Only in New Mexico?

I followed this truck down the road today. I wondered if it was an only in New Mexico kind of thing.

I've never seen anything like it, but neither have I ever thought about how one would gently move a bunch of red chile ristras.  It seemed pretty ingenious to me.

I was on my way to the Farmer's market at the Rail Yard.  I thought maybe he was, too, but soon after I took this photo, he headed in another direction.

Here's a better look at what he was towing behind him.

Despite a chilly 50-degree morning and the diminished numbers of tourists around town, the market was probably more crowded than ever. Although there was lots of wonderful produce, baked goods, jams, cheeses, etc., New Mexico chiles were the stars of the day. You could smell them being roasted all over the market. I realized that I need to up my chile education–I saw varieties I didn't recognize and heard people using names I don't know ... yet.

I plan to buy a my own big 25 pound bag, have them roasted when I have time to peel them, seed them and freeze them, but in the meantime, I bought a small bag of some that are ready to use.

Here are some photos from my morning:

After I filled my tote with heirloom tomatoes, leeks, broccolini, plums, basil,  summer squash, zucchini, rutabagas, eggs, 2 kinds of locally made goat cheese, walnut bread (perfect for one of the cheeses) and the best balm/lotion I've found since moving to the high desert.  When my shopping was done, I had a late breakfast at the nearby Flying Star Cafe... then came home to start re-arranging my new studio space (again.)