My name is Lisa Maue, and I live in Carrizozo, New Mexico.

I came to Lincoln County in 1983 as an assistant coach for the local ski team. My father was in the 10th Mountain Division during World War II, so it was foreordained that I would ski. I ended up racing for June, and then Mammoth Mountain in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A classic burnout case, I put my skis in a closet when I was 16 and had no desire to take them back out until, freezing in my concrete block dorm room in Syracuse, New York, the professor I wanted to study with having died a few months before and regretting my decision to pursue a doctoral program in statistics, I decided to reconcile the one thing I believed defeated me.

I lived here ever since, first in Ruidoso, then in the county and now in the county seat of Carrizozo. I’ve worked as an art gallery manager, fire tower lookout, pari-mutuel teller, parks and rec coordinator, newspaper reporter, community education and public relations facilitator for the local college.  I currently work as an administrative assistant for the municipality and as the director of a not-for-profit.

The year 2025 was a difficult one. First, I lost my husband and best friend to pulmonary fibrosis, then three weeks later, my house to the South Fork fire.

The posts on this site were written while I was working as a journalist and during my time studying for my Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Western New Mexico University. Mistakes are my own. Opinions are mine alone. I hope they give a glimpse into life here in a rural, isolated part of the state, a place that is as harsh as it is beautiful, as vulnerable as it is lasting.

I hope you enjoy.