A long way south of Grants, an old mining camp was so famous for fine desserts it became known as Pie Town. After many years of pielessness, local meringue-lovers lucked out when baker Kathy Knapp opened the Pie-O-Neer Cafe (505/772-2900), on old US-60 at milepost 59.
East of Pie Town off US-60, the Lightning Field (May–Oct. only; 505/898-3335) is an outdoor “land art” installation by Walter De Maria, who implanted a grid of steel tubes into the New Mexico plain with the intention of attracting lightning strikes. The sculpture consists of 400 stainless steel poles situated in a rectangular grid roughly one mile by one kilometer; the engineering feat here was to set the poles so that their tops form an exactly level plane. For the full Lightning Field experience, you have to stay overnight in nearby cabins, and all meals and transportation to the site are included in the $150/night fee.
