I love obscure holidays on the calendar. Each week brings a wealth of unique and special days that mostly go by unnoticed by the majority of us. Just a few weeks ago, while I was struggling with what to have for dinner, the collective of the internet alerted me to the time-honored observance of “National Pancake Day.” Perfect! Dinner menu decided! July 6th will once again find me celebrating “National Fried Chicken Day,” but somehow I will have more trouble rallying my enthusiasm for “National Spinach Day” later this month (March 26th).
Last week marked a couple particularly special days worth celebrating in our household. First was “National Napping Day” which is observed annually on the day following the switch to daylight savings time. Rest Assured (pun intended) even without any advance planning, Todd and I tore that celebration up! However, March 14th or “Pi Day” holds a very special place for us. As a couple, we don’t always manage any special acknowledgement of “Valentines Day,” but Todd knows better than to allow “Pi Day” to pass without making it a date. FYI- we don’t celebrate by figuring the circumference of any circles.
I love good pie. Sometimes I think my love of pie still defines me as a good mid-western girl at heart, even though I haven’t lived there for years. Sometimes I think my love of pie merely defines me as my mother’s daughter. Either way, to me, good pie is almost a food group in and of itself.
Good pie is a quest for me. Accordingly, when we find ourselves traveling through the Southwest, we always find the route that takes us through Pie Town, New Mexico. We’ve managed the trip 3 times in the last 3 years. I once told the story of our Pie Town adventures to my sister-in-law and she asked me what it was near. I remember thinking…nothing…of course…it’s near nothing. You just plan to go through there on purpose. Sure, we are on the way somewhere else each time we have stopped in, but the trip is ALWAYS designed to take us through Pie Town. It is a destination for us. Pie Town might just be my personal mecca.
Pie Town, located along U.S Highway 60 in Catron County, is an unincorporated community of less than 200 souls located in the high desert of New Mexico. It’s named for a bakery that was opened by Clyde Norman in the early 1920s and specialized in dried-apple pies. It’s long been a popular stop for Continental Divide Trail hikers and road-trippers alike. Each year the second Saturday of September sees thousands descend on this corner of the New Mexico as Pie Town plays host to a very popular Pie Festival complete with pie-eating and pie-baking competitions.
I first saw a story about Pie Town on CBS News Sunday Morning in the fall of 2015 and immediately decided I would have to see it (and taste it!) for myself. An opportunity arose just a few months later when our son needed someone to drive one of his cars when he relocated to California from Alabama. I told him I’d be happy to drive a car provided he map a route for us through Pie Town. It turned into a wonderful drive through a part of the country where I had not previously spent much time.
Our route West had us leaving the interstate behind in Central Texas. Our drive across the arid land in West Texas was long, flat, and quite beautiful in its own way. I loved the small towns U.S. Highway 380 wound us through with their local diners, Dairy Queens, and donut shops.
What I think I enjoyed most about this particular trip was that I was truly just along for the ride-except I was driving. I had done no research about our route, so with each bend in the road I was continually surprised about not only the scenery, but also the places we passed. Shortly after crossing into New Mexico, U.S. Highway 380 passes through Roswell. I was delighted at the possibility of a brief stop to see the kitschy attractions. Unfortunately, time was not on our side, and it was not to be- at least not on this trip. I made a promise to myself that Todd and I would make this trip again with site-seeing stops along the way, and we continued to push through to California with our planned stop in Pie Town. I did manage to lobby my son for a 1/2 day detour to the Grand Canyon, and Todd and I drove the route again about a year later on our way to visit our son in his California home making all the stops along the way.
Pie Town is an extremely hospitable place. Plan your trip carefully, however. A couple of the cafes are not open year round, and they keep very short serving hours when they are open. I recommend you do your research on the cafes’ websites and/or Facebook pages to make sure your stop is not in vain. You are going to drive out-of-the-way to get there, so make sure it counts! At the time my son and I visited there were only two pie cafes in operation, Pie-O-Neer Pie Shop and Daily Pie Cafe, and we had to press to arrive before closing time at 4 pm. But the Pie-O-Neer was open when we arrived, and did not disappoint.
The Pie-O-Neer was featured in a documentary, Pie Lady of Pie Town, in 2014, as well as, in the CBS story I saw in 2015. The Daily Pie Cafe was also featured on CBS, but I have never been lucky enough for the shop to be open during any of our trips. The Pie-O-Neer does a very brisk business, but is only open 3 days a week, and is closed during the winter. It traditionally opens for business on “Pi Day” each year. The service is warm and inviting; the pies are delicious and well worth the effort of the long drive. However, you should think about calling ahead to place your slice on hold if you are looking for a specific flavor.
On my second trip to Pie Town with Todd, we were running late and knew the shops would be closed by the time we arrived. It was the price to pay for a wonderful day of sight-seeing along the route. We were extremely disappointed, but we thought we’d at least stop and take some pictures. Once we arrived in town, we noticed a new pie shop, The Gatherin’ Place, had opened for business. It was almost closing time, but we pulled in and got some pie! The owner could not have been more gracious and her pies were delectable. A five member band traveling through on tour stopped in just as we did. So there the owner found herself, just before closing time, with a cafe full of customers! She offered up the last of the day’s pies to all of us, and even offered to stay open late to bake more for us if we had the time to wait. The Gatherin’ Place is open year round from 7:30 am – 6:00 pm each day.
On our third trip through Pie Town, Todd and I had our daughter in tow. We were driving from Texas to Utah for the holidays, and decided to detour through Pie Town en-route. We ordered ahead at The Gatherin’ Place and picked up whole pies for our Christmas dinner. Naturally, while there we had breakfast and pie…why waste a visit! Delicious! A particularly nice feature of The Gatherin’ Place are large communal tables that facilitate pleasant conversation with other patrons- locals and travelers, alike. It makes the experience as sweet as the pies.
If travel is about the journey, pursuing good pie along the way is making the trek even sweeter for us. We’ll keep searching for it everywhere the road takes us, and we’ll be making it “Pi Day” every chance we get….because making it “National Spinach Day” just doesn’t translate.