $50, but because we weren’t planning on getting naked, we figured being with the common folks in the common pools was good enough for us.  The private pools also have a strictly enforced “whisper policy” while the common pools do not.  

We had our choice of about 7-8 different pools to chose from with varying temperatures and different amounts of shade/sunlight.   Most of the pools overlook the Rio Grand River.   We encountered about a dozen other “commoners” (including the band that would be playing at TorC Brewing later that night), and everyone was respectful of each other’s space.  Guests are only supposed to stay in the pools for about 15 minutes at a time, and then stay out for 5 minutes. However, with high temperatures of around 50 °F and 10-15 mph winds, it was too cold to venture out of the pools for too long. Brrr.

RVers are also welcome at Riverbend Hot Springs.  At the time of our visit, the cost was $65 for full hook-ups, and that included access to common pools.    The spaces looked a little tight (15-20′ wide x 50′ long in size), but that may be a good option for some who want to soak and are just passing through town. 

Elephant Butte Lake State Park

Rather than stay in TorC, we chose Elephant Butte Lake State Park for the bargain price of $28 for two nights (water electric only).  We camped at the Lions Beach area (site 84) such that we basically overlooked the lake. The weather was on the chilly side, but we were able to enjoy the beautiful sunrises and take the Jeep down to the lake with the dogs.   The sites each come with their own covered patio area, and are very flat with easy access.   We also saw numerous RV parks and stored watercraft in the area such that the community seems to revolve around the lake during the non-winter seasons.  Even during our winter visit, a majority of the RV sites at the lake were occupied. Of course, only got to experience a small part of the lake on our visit. The lake is HUGE — over 40 miles long with over 200 miles of shoreline!

Concluding Thoughts on Truth or Consequences, NM

From what we could tell, we felt like we hit the highlights in TorC: a hot springs, the brewery, and the state park. If you have recommendations on other things to do in the area, we would love to hear them as I suspect we will be traveling through New Mexico again in the future.