Before this trip I saw New Mexico as the least interesting of the Four-Corner States. Perhaps this still seems true with natural scenery. But the last couple months have convinced me that New Mexico has a more interesting culture than the other three, with its Spanish and pueblo Indian heritage, funky old buildings, artsies, etc.
In New Mexico you have a better chance of feeling you're outside the USA than in the other three states. Where could you find fine old wrecks, adobe buildings with corrugated metal roofs, like in New Mexico? Certainly not in Utah, where everything is squeaky clean and modern. Arizona is just California. Colorado is full of transplanted midwesterners and Texans. That's fine, but it's boring.
On my way from Santa Fe to Taos recently, I went through small villages like Chimayo and Trunchas that reminded me of Mexico, without the hassle of a border crossing. At first you notice the poverty. Then you notice much more, because you can—the street is only wide enough to pass two cars if you are going 15 mph, and you are, because of the speed bumps.
Another advantage to New Mexico is that the ground is drier, the snow banks and mud puddles are fewer, than the same altitude in Utah or Colorado. I'm camped at 10,400 feet, and none of these things are an issue. And I don't have one mosquito bite.
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