Resort economy humming along

RED RIVER, N. M. (KRQE) - It's not gloom and doom but boom in the northern New Mexico resort community of Red River where words like layoff, shutdown and budget cut are not part of the conversation.

In a community that looks like it was built to be featured on a post card, workers are building holiday displays.

Red River is counting its blessings.

"Business is good," Ben Richey owns a gallery and Mountain Treasures Restaurant, told KRQE News 13.

Richey has been open seven years with business steadily improving for the first six.  At the end of this spring, he thought sales would fall back.

"Gas was $4 a gallon at the start of summer; we thought, oh boy, we're really in for some hard times," Richey said.

Red River natives will say the mountains surrounding the community have a way of keeping bad news out.  And when it comes to the economy, it seems to be true.

While most New Mexican and American communities have seen sales tax revenues fall, Red River's are rising.  Summer 2008 saw town business up more than 20 percent from summer 2007.

Townspeople credit vacationers staying closer to home.

"We deal with a lot of people from the Albuquerque area, more and more every year," Red River jeweler Paulette Kiker said.

"We're seeing people who used to come for a one-night stay on their way on up to Colorado coming and staying for the week," added Mayor Linda Calhoun.  "So we're seeing extended stays."

Streets are even busy in what usually is a quiet break between the summer and winter tourist seasons when wild deer seem to outnumber tourists.

"It doesn't take as much money to travel around from some of our close states, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and southern New Mexico."

Ski season starts in less than three weeks, and hotel reservations are up from last year.

Although home sales were down in Red River this summer, real estate prices are holding steady.