Touching down at Chihuahua General Fierro Villalobos Airport in Chihuahua keeps you central, with surrounding cities and sights an easy drive away. Chihuahua is the capital of the biggest state in Mexico, a city of wide boulevards, cowboy boots, and Pancho Villa history set on high desert with the Sierra Madre on the horizon. It is the starting point for the famous Copper Canyon railway, and it carries itself with the confidence of a ranching and mining town that has done well.

Things to do in Chihuahua: - See the murals and the cell where Miguel Hidalgo was held in the Palacio de Gobierno - Tour Quinta Luz, the mansion of Pancho Villa, now the Museo Historico de la Revolucion - Admire the art nouveau mansion Quinta Gameros - Explore the Grutas Nombre de Dios cave system on the edge of town - Board the Chepe Express train toward Creel and the Copper Canyon - Eat burritos of carne seca, machaca, or discada wrapped in thin flour tortillas - Sip sotol, the desert spirit of Chihuahua, in a bar near the Plaza de Armas - Drive to the Mennonite colonies near Cuauhtemoc for cheese, apples, and a glimpse of a different world

From Chihuahua, the agricultural town of Cuauhtemoc is about 90 minutes west, and Delicias and its surrounding farmland sit about an hour south. The old mining village of Santa Eulalia is just a short drive east of the city. Flour tortillas here are enormous and paper-thin, and a single burrito can be a meal. Pair one with a cold beer and a plate of Mennonite cheese and you will see why northern cooking has such a devoted following.