The Chronicles Of Grant County
Santa Claus May Be In
Southwest New Mexico
A reader with above-excellent eyesight might be able to see the two caribou – reindeer – behind the fourteenth tree from the edge of the cliff overlooking this part of the Gila Wilderness. In North America, reindeer are typically known as "caribou." (The photograph was produced by Preston Keres and provided courtesy of the United States Forest Service.)
Today, The Chronicles Of Grant County continues its proud heritage of breaking news coverage of interest to the people of Southwest New Mexico.
In another exclusive for readers of The Chronicles Of Grant County, several signs have been discovered that appear to indicate that Santa Claus is back here in Southwest New Mexico.
For the past several years, Santa Claus has been coming to our community. He's found the region to be quite hospitable as he finalizes the plans for his worldwide trip to bring joy to children – and children-at-heart – throughout the world.
It's almost like he considers Southwest New Mexico to be his second home.
The North Pole, of course, will always be the primary residence of Santa Claus, but he does seem to have a special place in his heart for Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna Counties.
The Chronicles Of Grant County is aware that Santa Claus has considered beginning his annual flight from locations as diverse as eastern Oregon and southeastern Kansas. But, upon review of flight times, wind velocity, and access to key supplies needed for his "associates," Santa Claus appears to have returned to Southwest New Mexico.
His past trips here have been shrouded in secrecy.
That hasn't stopped The Chronicles Of Grant County from utilizing our extensive investigative techniques to report the news sought out by our readers.
During this investigation, we have come across several hints of the presence of Santa Claus in our community.
In a recent walk through the Gila Wilderness, a person – who preferred to be anonymous – told The Chronicles Of Grant County that she saw two caribou among evergreen trees.
The anonymous person – we'll call her "Holly" in the spirit of the season – knew right away that this was an unusual sighting.
Caribou are not native to New Mexico.
Faithful readers of The Chronicles Of Grant County – people like "Holly" – are likely aware that the animal we call a "caribou" in North America is known as a "reindeer" in other parts of the world.
"Holly" explained that she watched from a distance.
"I didn't want to scare the caribou," she said. "I thought it unusual, but then I remembered that Santa Claus has brought his reindeer to Southwest New Mexico in the past. The timing seemed about right, too."
"That's when I decided to contact The Chronicles Of Grant County," Holly continued. "I figured you would be able to determine if the two caribou were part of Santa's entourage or if the caribou somehow got to New Mexico from Alaska."
"Holly" contacted The Chronicles Of Grant County on Thursday.
With the information provided by "Holly," hours were spent trekking through the Gila Wilderness.
There were some false sightings. Mostly, mule deer in the area.
But just when we thought we might have made a wrong turn in the wilderness – after all, it is literally wilderness – we saw a caribou. A few minutes later, three more caribou arrived.
As we watched the caribou, we heard a voice in the wilderness.
It was a booming voice that we thought we recognized from previous telephone conversations.
We couldn't be certain, but it sure sounded like Santa Claus.
Whoever it was started calling out a word.
It sounded like he wanted to "dance" or was stating that someone was "dancing." Like the person was trying to produce a TikTok video.
We realized that he was likely calling for Dancer, because one of the caribou quickly ran towards the voice.
When we stood up to get a better view of where the caribou was running, the other caribou turned their heads towards us and started running in the same direction as the first caribou.
Five more caribou that had not been noticed initially also started running in the same direction as the others.
Unseen man with booming voice.
Nine caribou in the wilderness.
It was all clicking.
But The Chronicles Of Grant County couldn't produce a news column without additional information that it really was Santa Claus with his nine reindeer in the Gila Wilderness.
A call to the North Pole got routed to a tech company in Santa Clara County, California. The person who answered wasn't actually a person. It was an AI robot with a French name.
We hung up. We couldn't believe that Santa replaced the elves with AI robots.
We were right.
We had misdialed the telephone number for the North Pole. (Helpful hint: Put your glasses on so you can tell the difference between an "0" – a zero – and an "O" – a capital "O" as in "Oh my goodness.")
We again called the North Pole. This time, using the correct telephone number.
We asked to speak with Tom, an elf in Building 23 at the North Pole. (Tom was who we were referred to last year.)
We were told that Tom had been promoted to a different building. Instead, we were referred to Carol.
While very polite, Carol declined to confirm anything about the location or travels of Santa Claus.
The Chronicles Of Grant County explained that we were a trusted source of news for the people of Southwest New Mexico and that we were simply striving to report the most accurate news to our readers.
Carol stated that she was familiar with The Chronicles Of Grant County and with our reputation as a trusted source of news. She said that she had seen our news columns detailing previous interviews with Santa Claus. Carol said that Santa Claus told her that his interviews with The Chronicles Of Grant County were always reported accurately – no misquotes, no misstatements, and nothing taken out of context.
She noted that while she was not authorized to make any public comments, she would leave a message for Santa Claus to call us back
The Chronicles Of Grant County thanked her for her time, but also continued our in-depth investigation.
We checked for recent orders of fresh birch and willow tree leaves. In the past, these were among the supplies that had arrived in the region about this time of year. Reindeer enjoy both birch and willow tree leaves as a nutritional as well as scrumptious treat.
We checked to see if fresh birch and willow tree leaves were on the list of products imported into the United States. They were not on any list we could find.
In fact, a top official with the United States Department of Commerce confirmed – off-the-record, without attribution – that these two products are among a number of products free of all tariffs.
"All products imported from the North Pole have always been welcomed in the United States of America," said the unnamed Commerce Department official. "We value our free-trade agreement with the North Pole."
"As we enter 2026, we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of this important trade agreement between our peoples," the unnamed official continued. "Many Americans may not be aware that among the first actions of the Second Continental Congress in 1776 was a resolution approving this trade agreement. I'm told that when John Hancock – he was then the President of the Second Continental Congress – signed the agreement, he indicated that he viewed the trade agreement with the North Pole as the beginning of a long and bountiful relationship."
The unnamed official added, "We are proud that we have continued to honor our trade agreement with the North Pole."
We then checked with several trucking companies that move large volumes of fresh birch and willow tree leaves domestically. None were aware of any recent orders, but a representative of one of the trucking companies suggested we check with a small firm that handled special orders.
When we checked with that company, we couldn't get an on-the-record answer.
Checking voluminous records, we found that that company had special, secure warehouses in five locations.
Those locations?
Columbus, Quemado, Virden, White Signal, and the North Pole.
Upon inspection – from a safe distance, of course – we saw fresh birch and willow tree leaves being delivered to four of the five warehouses. The boxes indicated that they were being imported from the North Pole.
With this information gathered, The Chronicles Of Grant County determined that we could now report to the people of Southwest New Mexico that it appears that Santa Claus is back in town. Well, at least in the nearby wilderness.
As we confirm additional facts, rest assured that The Chronicles Of Grant County will continue to report on the details about what appears to be the visit of Santa Claus and the nine reindeer to Southwest New Mexico.
Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?
A street name? A building?
Your questions may be used in a future news column.
Contact Richard McDonough at
If your email does not go through, please contact
© 2025 Richard McDonough
